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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06112014 MinutesCRY OF HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014 - 6:30 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 1. Mayor McPartlan called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Invocation was given by Council Member Adams. 3. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor McPartlan. 4. ROLL CALL City Council Present: Mayor Bob McPartlan Vice Mayor Jim Hill Council Member Jerome Adams Council Member Andrea Coy Council Member Richard Gillmor City Staff Present: City Manager, Joe Griffin City Attorney, Robert Ginsburg City Clerk, Sally Maio Community Development Director /Engineer, Frank Watanabe Environmental Specialist, Cynthia Watson Fleet Supervisor, Greg Schmidt Police Chief, Michelle Morris E- Records & Information Manager, Barbara Brooke -Reese 5. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS Modifications and additions require unanimous vote of City Council members None. 6. PROCLAMATIONS, AWARDS, BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS Presentations of proclamations, certificates and awards, and brief timely announcements by Council and Staff. No public input or action under this heading. 14.107 A. Proclamation — Dump the Pump — Accepted by Senior Resource Association Mayor McPartlan read and presented the proclamation to Chris Stephenson, Senior Resource Association Project Coordinator. Mr. Stephenson discussed the benefit of the countywide Go -Line system, noting there were 1.1 M riders last year, and announced the Dump the Pump event on June 19`h at the Richardson Center to get the word out about public transportation. Ms. Coy said she is going to "Dump the Pump" by riding Go Line on June 18 with the press and will report back at the next meeting about her experience. B. Brief Announcements i. June 13 — Chamber Concert in Riverview Park — Mojo Sandwich — 5:30 pm to 8 pm Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Two 7. CONSENT AGENDA All items on the consent agenda are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of consent agenda items unless a member City Council so requests; in which event, the item will be removed and acted upon separately. If a member of the public wishes to provide input on a consent agenda item, he /she should request a Council Member to remove the item for discussion prior to start of the meeting or by raising his/her hand to be recognized. A. Approval of Minutes — May 28, 2014 Regular Meeting 14.108 B. Approve Annual Fuel Contract with Glover Oil Company Based on Piggyback Pricing from City of Port St. Lucie from 7/1/14 through 6/30/2015 (Transmittal, E- mail Agreement, Excerpts of Port St. Lucie Contract, Code) MOTION by Ms. Coy and SECOND by Mr. Adams to approve. Roll Call: Ayes: Hill, Adams, Coy, Gillmor, McPartlan Nays: None Passed: 5 -0 8. COMMITTEE REPORTS & APPOINTMENTS City committee reports and Council Member regional committee reports. No public input or action except for City committee member nominations and appointments under this heading. 14.109 A. Appoint Bruce Hoffman to Metropolitan Planning Organization Citizen Advisory Committee (City Clerk Transmittal, Hoffman Application, Press Release) The City Clerk said another application was received from Frank Delassandro after the packet went out, that the press release did not indicate a deadline but stated "until filled ", and a local weekly newspaper ran a release after the packet went out. She said she had emailed the new application to the Council for them to decide whether to consider it tonight. She also noted that MPO staff had advised her that MPOCAC currently has only one alternate and Council could appoint another alternate. MOTION by Mr. Hill and SECOND by Mr. Gillmor to appoint Bruce Hoffman as the regular member and Frank Delassandro to the alternate position. No vote was taken since no other nominations were made. Ms. Coy said the other alternate, Judy Bewersdorf cannot get to the meetings using Go Line, so if either of the new members could offer her a ride, they can call Ms. Coy and she would put them in touch with her. Other Reports Mr. Adams reported on the Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments meeting, in regard to information on the replacement exam for the FCAT next year, encouraging people to stress more academics for children during summer months, a Career Source report that shows unemployment in Indian River County has dropped to 6.9 %, in the State to 5.7% and in the US to 5.9 %, and their discussions on All Aboard Florida and IRC Chairman O'Bryan's inquiry as to what is the majority of folks' take on All Aboard Florida, which he said he would bring up later in the meeting. Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Three Mayor McPartlan reported on today's Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting he attended along with Council Member Coy, regarding an FDOT meeting scheduled for June 18 at Vero Beach City Hall from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on the lateral ditch restoration and funding available to assist with ditches and baffle boxes, and the importance for Sebastian to be represented. Ms. Coy added that Commissioner Solari has asked that all agencies send their agency correspondence mailed to FRA in regard to All Aboard Florida, to his office so it can be compiled and documented. She asked the City Manager to get those to Commissioner Solari, citing another letter from Governor Scott. She noted the EIS has been pushed back again and it is anybody's guess when we will get it. