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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-08-2022 CC Minutesan.v S HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING & BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 1. Mayor Hill called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. A moment of silence was held. 3. Council Member Nunn led the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. ROLL CALL Mayor Jim Hill Vice Mayor Fred Jones Council Member Ed Dodd Council Member Bob McPartlan Council Member Chris Nunn Staff Present: City Manager Paul Carlisle City Attorney Manny Anon, Jr. City Clerk Jeanette Williams Administrative Services/CFO Ken Killgore Asst. Administrative Services Director Cindy Watson City Engineer/Public Works Director Karen Miller Community Development Manager Dom Bosworth Police Chief Dan Acosta Police Lt. Rob Vafiades 5. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS - None 6. PROCLAMATIONS. AWARDS. BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS A. Proclamation - Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week - June 6-10, 2022 Mayor Hill read and presented the proclamation to Code Enforcement Officer Rich lachini. B. Proclamation - Dump the Pumo Dav — June 16. 2022 Mayor Hill read and presented the proclamation to Karen Diegl, President of the Senior Resource Association and GoLine IRT. Regular City Council & Board of Adjustment Meeting Jane 8, 2022 Page 2 Council Member McPanlan noted the GoLine is on pace to provide I AM rides and they might hit 2M for this year. Council Member Dodd said the GoLine bus system is the most efficient rider system in the state of Florida. 7. PUBLIC INPUT - None 8. Mayor Hill recessed the City Council meeting at 6:11 p.m. and convened the Board of Adjustment meeting. A. A motion was made by Mr. Nunn and seconded by Mr. McPartlan to approve the February 23, 2022 BOA minutes. B. OUASI-JUDICIAL PUBLIC HEARING i. K&A FOREIGN CAR SERVICE, INC. HAS APPEALED AN ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION THAT THE NON -COMPLYING VEHICULAR SERVICES AND MAINTENANCE USE FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 800 LOUISIANA AVENUE, FKA FIREHOUSE GARAGE, HAS BEEN ABANDONED BASED ON LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE SECTION 54-2-8.8 AND CESSATION OF BUSINESS ACTIVITIES FOR MORE THAN ONE (1) YEAR. THE APPELLANT WISHES TO PRESENT EVIDENCE THAT THE USE HAS NOT BEEN ABANDONED AND IS STILL ALLOWABLE. The City Attorney read the title of the appeal from K & A Foreign Car Service. There was no ex parte communication to disclose by the board members. The City Clerk swore in those who would be providing testimony. Arkadiusz Nowak, owner of K & A Foreign Car Service. She said they purchased building in January 2021 with the intent to fix up the shop and open a repair business however since the site has not been used in over a year, the repair shop cannot proceed. She asked the board to reconsider stairs determination that the repair shop has been abandoned. She said she has a mechanic ready to start; she also owns the lot next to the garage and when the capital comes in they plan to develop something next to it. The City Manager explained that in September 2020, the original proprietor filed for bankruptcy which started the one you time frame to re-establish use of the site. Since it was not re-established by September 2021, he sent the letter advising Ms. Nowak the vehicular services and maintenance use would no longer be allowed which brings them to the board tonight to see if they want to reverse his determination. Regular City Council & Board of Adjustment Meeting June 8, 2022 Page 3 The Community Development Manager said the original garage was built in 2004 and shortly after that Council determined those types of uses should not be located in the gateway so a triangle overlay district was created which didn't change the zoning but changed some of the uses. Since that time, the vehicular services and maintenance use has been non -conforming. The current owners bought the property in 2021 but the City didn't hear from them until they came in for their business tax receipt which is when the non -conforming abandonment of use came to light to Community Development. The Community Development Manager advised that for the appeal process, the code required staff to present the record for which they based their decision on; noting they did not receive some of the exhibits included in the backup because they were not provided by the property owner until they made their appeal. She briefly went over why staff felt the business was abandoned with regard to their business tax license. There was no one to speak for or against the appeal. The City Manager advised that a business tax license was one of the ways to determine if the business was abandoned but it was not proof that the garage was operating. He said it was now up to the board to determine if