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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1996-04-16 Regular MeetingCOUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - APRIL 16, 1996 The regular meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Tuesday, April 16, 1996, in the Council Chamber at Bal Harbour Village Hall. The meeting was called to order at 9:32 a.m. by Mayor Spiegel. The roll was called and those present were: Mayor Estelle Spiegel Assistant Mayor Matthew B. BlankI Councilman Andrew R. Hirschl Councilman Sol M. Taplin Also present: Alfred J. Treppeda, Village Manager Jeanette Horton, Village Clerk Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney Absent: Councilman James E. Boggess As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced. 2. Approval of Minutes: A motion was offered by Councilman Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Taplin to approve the minutes of the March 19, 1996, regular meeting. There being no additions or changes, the motion carried unanimously (3-0), with Councilman Boggess and Assistant Mayor Blank absent, and the minutes were approved as submitted. 3. Presentations - Officer of the Month: None 4. Public Hearings: None 5. Ordinance First Reading: None 6 . Ordinance Second Reading/Public Hearing: The ordinance was read, by title, by the Village Clerk, amending Chapter 20 "Utilities" of the Bal Harbour Village Code. Mayor Spiegel then proceeded to open the public hearing. There being no comments, Mayor Spiegel closed the public hearing. A motion was offered by Councilman Taplin and seconded by Councilman Hirschl to enact this ordinance. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin aye, Councilman Boggess absent; thus becoming ORDINANCE NO. 409 AN ORDINANCE OF BAL HARBOUR VILLAGE, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 20 "UTILITIES" OF THE BAL 1 Assistant Mayor Blank arrived during the second reading of Ordinance No. 409. 180 HARBOUR VILLAGE CODE BY AMENDING SECTION 20-30 "PAYMENT OF BILLS - MANNER OF PAYMENT" TO PROVIDE FOR IMPOSITION OF CHARGE FOR LATE PAYMENT. IMPOSITION OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT LIEN FOR UNPAID WATER AND SEWER CHARGES, PROVIDING FOR COLLECTION OF SUCH LIENS AND CHARGES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 7. Resolutions: The resolution was read, by title, by the Village Clerk, extending the Franchise agreement for Goldcoast Cablevision. Mr. Treppeda explained he is currently in negotiations to renew the franchise agreement with Goldcoast Cablevision. He further explained he is working with one of Mr. Weiss' attorneys on this matter. but he does not feel there is adequate time before the expiration date. He continued to explain there must be a public hearing before the franchise is renewed. Therefore, he is requesting Council approval of this resolution extending the current franchise for one month. Assistant Mayor Blank stated that he read that cable television prices will be raised very shortly. In his opinion, if the Village grants an extension of the Agreement should consider putting a cap on the fees. Councilman Hirschl asked if there is a competitive bidding for the franchise or is this a monopoly. Mr. Weiss replied under the new federal legislation it is not a monopoly, but a non exclusive franchise. A motion was offered by Councilman Hirschl and seconded by Assistant Mayor Blank to adopt this resolution. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin aye; Councilman Boggess absent; thus becoming RESOLUTION NO. 527 A RESOLUTION OF BAL HARBOUR VILLAGE, FLORIDA, EXTENDING THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT FOR GOLDCOAST CABLEVISION; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 8. Noise Ordinance - Lewis Harris: Mr. Harris explained he is the spokesperson for some of the residents of the Balmoral in regards to the noise coming from the Sheraton Bal Harbour pool area. He further explained he met with the Village Manager and Mr. Valdes on this issue. Mr. Valdes agreed to stop the playing of the steel drums. However, the music is still very loud. He then proceeded to read from the Bal Harbour Village Code Section 11-26 and Section 11-29 (1). He requested the Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 pi Council consider amending the code. Mr. Weiss explained that would not be necessary because Section 11-29 (1) covers this issue. It was the consensus of the Council that the Village Manager and Village Attorney meet with Mr. Harris and Mr. Valdes to find solutions that would resolve the problem, and report back at the next meeting. 9. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis - Suzie Sayfie: Ms. Sayfie on behalf of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, thanked the Council for their help in making Tropical Fantasy such a success. She further explained in many newspapers this event was called the happening of the decade. She then proceeded to request that any funds remaining from this event be donated to The Miami Project. Mr. Treppeda explained $130,000.00 was budgeted for this event, and after all obligations have been met, there will be $1,484.21 left. Assistant Mayor Blank stated he is disappointed that there is not more left. In his opinion, $1,484.21 is too little to contribute. Councilman Hirschl stated he personally will donate $500 to The Miami Project from the Hirschl family. He suggested if the rest of the Council will make a donation, this would cover the Council's exposure to the event. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Blank and seconded by Councilman Taplin that any member of the Council who wishes to make a contribution to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis give it to Mr. Treppeda to add to the remaining amount of $1,484.21 from the event. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin aye; Councilman Boggess absent. 