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08-08-1989 Regular Meeting0 CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 • A Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Tuesday, August 8, 1989, in the City 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 Cole, Council Member Norquist and Council Member Dupee. Other City Officials present were City Manager Saunders, City Attorney Baird, Finance Director Van Zile, and Deputy City Clerk Brandt. Excused absence: Planning Director McAllister. INVOCATION The Invocation was given by Nilsa Whitehead followed the repeating of The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by all present. MINUTES The minutes of the Workshop Meetings held July 6 and 13, 1989 and the Regular Meeting held July 25, 1989, were approved as presented. REPORTS CITY MANAGER SAUNDERS' REPORT LIFT STATION AERATION It was reported that today was the official start up of the lift stations after the installation of an aeration system. With the addition of the system, the City no longer uses odophous tanks and the sludge produced has been reduced by 50$. The City will save approximately $20,000 per year by not having to buy odophous for odor removal. PENSION BOARD MEETING City Manager Saunders stated that a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Pension Board would be held at 7:00 p.m., on Tuesday, August 22, 1989, immediately proceeding the next Council Meeting. WORKSHOP It was reported that if there were no conflicts, a Workshop Meeting would be held on Thursday, August 17, 1989. After a brief discussion, it was the consensus of Council to hold the Workshop on~Wednesday, August 16, 1989, at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room. Mr. Coggshall, Principal at the High School, will be present at this meeting to discuss a Criminal Justice Course to be offered at the High School and taught by a local law enforcement officer. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING It was announced that the Special Council Meeting concerning the CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 PAGE -2- • millage rate would be held on Monday, September 18, 1989 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The date of this meeting will appear on the tax statements sent out by Ed Havill's office to all Clermont residents. CITY ELECTIONS It was announced that qualifications for the upcoming City Election would begin September 1, 1989. Packets will be available on that date. Council Seats Groups II and IV are up for election this year. COUNCIL MEMBER NORQUIST'S REPORT DOWNTOWN WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT PROJECT Council Member Norquist asked as to the status of the water main replacement project due to the fact that he had received several inquiries from downtown merchants. City Manager Saunders stated that the advertisements for bids had been placed in the newspaper today and that on August 24, 1989, the bids would be opened. After awarding of the bid, work should be completed within thirty days. COUNCIL MEMBER DUPEE'S REPORT CABLEVISION INDIISTRIES OF CENTRAL FLORIDA Council Member Dupee reported that she had tried to reach Cablevision Industries and of ter several lengthy delays did reach them to request repair service, and she asked that City Manager Saunders request a status report from them concerning their operations. Because the City still receives numerous complaints concerning poor service from the company, Council Member Dupee asked that the meeting at which a representative from the company attends be advertised so the general public could attend and air any grievances they might have. It was the consensus of Council that this was a good idea, and City Manger Saunders stated that he would do so. COUNCIL MEMBER TURVILLE'S REPORT Council Member Turville stated that he did not have a report as such but asked Council Member Dupee, the City's representative to the Lake County League of Cities, for a status report concerning 1 ® • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 PAGE -3- the interlocal agreement for solid waste disposal submitted by the City of Clermont to the League for consideration by the other cities in the County. MAYOR POOL'S REPORT GRACE COMMISSION LETTER Mayor Pool stated that he had received correspondence from the Grace Commission asking that the Council adopt a resolution opposing wasteful government spending. It was the consensus of Council to further investigate the request before taking any action. Cecil Smart, who was present in the audience, stated that he had read several articles on the Grace Commission and he would be opposed to any action by Council because the Commission proposes to many limits in certain areas of government spending. PARRS AND RECREATION BOARD APPOINTMENT Nilsa Whitehead, Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Board, asked Mayor Pool to appoint Wendell McDannel to the City's Parks and Recreation Board. Mrs. Whitehead then introduced Mr. McDannel who briefly presented background information on why he as interested in serving. Mayor Pool then appointed Mr. McDannel to the Board and welcomed him and his family to Clermont. UNFINISHED BUSINESS BID AWARD - EXCAVATION OF TWELFTH STREET PARR SITE City Manager Saunders reported that three bids were received for this project which included Gator Services $137,450, JWJ Excavation $164,785 and Superior Asphalt $268,775, and that the low bid from Gator Services was in excess of the City's estimate for the project of $100, 000. Mr. Saunders continued by stating that he had met with City Engineer Springstead and Public