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06-11-1974 Regular Meeting . e e . MINUTES NQ 1035 REGULAR MEETING A Regular Meeting of the City Council was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, Oune 11, 1974. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P. M. by Mayor Claude E. Smoak, Jr. with the following members present: Councilmen Oswalt, Schroedel, Byrd, and Waller. Other officials present were: City Controller Fleming, City Clerk Carroll, City Attorney Vason, City Manager Hopkins and Chief of Police Tyndal. Others present were: Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Perry and the Messrs. Czech, Schumann, Crowson, Watters, Waymire, Carden, Prior and Johnson. Representatives of the Daily Commercial and the Sentinel/Star were also present. The Invocation was given by Councilman Byrd, followed by repeating of the Pledge of Allegiance in unison by those present. The Minutes of the meeting held May 28, 1974 were approved as written. Mayor Smoak announced the first order of business to be a Public Hearing to consider request by Mark V LTD., Inc. for a variance to Section 26-23 (E)(3) of the Zoning' Ordinance (Rear Yard setbacks) in order to construct a residence on portions of Lots 2 and 4 in City Block 113 with a 21' rear yard setback instead of the required 25 feet. There was no one present who voiced objection to this request, whereu~on motion was made b Councilman Schroedel seconded b Councilman Oswalt and carr ed that t e variance be granted. Mr. Dave Crowson, Engineer of Dawkins & Associates, Inc. appeared before Council and reported that bids were received and opened in the office of the City Manger on June 10, 1974, for the construction of Sewage Pumping Station No. 22 and a 4" force main to serve the Clermoht High School and Spring Lake Drainage Area, which were as follows: Basic Asphalt and Construction Co. @ $ 24,306.66 Bruce Ogden, Inc. @ $ 37,684.97 Grey Gull Contracting @ $ 27,109.50 Hogue Corporation @ $ 35,593.00 Hubbard Construction Co. @ $ 39,552.00 Mason, Inc. @ $ 24,852.50 Peacock Development Corporation @ $ 26,756.89 Tech Corporation @ $ 47,585.00 Wilder Construction @ $ 24,498.00 Mr. Crowson further reported that the bids were in order as per specifications submitted and that it was their recommendation that the low bid as submitted by Basic Asphalt and Construction Co. in the amount of $24,306.66 be accepted, whereupon motion was made by Councilman Schroedel, seconded by Councilman Waller add unanimously carried that this recommendation be accepted and the bid be awarded to Basic Asphalt and Construction. Mr. Wayne Waymire, present~\ resident of this area and formerly a full time fireman in Memphis, Tennessee, appeared before Council to inquire of their interest toward establishment of a full time fire department in Clermont which would also extend emergency rescue services such as scuba diving, advanced first aid, etc. Mr. Waymire was advised that Council was certainly interested and felt that a full time department would be a necessity in the fQtur~,but that the cost at the present time would be prohibitive. They further advised that the Department of Forestry had proposed a "beefing Up" of present volunteer fire departments in order to respond to residences in rural areas inasmuch as they were geared for forestry type fires and unable to proficiently combat structure fires, and, that the Lake County Commission had held a Public Hearing with regards this proposal on this date with no action having been taken pending responses from the various volunteer fire departments in the county as to their interest in participating in such a plan and anbther public hearing is to be held by the Commission in Tavares on June 26th. Mr. Waymore advised that he would like to meet with the Councilmen individually to discuss the matter further. Mayor Smoak expressed appreciation to Mr. Waymire for his interest and advised that he felt each council member would be glad to meet with him. . e e . , MINUTES Nt} 1036 Mr. William Johnson of the Lake County Economic Opportunity, Inc. appeared before Council in behalf of that organization's request to Council for a financial pledge in the amount of $500.00 in order to accumulate funds necessary to apply for a state grant to continue their Senior Citizens Program in Lake County. Inasmuch as the local senior citizens program, "Mea1s on Wheels", is presently being successfully carried on by private local contributions, it was determined that no action be taken until such time as a report can be made to Council by the local representative of this program. City Manager Hopkins reported as follows: That the "S1urry Seal" resurfacing of various streets in the city was now in progress; That the swimming pier at Jaycee Beach had been temporarily repaired by city crews in order to accommodate this season's swimming program; That he had attended a meeting in Tavares on highway network division in Florida concerning a proposal by the DOT for a redesignation of primary roads, and it appeared that a readjustment was in the making in favor of populated South Florida area which would result in the