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None 10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 14.018 A. Presentation on Railroad Quiet Zones (Transmittal, PowerPoint Presentation) The City Manager said he had endeavored to keep the All Aboard Florida issue in front of Council. The Community Development Director /City Engineer gave a Power Point presentation (see attached) on Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines for establishing quiet zones and filing a notice of intent by the local agency. He said the process takes a long time and suggested we start the process. He said Sebastian maintains three crossings, Main Street, Barber Street and Schumann Drive, noting CR512 is maintained by Indian River County, discussed supplemental safety measures, gave an example for a four quad gate system, said eleven cities have quiet zones where the Tri -Rail system is in place, and again recommended filing the notice of intent to FRA. Mr. Hill asked, if the City files the notice of intent would that preclude us from asking FRA to pay for the quiet zones; or if they are not required to do so, would that preclude us from obtaining State funding. Mr. Watanabe said filing the intent only states that we are interested in going forward and not whether or not we will have the funds to do so. He discussed city liability issues in the event of accidents. Mr. Gillmor asked if there are wayside horns, would that preclude there being a quiet zone, and Mr. Watanabe said as more and more quiet zones are established, the less the horns are blown, but it is up to the operator to decide even if the zones exist. Mr. Gillmor asked, if CR512 is the County's responsibility, and if we establish quiet zones on both sides for crossings we maintain and County does not, will they sound the horns. Mr. Watanabe said they have to be in a whole corridor because an operator doesn't know what city he's in and CR512 would need to be part of the zone. Ms. Coy noted Old Dixie has a crossing as well. Mr. Watanabe said it does not hurt to take the first step in submitting a notice of intent, and described the process of field diagnostics review by walking the corridor to see what is there. Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Four Ms. Coy read a paragraph from a letter dated June 9th to AAF from Governor Scott, which she said she would provide to the City Manager, which in part read "funding in the budget for quiet zones was added at the request of local governments, planning councils, and legislators along the Treasure Coast. This grant funding is for local governments and not committed for All Aboard Florida. If local communities now oppose these dollars they can notify FDOT and those dollars will be redirected for other transportation priorities. Additionally these communities committed to a one to one match so that local dollars must be matched '; and she expressed concern about his statement. Mr. Hill said that is precisely what the municipalities were asking for, that AAF not receive funding and that it be required to pay for the improvements, but if AAF is not required to make the improvements, there will be funding available to the municipalities. Ms. Coy said there have been many statements made out there that there be no tax dollars used and we need to be very careful that it is not misconstrued. The City Manager, in response to Mayor McPartlan, said Mr. Watanabe thinks it would be prudent to file a notice of intent to establish quiet zones, and try to be at the top of the queue, and was seeking a consensus. MOTION by Mr. Gillmor and SECOND by Ms. Coy "so moved" Mayor McPartlan called for public input. Tom Cilbrith said Council is speaking like this is a done deal and asked each one of them if they are for or against it. Mayor McPartlan told him by the rules he needed to address the chair and not poll Council at this time. He asked the Mayor if he was for or against AAF and Mayor McPartlan said he is all about getting all the information he can, and this is what Council and MPO have done. Mr. Cilbrith said they are going around in circles and this is a no deal, AAF wants $1.513 from the federal government and Governor Scott wants to add $2M, said this is Fortress out of New York, and they are digging out Port Everglades Harbor in Miami to get bigger boats in to import more Chinese goods, noting our gross national product is based on what goes out and not what comes in and we are paying for our own demise. Steve Wheeler, Sebastian said he did not think we had a choice since they own the tracks, but was concerned that if we pay for quiet zones then we are responsible for accidents, and asked, if they don't get the money from the State are they responsible for anything that happens at the crossings. He also asked if we file an intent, does that mean we are going to pay for the quiet zones. Mayor McPartlan said no, that is a way to explore and stating we are interested. Mr. Wheeler said if the County is responsible for 512 and Old Dixie, it would make no sense if we have quiet zones and IRC doesn't, so we should demand they submit their intent. He said the horns that are the big issue, and that he is against the AAF. Ms. Coy thanked him for his insight as to our dilemma, and said he is reading properly and that people need to understand that Council Members are working diligently on this and demanding responses. M Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Five Mr. Wheeler asked, if we file intent and decide we want quiet zones, what is