11-09-1976 Regular Meeting
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MINUTES
NQ1346
REGULAR MEETING
A Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held in the
Council Chambers on Tuesday, November 9, 1976. The meeting was called to order
at 7:30 P. M. by Mayor Claude E. Smoak, Jr., with the following members present:
Councilmen Byrd, Beals, Schroedel, and Blackburn. Other officials present were:
City Manager Tiffany, City Attorney Baird, City Clerk Carroll, Finance Director
Sanchez, and Director of Community Services Smythe. Other present were: The
Messrs. Czech, Sargent, Searles, Kelley, and Ogden.
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 October 26, 1976 were approved as written.
ANNUAL YEAR END REPORT
City Manager Tiffany submitted an in-depth 1975-76 fiscal
year end administrative and financial report as prepared by
he and Finance Director Sanchez, and advised he was pleased to
report that the year end cash balances were considerably more
than had been estimated. A copy of the report is attached
hereto.
COOPER MEMBORIAL LIBRARY
Councilman'Schroedel, liaison representative to the Library Board,
report~d briefly on his attendance at their meeting held on Monday.
He advlsed that, though the Board was conservative with their
funds, they had -:accompl ished an extensive and much needed re-
modeling and expansion program.
CONDEMNED BUILDING STATUS
Councilman Beals inquired of City Attorney Baird as to the status
of the condemnation suits as filed by the city, and he was advised
the time period for def{ult had not yet lapsed and therefore
no further action by the city is necessary at this time. Upon
inquiry of a possible date for actual removal of the buildings,
he anticipated by the beginning of 1977 at least.
GENERAL ELECTION
Mayor Smoak reminded all present of the General Election to
fill three seats on the City Council which will be held on
De.cember:lth. anti he expressed hope for competition in all::three
positions.
PAYMENT OF BILLS
Motion was made by Councilman Blackburn, seconded by Councilman
Beals and carried that the bills be paid. A copy is attached
hereto.
It was the suggestion of Mayor Smoak that City Manager Tiffany
and Director of Community Services Smythe review the annual air
conditioning/heating maintenance contract now held by Wood Heating
& Cooling in terms of the cost efficiency of the contract.
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MINUTES
NQ1347
SYSTEMATIC CODE REVIEW
With regards a comprehensive review of existing city ordinances
in order to update the City's Code, City Manager Tiffany sub-
mitted his recommendations of a systematic procedure and suggested
priority list. Motion was made by Councilman Blackburn, seconded
by Councilman Beals and carried that the recommendations be
accepted for start of the review.
CITY LOGO CONTEST
City Manager Tiffany submitted a proposal of a city sponsored
contest for a design of a logo, representative of the city, to
be offered to the students of Clermont High School and students
of private high schools who reside within the city, and inquired
of Council's concurrence. Council was in unanimous agreement
with the proposal.
DEflNITION'JOF'IHARDSHIP" FOR VARIANCE
Inasmuch as existing applications for variance do not define
the criteria necessary for granting of variances by Council,
it was the suggestion of City Manager Tiffany that City Attorney
Baird develop a definition of "hardship" for the purposes
of variance requests to be included on the application forms;
That the City Attorney had submitted the following language,
and he would recommend its approval
"I submit that I qualify for this variance because
I have an exceptional and unique hardship on my
particular parcel of land that is not shared by
property owners in my area. A strict application
of the zoning ordinance deprives me of the reasonable
use of my land and the granting of this variance
will not alter the essential character of the area"
Motion was made by Councilman Beals, seconded by Councilman Byrd
and unanimously carried that the City Manger's recommendation
be accepted.
STREET LIGHTING
ei~Manager Tiffany reported on a recommendation of the
Planning & Zoning Commission, with which he concurred, for the
installation of three street lights along Grand Highway from
East Avenue to the Orange Hill Subdivision, and, recommended
authorization for removal of approximately thirty light fixtures
in the downtown area which recent Florida Power Corporation
engineering plans had shown could be removed without significantly
reducing the noticeable lighting. Council was in unanimous
agreement with the recommendations.
CITY OWNED PROPERTY IN BLOCK 94
City Manager Tiffany reported on communication received advising
that the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company had petitioned
for permission to close their local depot, substituting with a
mobile freight service, and the possibility the building could
be made available for the city's use if it is permanently closed.
In view of this, it was the recommendation of Mr. Tiffany that the
proposed sale of the city's property in Block 94 be deferred
inasmuch as it is located adjacent to the depot and could possibly
be an utilization to the city. Motion was made by Councilman
Schroedel, seconded by Councilman Byrd and unanimously carried
that the recommendation be accepted.
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NQ1348
PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 89-M
Councilman Beals introduced AN ORDINANCE UNDER THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA,
CLOSING AND PERMANENTLY ABANDONING A PORTION OF WEST AVENUE
DESCRIBED HEREIN, ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL MAP OF THE CITY
OF CLERMONT, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 8, PAGES 17 TO 23, INCLUSIVE,
PUBLIC RECORDS OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA: PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE: and PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, and the Ordinance was
read for a first reading by City Clerk Carroll by title
only.
RESIGNATION FROM COUNCIL: CHARLES B. BEALS
Councilman Beals, recently elected to membership on the Lake
County School Board, and who had previously submitted his
resignation from Council effective November 16th, advised
this would be his last regular meeting as councilman in order
to prevent any possible conflict of interest inasmuch as
he would be assuming his new poisition on the same date as
the next regular meeting and at an earlier time. Mr. Beals
expressed appreciation to Council and members of the city
administration for the excellent cooperation extended during
his term in office, and reiterated his pleasure in the choice
of Gordon D. Tiffany as City Manager.
There being no furt~er business to be brought before the Council at this time,
the meeting was adjourned by Mayor Smoak at 8:15 P. M.
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Mayor
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Does W. Carroll, City C erk