the garage was operating. Chairman Hill said they were trying to hire staff and had documents proving they were preparing the business. He said he felt they were operational. Mr. Nunn noted the building was designed to be an auto shop and the property owner was working hard to open. He was in favor of approving the appeal. Mr. Dodd said he hated the fact that there is a garage at that location because of the way the last owner ran his garage. Since it was an approved use, he couldn't see telling them no but he would love to see it turned into a restaurant. Chairman Hill said he wanted to make sure this wasn't going to be a perpetual approval but he could see the property owner has been trying to get the business going. Mr. Jones said he too, wouldn't like to see a garage as well but the property owners have been working hard. He said they have presented enough to him. MOTION by Mr. McPartlan and SECOND by Mr. Nunn to approve the appeal. Mr. Norm said people ask him why he didn't know about businesses coming in and he noted that it is when exceptions are requested that Council hears about things. Staff followed all the rules and procedures but an exception was being requested. 6:45 pm Mr. Jones asked if a sunset clause could be included in the motion. The City Attorney advised they were to vote for or against the appeal. Regular City Council & Board of Adjustment Meeting June 8, 2022 Page 4 Chairman Hill asked if there could be a condition that it be operational within 90 days. The City Attorney said that wouldn't be enforceable; testimony was provided that the garage is ready to go. Chairman Hill asked if a new time frame started today, at what point does it become non- conforming if they are unable to get up and running and then an auto body shop would no longer be allowed. The City Attorney said that year has already expired. Chairman Hill said he found it hard to believe that based on board approval, it would allow this to always be an auto body shop even if the property owner doesn't do anything for five years. The City Attomey responded if they allow the property to be abandoned, at that time the use would have to be evaluated. The Community Development Manager said tonight the board was just appealing staffs decision if the garage has been abandoned; they weren't changing it from non- conforming to conforming; it will still be non -conforming and the same code sections will apply to them. If the new property owners didn't make a go of it and abandoned the business, the 180 days would start again. She said she thought Mr. Jones was asking if there could be a condition that it could only be a garage for five years. Roll call: Vice Chairman Jones - aye Mr. Dodd - aye Mr. McPartlan - aye Mr. Nunn - aye Chairman Hill - aye Motion carried. 5-0 Mr. Nunn wished the applicant luck and encouraged them to run a beautiful clean business. 9. Chairman Hill adjourned the Board of Adjustment hearing at 6:45 p.m. and reconvened the City Council meeting. 10. CONSENTAGENDA A. Approval of Minutes — May 25, 2022 Regular City Council Meeting B. Approve the Piggyback Purchase of Five (5) Ford Explorer SUV Vehicles from Bartow Ford Using Charlotte County Contract #2021000541 for the Police Department in the Amount of $277,506.35 (Transmittal, Letter, Acceptance, Quote, Bid Tab, Bid Doc, Source of Supply) C. Approve the Purchase of One (1) Defender Pro XT HD 10 Utility Vehicle from Central Florida PowerSports for the Police Department in the Amount of $24,540.00 (Transmittal, Quotation Process Form, Vendor Quote) Regular City Council & Board of Adjustment Meeting June 8, 2022 Page 5 MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member McPartlan to approve consent agenda items A-C. Roll call: Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member McPartlan - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor Hill - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 5-0 11. COMMITTEE REPORTS & APPOINTMENTS A. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee i. Interview, Unless Waived, Submit Nominations for One Expired Regular Member Position — New Term to Expire May 31, 2025 Council Member Nunn and Council Member McPartlan nominated incumbent Dante Renzi to serve another term on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. MPO Meetine Council Member McPartlan said he has been on the MPO for ten years and it was great to see things that were an idea come to fruition for example the Oslo Road Interchange and the Trans -Florida Central Railroad Trail overpass. He noted the trail will eventually go from the Indian River Lagoon out to Fellsmere. He said he wished more people would get involved in the meetings. 12. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None 13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None A. AUDmval to Eneaee the Auditine Finn of Rebmann Robson to Perform the Auditine Services for the Citv for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30. 