the time frame. Mr. Watanabe said this project is so large it will require cooperation with other agencies, noting AAF is moving fast, and it may expedite our process once we file notice of intent. He cautioned just because you submit intent doesn't mean you get it. Ms. Coy asked him when the intent is submitted, it be sent to Mr. Solari. In response to Mr. Adams, Mr. Watanabe said data collection has to be done first, and he hoped he could get most of the information from the EIS, and that it is easy to do quick counts, but the main thing to do is to submit. In response to Ms. Coy, he said according to MPO the EIS was to be released July 9, 10, 11, 15 and 16, and now Bridget from FDOT says they have not released the dates. Mr. Adams said Commissioner O'Bryan is trying to figure out people's stance with regard to AAF, that IRC has hired legal counsel, and the question is are they trying to stop AAF or are they willing to make compromises. He noted at their meeting the majority of people from Martin and St. Lucie are trying to stop it completely and Vero Beach and we are saying no tax dollars. Ms. Coy said it is unrealistic at this point to think that we have the ability to stop a private enterprise, and you have to understand it is a business, they own property and they have rights, and but for the federal loan they could have just done this and not have to do the EIS and go public. Mr. Adams said Mr. O'Bryan noted in other communities there have been successful instances in stopping this type of thing but it is very costly. Mr. Hill said it is correct that it is their business, but they will have to mitigate adverse impacts, and that is where we can be most effective. He said the discussion on quiet zones is part of it, agrees with Ms. Coy on private enterprise, but has strong opposition for public funding. Ms. Coy said the good news is that we are all getting on the same page, and introduced Louise Crouse, Barefoot Bay Board of Trustees. Roll Call: Ayes: Adams, Coy, Gillmor, McPartlan, Hill Nays: None Passed: 5 -0 14.023 B. Report on Water Quality Testing and "Oyster Mats" (Transmittal) The Environmental Specialist gave a brief update on the riverfront in regard to water testing, noting that with ongoing Indian River Drive construction and drainage improvements, since we have a project grant, we are required to test the waters. She reported staff is in the process of purchasing a hand held water testing device which will be used at the nine outfalls on IR Drive to get a base line so that when the baffle boxes are installed, we can start to see what the improvement is. She said we also want to test other areas throughout Sebastian such as water parks. She said she and the Natural Resources Board have been tasked with installation of oyster mats, and cited some on -going projects in Vero Beach. She introduced Toby Jarman, Vero Beach Power Squadron and Chairman of Squadron's Save the Lagoon Committee, and Paul Dritenbas, Past President and Current Project Manager of the Oyster Restoration Project, Vero Beach Sunrise Rotary Club. Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Six Mr. Jarman gave a presentation on the issues of the Indian River Lagoon, which runs 156 miles from New Smyrna to Jupiter Inlet, and the dramatic loss of wildlife, which most scientists believe was caused by an algae bloom in the northern section of the lagoon which killed off seagrass by cutting off oxygen. He explained the importance of the seagrass to the ecosystem and proliferation of sea life and wildlife which depends on it. Mr. Jarman reported on the benefits of oysters to any body of water, noting one single oyster will filter and clean 50 gallons of water every day, and is considered a keystone species, where when introduced, can support up to 300 species on top of an oyster bed. He said oysters clarify the water and allow sun to get to the bottom. He said they are partnering with the Vero Beach Sunrise Rotary in building oyster mats, exhibited an example, and explained how they are built and tied together and placed in specific locations next to thriving oyster beds and weighted down with simple sprinkler head donuts in the spring to be in place during the reproductive cycle of the oysters. He said they have constructed 760 mats with 36 shells each for a total of 27,000 shells that each filter 50 gallons of water per day which is 500M gallons per year. He said if the City decides to do this, they pledge to work with the City to get it started. He suggested the City could get its residents involved at various events; get school children involved which encourages them to be better stewards of the environment. Paul Dritenmas talked about the beginnings of the program, how important the oyster mat program is, the specifics of mat placement and the added benefit of stabilizing the shoreline, and reviewed the permitting process with FDEP and Army Corp. He said the DEP permit takes 60 days and Army Corp permit 90 days to 120 days. He said it is important that they do not create turbidity or obstruct the bottom, each mat costs $7.50 and the permit for each location is $100. He said the mats have to be placed in an intertidal zone, where half the time it is under water and the other half out of water. Mr. Dritenmas noted assistance received by Dr. Vincent ?? and Dr. John Scarpa at Harbor Branch, who is leaving for Texas shortly. He said it would be great if Sebastian could do something like this, and eventually get it happening all over the lagoon. He said the oysters like the lower salinity, need to be kept away from wave