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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-2016 CRA Minutes w CouncilRegular City Council/CRA/BOA Meeting January 27, 2016 Page Three 16.015 E. Approve Purchase of Parts and Modification of Existing Robotics System for Council Chambers Cameras from Electronic Systems Intergration, Inc. in the Amount of $24,268 — Cameras to be Bid at a Later Date — FY 15/16 Budgeted Item (Transmittal, Quote) 16.016 F. Approve Lions Club of Sebastian 4" of July Joint Project Agreement (Transmittal, Joint Project Agreement, Participant Application) 16.017 G. Approve Alcoholic Beverage for Party at the Yacht Club on 2/6/16 from 1 to 4 PM — Applicant DOB Verified (Transmittal, Application, Receipts) 16.018 H. Approve Alcoholic Beverages for Thompson Party at Community Center on 3/26/16 from noon to 4 pm — DOB Verified (Transmittal, Application, Receipts) 16.019 I. Approve Pelican Island Wildlife Festival in Riverview Park on March 12, 2015 with Requested Street and Boat Ramp Closings (Transmittal, Email) MOTION by Ms. Coy and SECOND by Mr. McPartlan to approve the consent agenda. Roll Call: Ayes: Gillmor, Adams, Coy, Hill, McPartlan Nays: None Passed: 5-0 8. RECESS CITY COUNCIL MEETING/CONVENE AS COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY A. Mayor Gillmor recessed the City Council Meeting and called the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting to order at 6:13 p.m. Roll Call: Present: Mayor Richard Gillmor, Chairman Vice Mayor Jerome Adams Council Member Andrea Coy Council Member Jim Hill Council Member Bob McPartlan B. CRA Items i. Approval of 1/13/16 Minutes (Excerpt of 1/13/16 Council/CRA minutes) MOTION by Mr. McPartlan and SECOND by Ms. Coy to approve the 1/13/16 minutes passed on a voice vote of 5-0. Presentation by Rob Bolton — Step Program Power Point (no backup) Robert Bolton, Director of Water and Wastewater, City of Vero Beach, cited his reason to be here was his concern for the Indian River Lagoon and prodding by concerned groups which led him to this program, gave his background in municipal government for 25 years, and familiarity with septic tank systems from his family septic tank business since childhood. Regular City Council/CRA/BOA Meeting January 27, 2016 Page Four He exhibited a color coded map depicting Sebastian parcels that have septic tanks built both before and after 1983, noting there are roughly 800 septic tanks but the majority were built post 1983, comparing that to Vero Beach where over 1000 of 1500 septic tanks were installed pre 1983. He explained the difference in construction methods for connection of the step system to older and newer septic systems, and then presented a comprehensive Power Point on the Vero Beach step program, procedures, costs and funding (see PP attached). Mayor Gillmor asked if we were able to get the County Commission to sign on to this program in our CRA area, and we have a $5000 credit available to change from septic to sewer, what would it reduce the property owners cost to. Mr. Bolton said for residential the County impact fee is about $2500. Mayor Gillmor said it would reduce their cost to about $4K. Mr. Bolton said when you are talking commercial numbers go up quick, so he did not know how far that $5K would go. Mr. Bolton continued his Power Point presentation and showed the City of Vero Beach website for the step system including current mapping of the system, a great tool for real estate, and said they are working on an app. Mr. Hill said he understands the concept with the idea that there is no gravity system in place, but wondered from a cost effect standpoint, if a gravity sewer system is available, how is this more cost effective. Mr. Bolton said they are about the same, but there is no incentive for the gravity because you are not hooking up to the step system. Mr. Hill asked again if you already have a gravity system, what benefit would there be to go to the step, and Mr. Bolton said there would be none. Mr. Hill noted that if the County has a gravity system all along Indian River Drive then connecting to the gravity system is the way to go, because you are then completely eliminating the septic, rather than allowing that to potentially poison the river. Mr. Bolton said the cost for the step systems is based on water consumption. Mr. Hill said in the future when we are willing to spend the money to put the sewer in residential areas, he could see the potential for the step system there, but not in the CRA where there is a gravity system. Ms. Coy said if you ask professionals, gravity is superior to step, but because of oaks