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03-15-1983 Workshop Meeting e CITY OF CLERMONT e MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 15, 1983 A Workshop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held March 15, 1983 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 present: Ann Dupee, Hal Turville, and Lester Cole. Absent, Bob Pool. Also present was City Manager Forbes. TRAVEL POLICY City Manager Forbes discussed the possibility of the Council adopting by Resolution a travel policy for the City. The policy would be based upon State Statute, and would be internally beneficial for the City by explaining acceptab+e travel policy. The consensus of the Council was that they would have no objections in reviewing a Resolution on Travel Policy at the next Regular Council Meeting. CITY ELECTIONS Mayor Beals explained that he believed it would be beneficial for the City to change its Charter to have Municipal Elections correspond with Federal and State Elections. He stated that this would not only save money, but more importantly, increase voter turnout. All Council Mem- bers discussed whether it would be best to have the election held in October or November, or if it would be better to leave the election date as it iSr,>in December. The consensus of the Council was that it might be best to conduct our elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November; and the runoff election, if needed, on the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Mayor Beals explained that the first time an election was held in November, new Council Members would be required to take their seats during the second meeting in Decem- ber, but after that they could be seated during the first Regular Meeting in December. Council Member Cole requested that more discussion on this matter take place during a future Workshop Meeting, before being consider- ed at a Regular Council Meeting. It was the consensus of the Council to further discuss this matter during a later Workshop Meeting. Council Member Cole left the Meeting at this time. ANNEXATION POLICY City Manager Forbes requested the Council's opinions regarding the annex- ation of property to the City of Clermont. Council Members discussed their concerns on the treatment plant and reviewed two methods for consid- ering future annexations. One alternative would be for the Council to take the position that no more land would be annexed into the City until the capacity of the treat- ment plant was expanded. Council Member Turville explained that this method has the advantage of insuring that the present capacity of the plant is maintained for existing property within the City Limits on which the owners have been paying taxes for years. The second option discussed was that of taking in large parcels of property west of the City Limits to insure that this property is developed in compliance with City stan- dards, and under City direction. City Manager Forbes asked the Council to review these alternatives, since he believed the City would be getting additional annexation requests in the near future. ANIMAL CONTROL City Manager Forbes discussed the fact that the City charges only $5 for a first offender to claim a dog from the City Pound, and $25 for the second offense. He explained that he felt the $5 fee was too low and should be raised. Council Member Turville stated that a large fee for the first offender might not be reasonable, especially because it may penalize the dog and not the owner. Some owners might leave the animal at the pound instead of paying the high fee to claim it. He also stated that if the City was going to charge a higher fee, the City Manager should insure that the rules on keeping a dog at the City Pound are strictly enforced. His concern was that if the rules were not strictly enforced, some animals might be destroyed before their owners were aware e CITY OF CLERMONT e MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 15, 1983 of the impoundment. The Council discussed that it might be possible to increase the first offenders fee to $15, and they reviewed~he over- all problems of animal control in Clermont. It was noted that the City is trying to stringently enforce the rules by staggering the hours of the animal control officer, and taking constant violators be- fore the Code Enforcement Board. CEMETERY The present fees for burial spaces are $150 per space for residents, and $300 per space for non residents. City Manager Forbes explained that it was difficult to differentiate between the fees because many people bought lots when they lived in the City and moved out of the City, or had relative who lived in the City buy lots for them. He stated that he would like to have the City look into the percentage of monies that actually go into the Cemetery Trust Fund because, at this time, the fund is not able to pay for upkeep of the cemetery. The fee situation should be looked into very carefully to insure that the Cemetery Trust Fund, at some future date, actually will pay for the maintenance of the cemetery. It was the consensus of the Council to have Mr. Forbes investigate this matter further and provide details on the operational costs of the cemetery, the fee structure for burial spaces, and the actual monies which go into the Cemetery Trust Fund. PARKS AND RECREATION It was discussed that the City may wish to look into the possibility of purcha~ing additional land for ball fields. The City Manager requested permission to investigate possible grants available from the State for purchasing recreational sites. The Council also discussed using the elementary school in Minneola as an additional baseball facility. They believed it might be feasible for the City to get with the School Board or County to assist with the construction of a site at the school. It was the consensus of the Council to have the Parks and Recreation Board make a recommendation on this matter. The Council also discussed the possibility of constructing handball courts this year. City Manager Forbes stated that if there were no Council objections, he would post- pone any decision on the courts until the fourth quarter of this year, pending review of the City's fiscal condition at that time. He also stated that he had not found a good location for the handball courts. Initially, he believed the land behind Bishop Field would be a good lo- cation; but now that the railroad may abandon its property across from Jaycee Beach, it may now be best to place the courts the~e. Ann Dupee inquired as to the status of the City's Summer Swim Program. City Manager Forbes explained that he did have two WSI's who were interested in the position. The Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. ()~ 13 tB iJ~, Charles B. Beals, Mayor Attest: A%~O. ~~4- George ' Forbes, City Manager