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06-08-1976 Regular Meeting . e e . MINUTES REGULAR MEETI NG NQ1293 A Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, June 8, 1976. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P. M. by Mayor Pro-Tem Carlisle A. Byrd, Jr. with the following members present: Councilmen Beals, Blackburn, and Schroedel. Other officials present were: City Manager Tiffany, City Attorney Baird, City Clerk Barroll, Director of Community Services Smythe, and Chief of Police Tyndal. Others present were: Mr. and Mrs. John Aull, Mesdames Sheldon and Thompson, Miss Smythe, and the Messrs. Czech, Fleming, Jones, Evans, and Henn. The invocation was given by Robert E. Smythe, followed by repeating of the Pledge of Allegiance in unison by those present. Mayor Claude E. Smoak, Jr., arrived at this time, and assumed the Chair. The Minutes of the Regular Meeting held May 25, 1976 were approved as written. VISITORS WITH BUSINESS Mrs. Jan Thompson appeared before Council in support of her request for a variance to the sign ordinance, which had been denied by Council on May 25th, and requested that they reconsider the matter and rescind their action taken at that time. She advised Council that signs had existed on this property for many years under federal and state requirements only, but when the property was annexed to the city and city ordinances thereupon took precedence, it had been necessary to request City Council for a variance to the city's ordinances, which she had done, and which Council had granted, this having been done in August of 1974; That for various reasons of the sign company to whom she had leased the property, they had not utilized the granted variance during its allotted time table, but were ready to start construction now; and, That to deny her request would create a hardship inasmuch as the taxes had increased five-fold on the property since it was annexed to the city, and the revenue derived from the signs was needed to care for the property in a proper manner. Council was sympathetic to the existing situation as expressed by Mrs. Thompson, but was in agreement that the many changes in the requirements which had been made since her initial request had been granted in 1974, had been in the best interest of the citizens of Clermont, and could not justify their violation. Thereupon, there was no action taken. PUBLIC HEARING: AULL VARIANCE REQUEST Mr. John Aull appeared before Council in support of his, request for a variance in the setback requirements of the zoning ordinance in order to construct a duplex on his property described as Lots 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 in Block 4 of Sunnyside Unit Subdivision. Mr. Aull advised that he was the developer/owner of a rental complex in this area, and that his own home was located there also; That because of the unique shape of the parcel on which he desired to construct another duplex, it had been necessary that he apply for a variance when the development was first started in 1973, which he had done, and which was granted by Council at that time; That he had been unaware at the time of a time limit in which to utilize the variance, and though he had constructed many other units in the area, he was only now ready . e e . MINUTES NQ1294 to utilize this particular parcel and had been advised that the variance had expired; That being the sole owner of the properties surrounding this parcel, with the exception of one lot on which he had constructed a single family residence and later sold, he desired a variance of approximately 18' to the rear yard setback requirement in order to construct a duplex which would meet his personal requirements and thereby protect his existing rental development investment. It was the consensus of Council that criteria for a definite hardship existed due to the terrain and elevation differential, and the existing retaining wall at the rear of the units facing on Sunnyside Drive, whereupon motion was made by Councilman Byrd, seconded by Councilman Schroedel and unanimously carried that the request be granted. CITYMANAGER'S REPORT City Manager Tiffany reported that plans for a summer swimming program were being finalized, and a tentative beginning date of July 7th had been set at which time the new swimming pier would have been completed and ready for use; and, that piles for the fishing pier were to be brought down on Wednesday and work begun on it concurrently. It was the suggestion of Mayor Smoak that City Manager Tiffany contact the proper governing bodies with regards permission to deepen the boat ramp at the discharge area in order to accommodate the launching of large boats, and which could be done during con- struction period of the fishing pier. Mr. Tiffany advised he would be happy to. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT City Attorney Baird reported the proper document of release to Michaels-Stiggins, Inc. had been prepared for the Mayor's execution, and a necessary RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING A SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS PROPOSAL FROM MICHAELS-STIGGINS, INC., ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTS: AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A GENERAL RELEASE, and recommended their authorization. Motion was made by Councilman Blackburn, seconded by Councilman Beals and unanimously carried that the recommendation of the City Attorney be accepted. The RESOLUTION was read in full by Mayor Smoak, and the Number 278 assigned to it. MAYOR SMOAK'S REPORT Mayor Smoak reported that plans were being finalized for an excellent bi-centennial celebration to be held in the downtown area on July 3rd, and urged all present to attend and encourage others to do so; and, That the variance granted the city on the sewage disposal system would expire this month, and he and City Manager Tiffany would be meeting with Pollution Control Authorities in Tavares next week regarding the matter. He further urged that other