action and placed in areas away from boat activity, and thrive near fresh water tributaries. He said it is a huge undertaking to try to find the right spot and test in the spring, a critical time when the spat is at maximum concentration. Mr. Hill asked if we could get a blanket permit for Sebastian or the organization and questioned how we come up with locations, since our city boundaries are limited on the river. Mr. Dritenmas said each site has to be permitted individually. Mr. Hill asked how clams factor in and whether we still had several large clam farms in the area. The City Manager said we used to but did not know if we still did; and Mr. Hill said we can ask Mr. Sembler. He said he would be in favor of finding organizations such as the Clambake Foundation to be involved. Mr. Dritenmas said now is the time to start to look for sites, stating Troy Rice of SJRWMD does flyovers, noting that no mats can be put near seagrasses. Mayor McPartlan suggested we can build mats now and store them. Mr. Dritenmas suggested non - violent offenders could do this for community service, and that the ties are UV inhibitors so they will keep for several years. 71 Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Seven The City Manager said this is a natural for the Natural Resources Board and they are looking for projects. In response to Mayor McPartlan, Mr. Dritenmas said the only negative is determining the location of the intertidal zone. Mayor McPartlan said we can map it out and start building and be ready for spring. The City Manager said Ms. Watson can approach the NRB and then move forward, and we'll have to have a plan for funding. Mayor McPartlan asked if there are grants available, and Ms. Coy suggested maybe Marine Resources Council. Council was advised to look at this as up to a ten year process, and that nothing but good can come from it. He said there has been some theft of oysters, but it is not healthy to eat out of the lagoon right now, and that education of the public is helpful. Mr. Adams thanked them for coming and said he looked forward to working with NRB and getting kids involved. 11. PUBLIC INPUT New information or requests to city council not otherwise on the prepared agenda Louise Crouse, Barefoot Bay Board of Trustees, thanked Council for the opportunity to work together, stating the more we do this, the more we will be able to accomplish, it is good to pull all together and that she now has a lot of information to take back with her. Jim Sunnycalb, Sebastian, spoke on the Sebastian dog park, thanking people for making it what it is today, citing his and his son's website Sebastian BarkPark.com, and email address, friends @sebastiandogpark.com and the great new restroom built. He suggested we look into allowing people to have get togethers there and perhaps a pavilion. 12. NEW BUSINESS 14.110 A. Indian River Drive Public Parking (Transmittal) The City Manager said it was well established that Council had always approved improvements to parking in the riverfront district, approved an angled parking project completed in 2012, and staff has now brought forward a second angled parking project for consideration across from Rella's Restaurant advising that funding choices are DST or parking -in- lieu -of funds. Mr. Watanabe cited the 2011 Riverfront Parking Study for potential parking, followed by Cavcorp and Presidential Streets, and that in 2012 the north angled parking project was completed near Captain Hiram's and at the same time looked at in some other locations. He said we are looking at the second phase for more angled parking, that the estimate shows this can be put in under $25K for nine parking spaces. He noted we will be looking at Cavcorp again. 7 Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Ten MOTION by Mr. Hill and SECOND by Ms. Coy to approve. Robert Giambanco, owner of Rella's and Giuseppe's Pizzeria, Sebastian, expressed his appreciation for Council's consideration, said it will be safer for pedestrians having a crosswalk in front of the restaurant. Ms. Coy said she went to Rella's for the first time and said they do need to help out with the parking. Mr. Gillmor cited his objections: 1) in the 2011 Parking Study the earlier angled parking was never presented as Phase I and this is being presented as Phase II, that if it had been presented as a phased array he did not think Council would have gone along with it noting the 3 -2 vote; and the September 26, 2012 minutes which reveal that Mr. Hill was adamant about a sidewalk in front of the angled parking so people would not jaywalk, that when the City Manager presented he stated it was a code requirement and assured us that the sidewalk was in the plan, was to be on Hiram's land but it was never done, and then he was told that Hiram's asked us to pay for the land that the sidewalk was proposed to be on; that the City had previously given Hiram's that property when they reduced the right -of -way from 90 to 70 feet; 2) the $30K Parking Study concluded that we had enough public parking, gave recommendations for stamped parking on US 1, and mentioned angled parking only on Presidential Streets like Cleveland and Coolidge and never recommended angled parking in the right -of -way on Indian River Drive; 3) said this would add another pedestrian accident zone and another crosswalk, stating he had checked with Chief Morris and apparently there have been no pedestrian accidents but there have been 42 accidents in Hiram's parking lots in the past two years and we continue to allow substandard sized parking spaces; 4) it looks