or sidewalks that you don't want to tear up, it is preferable in some cases to have step. She asked if step is recognized by the State of Florida and was it a pilot program. Mr. Bolton said it was proposed as legislation, died in committee and so they petitioned the Governor, who appointed someone to look at it, and they came back and the DEP had the right to permit as an alternative to gravity sewer systems, and once permitted the Department of Health is no longer involved, so Vero Beach has full permitting rights under the State and have permited over half the City. He said they are inspected by the State of Florida and City inspectors. He said there are currently 10 employees for 12,000 gravity system connections and now one or two for 1500 step connections. Mayor Gillmor noted we don't have a franchise, and Mr. Hill agreed and said the County is not doing step at all and Vero Beach has its own sewer department. Mayor Gillmor asked if the City has a gravity line or force main, and the City Manager said it was a force pay, and Mayor Gillmor said we have to pay for lift stations, citing the grant to the VFW and American Legion. The City Manager said we contributed $50K to them and Indian River County agreed to tie in their lift station to the force main on CR 512. Regular City Council/CRA/BOA Meeting January 27, 2016 Page Five 65-78 Mr. Hill said we need to get Indian River County here, and Mayor Gillmor thanked Mr. Bolton and said the next step is to talk to Indian River County. Mr. Bolton said the County is meeting with a manufacturer and he is meeting with County Utilities Director Vincent Burke on Friday. He wished the City luck. Ms. Coy said she is in wait and see mode for now and did not think we needed to get the County here yet until they know what they are going to do. The City Manager said he talked to Mr. Burke today and he volunteered to come up sometime to talk to Council. Ms. Coy said we should like to chew and grind this for a little bit. iii. Consider Construction of Mooring Field (Transmittal, Boat Mooring Field Assessment, City Engineer Power Point Presentation) The City Manager cited the 2013 Mooring Field Assessment (in agenda packet) prepared by City Engineer Frank Watanabe when he was with the City's consulting firm Neel -Schaffer. The City Engineer gave a brief Power Point presentation (see attached), citing the feasibility study, describing DEP, Army Corps and Fish and Wildlife coordination, surveying, permitting and possible lease requirements. He said DEP and Fish and Wildlife between 2010 and 2014 combined and started a pilot program with 14 to 17 locations up and down the Florida coast to support mooring fields, so now permitting was required by both agencies. In response to Mr. Hill, he said the subject area is already a recognized mooring field. Mr. Hill said if it is already there then what are we doing, and City Engineer explained the difference between mooring where you drop a concrete mooring and tie up to it and the anchoring location there where you drop anchor and there is nothing to tie up to. He said typically you have a harbor master, there is no dumping of waste into the waterway. Mr. Hill then asked what would be the City's process — anchors, buoys and chains and having more control over the site. Mayor Gillmor passed materials to Council and said Mr. Hill was correct that the area is recognized by the federal government as 110.73A Indian River Sebastian, Florida Special Anchorage area and anyone can anchor there right now. Mr. Hill asked if it is already there then are we talking about better regulation. The City Engineer said when a boat is locked into a mooring field it will hold up in a storm, however, even if it is put in, boats can moor and anchor around it and we cannot prevent it. Mayor Gillmor said he spoke with Vero Beach Marina operator Tim and they have a mooring field which is busy in the winter but not the summer, and said we would have to have a pumping boat, so he could see a lot of expenses. He said he sees this as 17 parking spots, boaters are cheap and they are going to use the free spots. He also said a mooring ball got loose in Titusville and are not 100%. Mr. Hill said he is not opposed to going forward with this, said some boaters are not cheap, and if someone wanted to secure their vessel what better location than this. He said if it is financially feasible we could look at potentially doing, said it's close to the Inlet, it has some potential, and it could be a public private partnership to manage or we have a Working Waterfront that we could look at for operation. 