members of the Council attend this meeting also. REMARKS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS Councilman Beals advised there was a real estate listing on the . e . e MINUTES NQ1295 former Exchange Bank building, and he urged that Council pursue the feasibility of purchasing the building for a city hall if a sale of the existing city hall could be realized for a comparable amount; That his firm had a co-op listing on the property, but if it resulted in the city having an interest in the property, he would immediately remove himself from any monetary involvement. Council was in agreement with this suggesti on, and City Manager Ti ffany was requested to i nvesti gate the matter. Councilman Beals further reported that, along with Messrs. Creech and Davis of the Utilities Department, he had attended an East Central Florida Regional Planning Council "208" Committee Meeting on June 2nd in Altamonte Springs, at which time Mr. Aaron Dowling, Director of the "208" Water Management Study Committee, presented the current status of the "20811 Plan, and a briefing was held on the ground water sampling program. Mr. Beals advised he was not in agreement with the concept of regional government, and an observation he gained:;. at the meeting was how much the bureaucracy had expanded in just the two years time that he was not a member of the Committee. Councilman Schroedel inquired if the city could not tak~ prompt action to remove the burned out church building near the intersection of Highway #50 and 5th Street, and the pool .hall building at the intersection of Chestnut and 4th Street, both of which had been condemned by the city a long time ago. City Manager Tiffany was requested to investigate the status of condemned buildings in the city that have exceeded the condemnation time period, and report back to Council at the next meeting. Councilman Schroedel inquired if something couldn't be done to correct the existing "eye sore" condition of the city owned street right-o-way between DeSoto Street and the alley to the north on the west side of Hunt's Garden Center, and the privately owned street in the same area, except on the east side of the Garden Center, which has been washing out badly from recent heavy rains and dumping into Center Lake. These matters were referred to City Manager Tiffany for his investigation and report back to Council. Councilman Schroedel reported he had received numerous complaints regarding door-to-door solicitors in the city recently resulting in many cases of vandalism and thefts, and inquired if something could be done to prohibit this practice. City Attorney Baird was requested to prepare the necessary ordinance for protection of the city from solicitations, for consideration at tile next meeting~ . Councilman Schroedel reported he had received complaints, and had personally observed, the reckless actions of skateboarders in the Sunnyside Plaza Shopping Center area, and inquired if something could be done to prohibit it. City Attorney Baird advise the most effective deterrent would be for the property owners and/or business lessees to file complaints with the Police Department under the existing city nuisance ordinance, and have the matter resolved in municipal court. COMMUNI CATIONS . City Clerk Carroll read a communication from R. W. Waters, President-elect of the Lake County Shriners, requesting reserva- tion of the pavilion at Jaycee Beach for the Club's annual family . e e . MINUTES NQ1296 picnic to be held on Augst 13th. Motion was made by Councilman Byrd, seconded by Councilman Blackburn and carried that the request be granted provided normal maintenance and clean-up is observed. City Manager Tiffany was requested to formulate a policy in writing for the reservation and use of the pavilion, for Council's consideration. SOUTH LAKE PRESS SEWER City Manager Tiffany reported the city had received an offer from Mr. Jerry Lake, abutting property owner to the South Lake Press, of a 5' wide easement across his property at a cost of $500.00, in order that the Press building might be served with sanitary sewer, and recommended that the offer be accepted and the necessary sewer lateral be installed by city crews from DeSoto Street. Motion was made by Councilman Beals, seconded by Councilman Blackburn and unanimously carried that the recommen- dation be accepted. PAYMENT OF BILLS Motion was made by Councilman Blackburn, seconded by Councilman Beals and unanimously carried that the bills be paid. A copy is attached hereto. FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS A written policy for fire department response outside the city limits, formulated by City Manager Tiffany and Fire Chief Smythe, was submi tted for Counci 1 cons i derati on, as follows: liThe City of Clermont will respond to fire calls outside the Clermont city limits only when and where a dire emergency exist and loss of life or extensive damage to more than one building is eminent. In case of con- flicting calls, priority shall be given to fire calls within the City of Clermont. After any response to an out of town fire call, the Fire Chief shall estimate all cost to the city of responding and shall bill the appropriate party for the service. II Following consideration discussion of the proposed policy, it was reduced to "--------only when a dire emergency exists or possible loss of life------", whereupon motion was made by Counci lman Byrd and seconded by Mayor Smoak that the po.l i cy as amended be accepted. Upon voice vote, the motion failed to carry with Councilmen Beals, Blackburn, and Schroedel voting in the negative. Councilman Blackburn offered and moved the adoption of the policy if it be still further reduced to "-----only when life is in jeopardy and the location is within an effecti ve response area-nn". The motion was seconded by Councilman Beals and carried, with Councilman Schroedel voting in the negative. . e e e MINUTES NQ1297 FLAT BED DUMP TRUCK PURCHASE City Manager Tiffany recommended that a flat bed dump truck, as allocated