many rural counties having to absorb the costs of such transition, Lake County being one of these, and that there had been several local failures of the "borrow pit" by erosion since it had begun receiving effluent on April 30th, but which had been taken care of with backfilling and seeding of the dikes, etc. until June 10th when an erosion of the dike had been discovered which was to such an extent that local backfilling would not correct, and he had ceased any further emptying of effluent into the pit at that time. Mr. Hopkins submitted statistics on the canal levels since the "borrow pit" was first used on April 30th, which emphasiied the need of the pit, and inquired of Council as to their determination of what sort of improvements are necessary in order to accomplish what they hope to accomplish. It was consensus of Council that Mr. Hopkins be authorized to proceed with the necessary consultant work with the engineers for work that needs to be done in evaluating the alternatives with respect the percolation pond that we're present using, the "borrow pit~. City Controller Fleming reported as follows: That of the sewer assessment program at approximately $876,000, as of May 30th, $540,239 principal, $3,666 penalties, and $21,828 interest had been collected, and, That of the total property owners who chose the ten year annual payment plan for payment of their assessment, there were 26 owners covering 42 parcels of property which were delinquent as of April 1st and these would be turned over to the City Attorney on June 12th for collection. It was the suggestion of Mayor Smoak that letters of intent be mailed these persons by City Attorney Vason before taking legal action for collection. Mayor Smoak reported as follows: That he and City Attorney Vason had been invited to meet with Peter H. Johnson and his Attorney on Thursday, June 13th with regards a possible out-o~-court settlement on the pending condemnation suit; That it had been suggested at the last P & Z meeting that a workshop session at least once a year, and possibly more, between tbe:Counci1 and P & Z Commission would be beneficial for better communication in.terms of planning for the city. Mayor Smoak announced the first such session had been called for Tuesday, June 18, 1974, at 7:30 P. M. in the Council Chambers. Motion was made by Councilman Oswalt, seconded by Councilman Schroede1 and carried that the bills be paid, except, that payment to Tornado Equipment Corporation be withheld pending investigation and authorization by City Manager Hopkins as to possible additional repair to the trash loader. Mr. Dave Crowson reported to Council that successful negogiations had been held with Singer Layne/Atlantic in their misinterpretation of the bid specs for renovation of the Highland Avenue Well, and that it was his recommendation that a negotiated proposal in the amount of $7,225.00 be accepted and the necessary authorization given for signing of a contract. It was suggested that the contract be drawn wherein it would declare a maximum amount of $7,225.00 for the completed project, and that if the project was concluded earlier than 13 days, it would be at a cost to the city of $425.00 per actual work day. Motion was made by Councilman Schroede1, seconded by Councilman Oswalt and carried that the recommendation of the Engineer be accepted with the provisions as suggested above to be included in the contract. . e e . MINUTES NQ 1037 City Manager Hopkins reported that he had again been in contact with Miss Florence Pool with regards acquisition of property from her for a new well site, but had not yet received an answer. Mr. Crowson reported that all other surveys and field work had been completed with regards this project except that to be done after acquiring a site location in order to make the application deadline of August 15th to FHA, but, it was his opinion that FHA officials would be understanding to the city's propblem in an extension of time if it became necessary. Councilman Oswalt reported on a meeting held with Dr. William Howard, actuary for the city's pension plan, wherein suggestions were made as follows: That a meeting be arranged between Robert Carle, Trust Fund officer of the city's pension fund, and Council, to discuss possible other investments of the pension fund monies than presently invested. That an annual review of the pension plan benefits be made by Council with respect to possible amendments to the plan',due to cost of living increases, and, That the present vesting provision for city employees be reduced from 20 years service and age 55 to 10 years of service and no age requirements. Motion was made by Councilman Byrd, seconded by Councilman Waller and unanimously carried that City Attorney Vason be instructed to prepare the necessary Ordinance amending the existing Ordinance providing for pension plan benefits for city employees whereby full vesting for pension credit would be completed upon 10 years of service and no age requirement, and such Ordinance to become effective as of October 1, 1974. Meeting adjourned by Mayor Smoak at 9:12 P. M. ela~~ JQa"'AJ ~ ~~ Do res W. Carroll, City lerk