2022 and Authorize the Citv Manaeer to Sign the Eneaeement Letters (Transmittal, FS218.391. Emmeement Letters) The City Manager said staff sent out an RFP for auditing services but did not receive any responses. He asked Council to engage Rebmann Robson for another year to resume continuity. MOTION by Mayor Hill and SECOND by Council Member Dodd to approve the engagement of Rebmann Robson to perform the auditing service for the City for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022 and authorize the City Manager to sign the engagement letters. Regular City Council & Board of Adjustment Meeting June 8, 2022 Page 6 Roll call: Council Member McPartlan - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor Hill - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Motion carried. 5-0 15. CITY ATTORNEY MATTERS - None 16. CITY MANAGER MATTERS 1528 Indian River Drive The City Manager reported that he looked into the purchase of the Sembler Property which is listed at $2.9M. He said an appraisal would not be done for four weeks. He asked Council if they would like to make an offer and get the property under contract, determine an asking price, and decide how they would pay for it. Council Member Dodd said he would be interested in coming up with some options The City Manager said they could make an offer contingent on the approval of financing and the appraised value. Council Member Nunn said he would not want to deplete the reserves and DST monies to purchase the property. He said they could look at it and let the people speak. Council Member McPartlan said it's a beautiful piece of property but they have a lot of unknowns coming in; it isn't fiscally responsible. Vice Mayor Jones said he agreed someone is going to buy and take it away from the riverfrom but they can't purchase the property right now. Mayor Hill said he was tom on this; they thought they could buy the property on the Main Street and sell the western portion but that hasn't worked out yet. He suggested they wait for the appraisal to come in and if the number is lower than they can decide if they want it. Council Member Dodd said he would hate'to see a large single family home right next to the Working Waterfront. He said he agreed with Council Member McPartlan. The City Manager said they could wait until the appraisal comes in to see if they would like to pursue the purchase. The City Manager announced the annexation workshops for next week, June 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and a second one June 30 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. and invited the public to come out. Regular City Council & Board of Adjustment Meeting June 8, 2022 Page 7 17. CITY CLERK MATTERS - None 18. CITY COUNCIL MATTERS A. Council Member Dodd - None B. Mayor Hill thanked staff for the hard work they do every day for the City C. Vice Mayor Jones - None D. Council Member McPartlan said he liked the idea of inviting people to the annexation workshops to give input on what they would like to see. He asked if the City has contacted the County, Sebastian River Improvement District or the Dept. of Transportation regarding the annexation. Mayor Hill said the groups were contacted during the last annexation and the communication broke down. He said this discussion was to see if the property should be annexed into the City so the citizens can control the future of the City. Council Member McPartlan said he wanted to tread lightly because once the property changes from agriculture to mixed use, the value will soar astronomically and then out of town investors will control the property. Mayor Hill said the workshops will show the residents what can go on the property which is protected by the City's Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Codes. At this point the annexation is a simple application to see if Council wants to annex the property. Council Member Dodd said this was not a City / County issue: it's an individual's choice to come to the City to see if we want to annex the property so they can develop it. He said they won't be able to make everybody happy but the property owner has the right to do this. He said the whole idea behind the workshops is to stop misinformation. He suggested that they try to understand how the property can be a positive impact on Sebastian through the workshops and try to move forward in the process. E. Council Member Nunn asked the public to come to the workshops. He said we want the property to come into the City so we can have discussions on what goes on the property. He said there will be plenty of time for the planning. He invited the public to the workshops to he heard. 19. Being no further business, Mayor Hill adjourned the regular City Council meeting at 7:21 p.m. Approved at the June 12, 2022 Regular City Council meeting & e8utar pity p gnardof °until Tune 8 Adlust Nge 8.1022 n�nt,yeelinR 1aYor � yCei1'Fre� �-� .AZTEShones T,� -.. Nell, �lliq,.ns, City Clem