in the '75'76 budget, but which had been held in obeyance due to unanticipated insurance costs, now be purchased inasmuch as the revenue/expenditure report at the end of eight months reflected there were funds available. Motion was made by CouncilmanSchroedel, seconded by Councilman Blackburn and unanimously carrled that the recomnendatlon be accepted. TRAILER STORAGE AT M-l AND M-2 USES According to existing ordinances, storage trailers for construc- tion materials and/or office use on construction sites during construction, or between jobs, in the industrial zones of M-l and M-2 are prohbited. It was the opinion of City Manager Tiffany that this appeared to be quite restrictive in that existing ordinances allow for the parking of recreational vehicles, which includes camp trailers, in residential zones. Mot i on was made by Council man Beals, seconded by Councilman Blackburn and carried that the City Attorney prepare the necessary amending or.dinance wherein construction shed/trailer storage would be allowed in M-l and M-2 zones. Councilman Blackburn voted, Naye on passage of the motion. , MINNEOLA / CITY OF CLERMONT AGREEMENT City Attorney Baird presented the document agreements to serve the Town of Minneola with police dispatching service and use of the jail facilities, and advised they had been executed by Minneola officials at the direction of Minneola's Town Council. Motion was made by Councilman Schroedel, seconded by Councilman Beals and unanimously carried that the agreements be accepted and executed by Mayor Smoak. During discussion of this motion, Councilman Beals advised he was in full"support of it, but inasmuch as the proposed submitted as to whetberor not the citizens of Minneola and Clermont desired to discuss a possible merger was so badly defeated, he queried if they would be in favor of a cooperative arrangement such as this, and therefore he would like to see this question placed on the General Election ballot. ABATEMENT OF NON-CONFORMING SIGNS City Manager Tiffany advised Council that according to Section 26-73 of the City Code (SIGNS), all non-conforming signs, except one by each busines, must be removed according to a time schedule, and upon a recent survey it was determined there were over 100 existing signs in violation. Motion was made by Council- man Byrd, seconded by Councilman Blackburn and unanimously carried that City Attorney Baird prepare the necessary amending ordinance to repeal that portion of Section 26-73 requiring that non-con- forming signs be removed according to a time schedule. P & Z RECOMMENDATION REGARDING FIRE PERSONNEL Following a recent residence fire in the city, the question of the response time by the fire department was discussed by the . e e e MINUTES NQ1298 P & Z Commission at their meeting held on June 1st, and a motion was passed (5 to 2) "That City Council employ at least one full- time person to be available 24 hours a day, on a rotating shift, to be responsible to get the fire truck to a fire". An investigation was made by City Manager Tiffany regarding fire response time schedules, and he submitted documented response times and the locations in chronological order from December of 1974 which reflected an average of 4.857 minutes, which he felt was an excellent rating and did not justify the cost for employing full time personnel in the Fire Department at this tjme. Council was in agreement and desired to express their commendation to the Volunteer Fire Department for such an excellent record, whereupon such a motion was offered by Councilman Byrd, seconded by Councilman Blackburn and unanimously carried. ORDINANCE NO. 147-C Councilman Blackburn introduced_an ORDINANCE UNDER THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA AMENDING SECTION 19-72 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING TREES AND SHRUBBERY: REPEALING ALL ORDIANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH: PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY: PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE: AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, and the Ordinance was read for a first reading by Mayor Smoak, by title only. ORDINANCE NO. 148-C Councilman Beals introduced AN ORDINANCE UNDER THE CODE OF ORDIN~ ANCES OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING ARTICLE Vl OF APPENDIX A OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES: PROVIDING FOR A CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT: REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CON- FLICT HEREWITH: PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE: AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, and the Ordinance was read for a first reading by City Clerk Carroll, by title only. ORDINANCE NO. 146-C Councilman Byrd offered and moved the adoption of AN ORDINANCE UNDER THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, PROHIBITING THE EXPOSURE OF CERTAIN MATERIALS TO MINORS: PROVIDING THAT CERTAIN MATERIALS FOR SALE BE KEPT FROM THE VIEW OF MINORS: REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH: PRO- VIDING FOR SEVERABILITY: PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE: AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, and the motion was read for a second and final reading by City Clerk Carroll, by title only, and upon roll call vote on passage of the motion, the result was: Ayes: Beals, Blackburn, Schroedel, Byrd, and Smoak. Total Ayes: Five. Nayes: None. So the Ordinance was adopted and the number 146-C assigned to it. RESOLUTION NO. 277 Councilman Beals offered and moved the adoption of A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURE OF FEDERAL REVENUE SHARING FUNDS, and the motion was seconded by Councilman Blackburn and unanimously carried. The Resolution was read in its entirety by Mayor Smoak and the Number 277 assigned to it. There being no further business to be broght before Council, Mayor Smoak adjourned the meeting at 10:00 P.M. ~b~ Do ores W. Carroll, City Clerk tJ/ 4--4~ Claude E. Smoak, Jr., Mayor