Works Director Smythe and discussed this project at length; and it was determined that the City should reject all bids at this time and restructure our specifications for bidding on the project to include not only the excavation, but the paving, storm water drainage fencing and other related items. By expanding the scope of the project we wil l attract a greater number of bidders at a better price. ® • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 PAGE -4- 89-111 After a brief discussion, A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DIIPEE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TURVILLE AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO REJECT ALL OF THE BIDS AND TO INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT TO ATTRACT MORE BIDDERS. At this point in the meeting, Council Member Dupee stated that under her report she forgot to mention that Clermont Builders Supply was no longer going to sell PVC pipe and had donated the remainder of their inventory to the City of Clermont for the Twelfth Street Park irrigation system. The Council thanked Joe Holt for his work in obtaining the pipe and Speedy Wolfe, owner of Clermont Builders Supply, for his generosity. NEW BIISINESS INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE 207-M City Manager Saunders presented background information concerning the request by the McCaffreys for an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. In February Mrs. McCaffrey had requested the same amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to increase the allowable density from 8 units an acre to 12 units an acre for her property located south of Highway 50, west of Highway 27 and north of Hook Street. At that time the City recomme nded that this change not be made until information being developed by the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council for our updated Comprehensive Plan dealing with existing and future housing needs for the City was received. Mr. Saunders further stated that the data collection by the ECFRPC had been completed and a map showing the high density development within the City was displayed. Mr. Saunders continued by stating that historically multi-family units represent 25$ of the City' s total housing unit count and this percentage should be maintained. This would indicate a need of approximately 175 units of multi-family housing by the year 1995 which would require 15 acres of high density designated land. Currently the City has in excess of 150 vacant acres available for high density development, with nearly 500 acres in the high density areas already developed. City Manager Saunders then pointed out on the map the high density development areas within the City with the green areas showing those already developed and the blue areas indicating the high density vacant land available for development. Mr. Saunders stated that presently the City has more than enough high density property available for development, and that from the data compiled by the ECFRPC, the City does not need to add additional high, density properties within the City at this time. ® • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 PAGE -5- Mayor Pool called for comments from those present and Nilsa Whitehead stated that she was opposed to request because the City did not need anymore high density property at this time. Cecil Smart, who is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, stated that he voted. for the increased density because he felt high density housing was the best use of the site instead of potential commercial development. Mayor Pool stated that he took exception to the McCaffrey's statement in their request that it was not economically feasible to. develop land at 8 units per acre, and cited the Willows as a lower density development. Council Member Dupee pointed out that the Department of Community Affairs had concurred with Staff's original recommendation of denial of the reque s t and that the City should be nef it from thei r advice and not change the density at this time. After some further discussion of the property densities within the City, THE REQUESTED AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FAILED FOR LACK OF AN INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE 207-M. RESOLUTION NO. 625 - PRELIMINARY UTILITY FUND BUDGET City Manager Saunders explained that the City was required by its Bond Ordinances to adopt a preliminary utility fund budget a minimum of forty-five days prior to the. beginning of the new fiscal year. Resolution No. 625 reflects the proposed budget and reflects no rate increases for FY 1989-90. Mayor Pool called for comments from those present and no one spoke for or against the preliminary utility fund budget. 89-112A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUPEE AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 625 ADOPTING A PRELIMINARY UTILITY FUND BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 1989-90. THE RESOLUTION WAS READ BY TITLE ONLY. The final adoption of the budget will take place at the Regular Council Meeting on September 26, 1989. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE 262-C City Manager Saunders stated that additional revenues were needed to fund next year' s budget and as discussed at a previous Workshop, the only two alternatives at this time were either an ad valorem tax increase or an increase in the utility service taxes. Ordinance 262-C reflects an increase in the utility tax on electricity, gas and fuel oil from the existing 6.5~ to 8.5~, which will provide an additional $60,00 to the General Fund in next ® • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 19 89 PAGE -6- year's budget. Also, the ordinance will amend the tax on telecommunication service. Currently we are charging an 8.5$ tax on local service. Under the new ordinance, the tax rate will be changed to 7.0$, but it will be applied to all intrastate telecommunication service, and will provide an estimated additional $50,000 for the next budget year. Under discussion of the proposed ordinance, Council Member Turville pointed out that these were user tax increases and that residents could control the amount of increase by adjusting their consumption accordingly. If the Council had chosen to increase the ad valorem millage rate, there would have been no control. Cecil Smart questioned the ride-ability of Minneola Avenue and asked when the City would be repaving the street. City Manager Saunders stated that there were no immediate plans for this prof ect. CENTER LAKE MUSCOVY DUCK REPLACEMENT PROJECT Council Member Norquist introduced Sterling Frye who presented a program to remove the Muscovy Ducks from Center Lake and replace them with swans. Mr. Frye gave statistics citing the problems caused by the overabundance of Muscovy Ducks and recommended that they be replaced with three different types of swans, Wood Ducks, Mandarin Ducks and a pair of Canadian Geese. The recommendations included, putting only female birds on the lake, the type of food required for the birds, and making this program a community project to make it more successful. People will be more protective and caring of the birds if they feel a part of the project. Mr. Frye stated that it would cost approximately $1,500 to complete the project and suggested holding a raffle, placing collection jars in various locations or business contributions to fund the project. He also stated that the City would need to furnish informational signs to tell the public what type of food the birds could eat and the dangers of monof filament line. A crime watch network would also have to be set up to monitor the birds. After the presentation, it was the consensus of Council that the Muscovy Ducks should be removed from Center Lake due to the pollution and nuisance problems being caused. 89-113 After a brief discussion, A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUPEE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TURVILLE AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER NORQUIST AND STERLING FRYE COORDINATE THE MUSCOVY DUCR RELOCATION AND REPLACEMENT PROJECT. MR. FRYE IS TO RESERVE THE DESIRABLE BIRDS AT THIS TIME FOR FUTURE PLACEMENT IN CENTER LARE. .. .. ® .. • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 PAGE -7- RESOLUTION NO. 624 Mark Edwards appeared before Council to present his resolution opposing the placement of a Federal Prison in South Lake County. The resolution was read in its entirety and Mayor Pool called for comments from those present. Cecil and Peggy Smart stated that they opposed the resolution and favored the location of a prison in the area citing the economic benef its derived and the fact that they had both lived near prisons in the past and suffered no ill effects from the experience. Nilsa Whitehead stated that she did not want a prison located in the area and was in favor of the resolution. Jack Sargent, who could not attend the meeting, asked that for the record, it be known that he opposed the resolution. During further discussion, Mayor Pool and Council Member Cole stated that they both had received calls opposing the location of the prison in South Lake County. Mayor Pool stated that he had a petition with over 800 signatures of South Lake County residents opposing the location of a prison in the area. Mayor Pool then stated that he personally opposed the prison being located in the area. During the course of the discussion it was pointed out that it seemed that South Lake County was becoming the dumping ground for undesirable projects favored by the County Commission. Some of the projects cited were the garbage incinerator, Lake Correctional Institute, the Disney and Conserve II sprayf fields, the ORMC laundry and the newly proposed county landfill. 89-114 After soane further discussion, A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER NORQUIST, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUPEE AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 624 OPPOSING THE LOCATION OF A FEDERAL PRISON IN SOUTH LAKE COUNTY. Copies of the Resolution will be sent to the Board of Commissioners and municipalities of South Lake County. PUBLIC COMMENTS Cecil Smart and his wife, Peggy Smart, local locksmiths, reported an incident that occurred concerning a child being locked in a running car and stated that the Police Department tried to open the car for more than one hour before they were called. Mr. Smart protested the manner in which the incident was handled and .further stated that he and his wife do not charge for calls when a child is involved. He then requested that the Police Department no longer be allowed to open locked cars. .... .. ~ • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 8, 1989 PAGE -8- City Manager Saunders stated that Chief Tyndal had spoken with him concerning the incident and that the officer was dispatched to the scene at 6:43 p.m., arrived at 6:44 p.m. and at 6:50 the Smarts were called to open the car. Mr. Saunders stated that he would further investigate this matter. There being no further adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Attest: business or discussion, the meeting Robert A. Pool, Mayor Jos Van Zi e, City Clerk