5 Regular City Council/CRA/BOA Meeting January 27, 2016 Page Six Mayor Gillmor said we should look at costs, staff time and who would manage it. He said with an active marina with workers it would then make sense, but questioned the location because it is in a special anchorage area and they can go there anyway, but may want to be on a mooring ball. He expressed concern for the Lagoon and potential for dumping waste in the water, citing live aboards in the Keys who do that all the time. Ms. Coy said she liked the attitude about a public/private, and the Working Waterfront is another option. She said it would be super to explore and she would much rather have it regulated for the health of the Lagoon. She recalled the hurricane damage caused by anchored boats. She noted Tom Collins was here and bet he wanted to jump in. She said she did not See the City being the sole proprietor, and thought we could come up with a solution beneficial to everyone. Tom Collins, Captain Hiram's, said the mooring field idea goes back many years, came to a head during the 2004 hurricanes when derelict boats broke loose and completely dessimated his docks; wondered whose responsibility it was, cited the City of Sebastian rights going out to the intracoastal waterway, an area the City is supposed to police. He said he did not go after the City but it cost him a lot of money, said there were two more incidents when his docks were damaged by derelict boats, had documentation and wrote to the City over a ten year period and said sooner or later someone is going to sue. He said he has a big boat and is on a mooring, said a mooring field eliminates long anchor lines and solves the problem of a boat breaking loose. He said his issue was more about control, was not opposed to anyone just anchoring a boat, but they discourage them bringing in a dinghy to use his facilities, and when anchored they just dump sewerage out and move on. He said he talked to the City Engineer, and because it is a designated anchorage takes you a long way toward permitting, said it is a good protected location from the winds. He said Vero Beach has 57 moorings, charge $15 per day, have dinghy dockage, restroom use, and pump out, that it is not a huge money maker but more about having control. He said they could work with the City by being the dock master and save the City money by administering it, noted mooring costs are about $2000 each and 17 would be a workable number. He said if the City has interest he would sit down with the City Manager because they have the facilities and don't need to hire a dock master. Mayor Gillmor asked if Hiram's want to pay for the mounts, and Mr. Collins he could assure him that it won't be a big moneymaker, noting there are two or three boats sunk there now. In response to Mayor Gillmor, Attorney Armitage said federal law supersedes State and City law, unless local law law is more restrictive and promotes federal policy. Mayor Gillmor said it is a federal anchorage and you can't make anyone move. Mr. Collins said he is opposed to boaters who anchor and then disappear, the boats start coming apart and stuff starts washing up from it and he has to clean it up. He said if we had a mooring field, we can get a City patrol guy like we had to be our enforcer, and said he would like to encourage the boaters to come and use his pump out facilities. Mayor Gillmor said Tim told him a DEP mooring field permit would require a pump out. Mr. Collins said they would not necessarily need a boat because Hiram's is right there with a facility, which Vero Beach does not have. Ben Hocker, Sebastian, said this is the third time this issue has come up and it is always turned down. He asked if he tied up to a mooring and it failed who would pay the cost if his on Regular City Council/CRA/BOA Meeting January 27, 2016 Page Seven boat took out someone's dock, cited permanent houseboats in the Keys, said you are in a federal mooring field and you can't throw me out, said mooring means parking cars where there is minimal parking, noted we are trying to salvage the lagoon and this is a shallow area with potential damage to the Lagoon, and they are considering a private company sponsored by the City but maybe the Working Waterfront is the place to do mooring. He said it is time to drop this again. In response to Mayor Gillmor, the City Manager said we pay for about $3,300 for the Submerged Land Lease. Ms. Coy said in the event of inclement weather, we tell people in mobile homes we have mandatory evacuation to avoid liability, and asked can they similarly tell boaters in a City mooring field to move their boat. The City Manager said he thought they