like we are putting in private parking for Rella's Restaurant just like it appeared we were putting in private parking for Captain Hiram's; 5) there is no provision for a sidewalk on the west side of the street, and sight will be obscured for people crossing; and 6) everyone he spoke to was outraged that we were putting in parking at Hiram's; 7) stormwater treatment is being eliminated by this installation and he did not see any proposal for a baffle box on that property. He said obviously he is against this, that the positive is it would put in nine spots of parking but unless we put in one way street, which the City Engineer told him was possible, he cannot support this. Mr. Hill said he does support this as he did support the parking north of this on Indian River Drive, that it would be well used and it helps to have access to the sidewalk in one of the most busy areas of Indian River Drive. He said it is important to understand that we have a parking in- lieu -of ordinance in place that helps businesses thrive, we have funding in place for the program, and we have the ability to pay for these projects. He said this is an extension of what we did at Hiram's and he sees this as a positive that helped us to get Mulligan's and Rella's, is part of that vision, did not see us as assisting any one business; and encouraged that we use of the parking -in- lieu -of fund. Mayor McPartlan said he was also for more parking on Indian River Drive, did vote against it for the Captain Hiram's project, but it was a safety issue because it made no sense to have a sidewalk in front of the cars then go west and then come back again. He said he had asked if there could be a Brooklyn Curb because it makes a little more sense to have an area behind you. He said he had been talking to the City Manager about the dangers of parking at Hiram's, citing when backing out of the southern most spot you cannot see Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Nine until you are into the road, so it was changed to a motorcycle parking site. He noted we also need more handicapped spots for individuals as well. Mr. Watanabe said on a standard parking lot we add up to two feet with Miami curb which is a concrete gutter which allows for drainage, for a two foot clear zone. He said it works for drainage and we are doing this for all angled parking. He said his only concern on ADA parking for a non - facility project is that street parking does not fall into that category. He said once you start adding handicapped parking here you would have to do that for all of the street parking. He explained a prior reduction of right -of -way on Indian River Drive from 90 feet to 66 feet and said he did not think we needed a sidewalk for this one. Roll Call: Ayes: Coy, McPartlan, Hill, Adams Nays: Gillmor — Nay Passed: 4 -1 Mr. Adams asked if had looked at where we would be getting funding from, and the City Manager recommended using the parking in- lieu -of fund which has approximately $53,000 and the authority to spend up to $25,000 for this project. MOTION by Ms. Coy and SECOND by Mr. Adams — so moved. Roll Call: Ayes: Gillmor, McPartlan, Hill, Adams, Coy Nays: None Passed: 5 -0 13. CITY ATTORNEY MATTERS — None 14. CITY MANAGER MATTERS The City Manager complimented the Sebastian River Art Club on the fantastic job on the mural at the Sebastian Community Center. The Chief of Police said she had received notice on May 22nd of the availability of a US Dept of Justice COPS hiring three year grant and would like to submit. She said they would have to maintain it for one year at least after the three year initial period. The City Manager said if successful we will bring this back to Council for acceptance. Ms. Coy asked if we could remove the position if we were under water and the Chief said we were only under the obligation for that one year after the grant ends. The City Manager announced that IRC recycle bins have been moved from the City's Community Development office to the newly refurbished North County offices on US 1, and said we will get announcements on Ch 25 and the website. 15. CITY CLERK MATTERS - None 16. CITY COUNCIL MATTERS 14.111 A. Charter Officer Evaluations (Transmittal) Ms. Coy said she was delinquent and Mayor McPartlan said he was too. Ms. Coy said just for general information, nothing derogatory will be coming up, she is happy with everything that is going on, will be doing narratives and meet with each of them individually by the end of next week. Mayor McPartlan said he was with her on that. No other comments were made. Regular City Council Meeting June 11, 2014 Page Ten B. Mayor McPartlan - None C. Vice Mayor Hill - None D. Council Member Adams - None E. Council Member Coy Ms. Coy asked the City Manager to respond to the person who emailed Council regarding 24 hour lights on in City restroom facilities; said at MPO she asked Phil Matson to look at grass on 512 that was replaced during new construction eastbound and appears to be dead and said the County is looking into it. Mr. Hill said it appears the contractor used Bahia and Bermuda grass which has to be a mistake. The City Manager said he will respond about restrooms F. Council Member Gillmor - None 17. Being no further business, Mayor McPartlan adjourned the Regular Meeting at 8:34 p.m. Approved at the June 25,, 2014 R gular Council Meeting. Bob McPartlan, Mayor Attest: � Sally A. Maio, MM , City Clerk 10 '^ SAO TV , Of 20 nQ HA LN a C lob ■1 �r CD o \� 1% .. pp- M -1 VIP R. u� 1 s 1 Lal FJ bd LrJ 97 r4' E tTl .� ru n-5 C. r► r- At A IV- CM. r. ",7 7 El 0 El CD 0 "A, O