could if owned by the City. Attorney Armitage said it depends on federal law and was not sure if they could be forced to leave, that they could be off the moorings but then could just anchor right next door. The City Manager said if it was owned by the City, the City could control it, but if there was state or federal law that would preclude that, it would have to be applied. Mr. Hill said he liked the idea of moving forward and getting answers. Mayor Gillmor said he would like to know the cost of the submerged lease which is approximately $3K per year, and cost of mooring ball installations, which he is hearing is approximately $2K each. Mr. Hill said he did think there is any thought of approving this now and agreed that we need to get the answers. Mayor Gillmor said he was all for that. Mr. Adams said he had not heard anyone from the general public asking for this facility, nor heard of any problems, it is an anchorage right now and did not see the need to incur additional expenses. He said he has no knowledge of mooring fields and was not sure what impact it would have on sea life, that if there are derelict boats we should use enforcement methods, and if we are going to use CRA money let it go to other things like parking or landscaping. Tina Cafro, Sebastian, said she is a boat owner and not cheap, and suggested putting the money toward a seawall at the Yacht Club rather than this and rehash this down the road. The City Manager said he would like direction or consensus. Mr. McPartlan said he does not want the City to get into managing a mooring business, but if there is a public/private partnership that wants to come forward with a proposal that should be it, not give direction to the City Manager to go running around to do this, but if someone wants to do public/private, we are open for proprosals. Ms. Coy agreed but said we need to do the research for permitting, land lease, each mooring cost, then other people come into play, do a RFP to see if anyone is interested, and if not it is a dead issue. Mr. McPartlan said then the City Manager will just be looking at the costs. 7 Regular City Council/CRA/BOA Meeting January 27, 2016 Page Seven MOTION by Ms. Coy and SECOND by Mr. Hill to authorize the City Manager to flush out the costs, incurring no expense, and bring back for further discussion from CRA with possible RFP. Roll Call: Ayes: Coy, Hill, McPartlan Nays: Gillmor, Adams Passed: 3-2 C. Mayor Gillmor adjourned the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting at 7:35 p.m. CRA Minutes approved at 2/24/16 9. CONVENE AS BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Council Meeting . A. Mayor Gillmor called the Board of Adjustment Meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Roll Call: /:(/; � � ;' Present: Bob McPartlan , Mayor Mayor Richard Gillmor, Chairman At Vice Mayor Jerome Adams Si / \� �— Council Member Andrea Coy 1y Maio , City Clerk Council Member Jim Hill Council Member Bob McPartlan 79-81 B. Approval of Minutes - Excerpt of 11/18/15 (Excerpt of Council/BOA minutes) MOTION by Vice Mayor Adams and SECOND by Mr. McPartlan to approve the 1/13/16 minutes passed on a voice vote of 5-0. 82-104 C. Quasi-Judicial Hearing on Request from Brian Frazier, 851 Williamson Avenue "Variance Requested from Section 54-2-7.13(b)(4) of the Sebastian Land Development Code to allow a boat to be parked in the driveway in front of the house, whereas the Code requires the boat to be located behind the front building line, and in no event less than 25 feet from the front house line, or be located wholly within a carport or garage." Mayor Gillmor opened the quasi-judicial hearing at 7:36 pm Attorney Armitage read the title. No member of City Council disclosed any ex-parte communication. The City Clerk swore in all who intended to provide testimony, including the applicant and City Senior Planner. Applicant Brian Frazier gave a presentation on the variance request to allow his boat to be parked in the driveway in front of his house, citing the three foot height of the house for septic system which does not provide room on the side, and unsuccessful efforts by contractors to provide a pad on the side of his house over a portion of the easement. He said as he drove around Sebastian he saw other boats visible from the road, but later found out that was based on the configuration of the house and where the front line of the house is determined to be. He said he did not understand how the Code affected him and not other properties where the boat is visible and apparently in the front on corner lots. He said he submitted photos of these situations. 8