10. Time of May 21st Regular Council Meeting: Mrs. Horton explained the second reading and public hearing on the ordinance amending Chapter 21 "Zoning" will be an item on the May 21st agenda. In accordance with Florida State Statute this public hearing must be held after 5:00 p.m. She further explained if the Council so desires they can schedule the time of the May 21st meeting for 4:00 p.m. and recess for the public hearing at 5:05 p.m. Councilman Hirschl asked if this ordinance will be ready for review at the May meeting. Mr. Treppeda explained the Architectural Review Board held a discussion at their last meeting, and Mr. Silvers will appear at the May meeting and explain their reasons for not wanting to change the 25 foot rear setback. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Blank and seconded by Councilman Hirschl to change the time of the May 21st regular Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 3 ]_82 meeting to 4:00 p.m. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; councilman Taplin aye; Councilman Boggess absent. 11. Reports and Recommendations: A. Mayor and Council: Resort Tax : Assistant Mayor Blank asked Councilman Hirschl about the production cost for the Emissary stationary. He then proceeded to give the breakdown on the letterheads, second sheets, and envelopes. He further stated he feels that these charges should be looked into, and not accept the costs as presented by Greenstone Roberts. Councilman Hirschl explained the issue of the Emissary stationary went to a Sub -Committee to expedite. The Sub -Committee members were Mr. Singh, Mr. Noboa, and Mr. Fine. He further explained that three quotes are always received by Greenstone Roberts. He then asked Mr. Noboa to address this issue for the Council. Mr. Noboa explained the Sub -Committee addressed the graphic not the quantity. He further explained the production cost was for creating the design for the letterhead. Mr. Treppeda stated this item was already approved by the Council at last months meeting. Assistant Mayor Blank stated he believes any expenditures made by the Resort Tax Committee should be presented to Council. Councilman Hirschl stated for the past six years nothing was presented to the Council for approval that the Resort Tax Committee approved. He further stated the Council only approved the budget. In the last few months any expenditure not related to tourism was presented to the Council for approval. He then asked the Village Manager who directed this issue to take place. Mr. Treppeda replied this is a Code requirement, and various Council members have discussed this with him. Councilman Taplin stated he thinks that Assistant Mayor Blank found the error, and it should be corrected. Assistant Mayor Blank suggested this issue be discussed further at the next Council meeting. He also suggested that the Council should review the performance of Greenstone Roberts before the end of December, which is when their contract expires. Discussion of Beach - Councilman Taplin: Councilman Taplin stated the Village is faced with a very serious problem, which is the Village is losing their beach. He further explained in the thirty years he has been on the Council he has never received as many calls and letters about the condition of the beach. If something is not done there will be no beach, and Bal Harbour would not be Bal Harbour without a beach. He then Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 4 proceeded to explain what had happened 30 years ago on renourishment of the beach. He continued to explain about the enactment of the 2% Resort Tax to restore the beach, which was approved by Tallahassee to use the funds for the beach. Councilman Taplin proposed since the Village has an income of 1.5 million dollars per year, that at least one third of this should be allocated to the Beach Renourishment fund. He continued to explain that he and Mr. Treppeda met with Mr. Von Oesen, who was the engineer when the beach was renourished 30 years ago, and he is willing to help on the renourishment of the Village's beach. Mayor Spiegel asked Mr. Treppeda the status of the $10,000.00 that was approved for a study. Mr. Treppeda explained Congressman E. Clay Shaw wrote a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers urging them to let the Village contribute $10,000.00 for a study. To date, no answer has been received from the Army Corps of Engineers. Councilman Hirsch! stated certainly what Councilman Taplin says is the next major challenge for the Village. Since the Village will be relying on Resort Tax to guarantee to a bank the ability of repaying a loan. He explained, at present the Village has a 3% tax on lodging, but the State law allows a 4% tax. A referendum is required by the voters of the Village to approve the increase to 4%. Therefore, he would like to see the Village increase the tax. Mr. Weiss stated he would have to look into this matter, but his office has already done work on this issue. However, he does not have the information with him at this time. It was the consensus of the Council that Mr. Weiss review increasing the tax to 4%, and have the information in time so the Village would have the ability to place this issue on the County ballot. Mr. Weiss asked the Council if they wished to take steps to move forward with an engineering study that would define the following: what must be done, the cost of the project, and then explore methods of financing. Mr. Treppeda explained he does have a proposal from Mr. Von Oesen at a cost of $21,000.00. He then proceeded to read Mr. Von Oesen's proposal, which is as follows: First phase would result in a report to the Village setting out the exact requirements for the Village to proceed with an investigation and search for suitable fill material off- shore and the attitude of the Corps and State concerning proceeding with the project and the probable cost of phase two. Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 5 184 Second phase would be the actual investigation and search for fill materials in the ocean off Bal Harbour and the estimated cost to contract with a dredging company to accomplish the renourishment fill. Third phase would be preparing permit applications, submittal to governmental agencies, and meeting with them as necessary. Fourth phase would be to design the project and prepare drawings, specifications, and bid documents. Fifth phase would be accomplishing the renourishment and could be done by the Corps of Engineers or by the Village, whichever appears wise at that time. Mr. Treppeda explained Mr. Von Oesen would be working with Coastal Planning and Engineering in Boca Raton. Mr. Weiss asked if Mr. Von Oesen's company still in business. Mr. Treppeda replied the company is still in business. Mr. Treppeda suggested if the Council so desires he could have Mr. Von Oesen speak to the Council either at next month's meeting or at a workshop. Mr. Weiss explained the normal procedure, when dealing with a project of this type, would be to issue a Request for Proposals. He then proceeded to explain the Council should authorize the Village Manager to place an advertisement, and have a selection committee to rank the firms to do the engineering study. At the same time, the Council should get a financial advisor to help them with the financing of the project. It was the consensus of the Council that the Village Manager and Village Attorney prepare the Request for Proposals, and the Village Attorney should pursue the issue of increasing the Resort Tax. Mayor Spiegel stated if necessary have a workshop prior to the next meeting so they would be more up to date on this issue. Assistant Mayor Blank stated, in his opinion, a workshop should be held on this issue. B. Village Attorney: None C. Village Manager: Storm Drain Project Update: Mr. Treppeda explained the bids for the storm drain project came in higher than what was estimation by the Village's engineering firm. The original estimated was $2.2 million and the low bids totaled $3,124,860.00. This amount includes the drainage wells and the Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 6 185 bids for the transfer station and piping. He continued to explain he has discussed the Village's options with the engineers, and have determined that the best course of action is as follows: Redesign some aspects of the project Rebid the transfer station and piping separately He pointed out there will be no additional design costs to the Village for this redesign. Bill Landis, Craig A. Smith & Associates, displayed maps of the original conceptual plans and the plans that went out to bid. He then proceeded to explain the plans that went out to bid. Mr. Landis stated, in his opinion, the bids are too high. In redesigning the project, and dividing piping and pump station into two bids, this should get the project back in line with the budget. A motion was offered by Councilman Hirschl and seconded by Assistant Mayor Blank to reject all bids and rebid the project. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin aye; councilman Boggess absent. Mr. Brown, 268 Bal Bay Drive, asked what condition would the streets be in after this project is completed. Mr. Landis replied there will areas where the paving will be restored, but not totally repaved. Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991: Mr. Treppeda explained this Act requires that employers who assign persons to operate commercial vehicles conduct pre -employment, reasonable suspicion, random, and post accident testing of drivers for the use of alcohol and controlled substances. He continued to explain the Village employees who drive garbage trucks, which weigh 26,001 or more pounds, are subject to the regulations of this Federal law. The Village has six employees who fall under this law, and they all work in the Public Works department At this time, he requested the Council authorize the Village Manager to enter into an agreement with Global MRO to provide alcohol and controlled substance testing in compliance with Federal and State law. He further explained this agreement has been reviewed and approved by the Village Attorney's office. Councilman Hirschl asked why this Act has not been implemented 2 Councilman Taplin left the room during this discussion. Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 7 186 before now, since it was effective January 1991. Mr. Treppeda replied the Act became effective January 1996 for municipalities. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Blank and seconded by Mayor Spiegel to authorize the Village Manager to enter into an agreement with Global MRO. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin absent; Councilman Boggess absent. Quarterly Financial Report: Mr. Treppeda explained the Village is half way through the budget year, and most of the General Fund department expenditures are at, or below, the 50% level. While there are certain items over the budget, he feels that the excess will be picked up by the remaining line items that are and will be under budget. Mr. Treppeda then proceeded to explain Resort Tax collections are up compared to this time last year. He explained the Village's accounting office has advised him the collection will be over what was budgeted for this year. Discussion of New Banners for 50th Anniversary: Mr. Treppeda explained he has done research on ordering new banners to be displayed on the Village's street light poles for the Village's 50th Anniversary. He displayed a sample banner he borrowed from Surfside. He then proceeded to explain he has some computer generated designs that show how the banners he would like to order will look. Discussion followed as to color and the type of letters. It was the consensus of the Council the letter should be block letters and the color should be a shade of blue. Recommendations of Resort Tax Committee: Mr. Treppeda explained the different recommendation made by the Resort Tax Committee at their April 9, 1996 meeting, which are as follows: Publicity photography for the Tropical Fantasy Event $950.00 Advertisements placed in the Miami Herald for the Tropical Fantasy Event $3,095.25 Production and printing costs of 1,500 special event invitation cards and envelopes for use by the Emissary $460.00 Mr. Treppeda explained the photography and the Miami Herald advertisement for the Tropical Fantasy Event will be paid out of 1 Councilman Taplin returned during this discussion. Regular Council Meeting April 16. 1996 8 the $130,000.00 which was budgeted for this event. A motion was offered by Councilman Taplin and seconded by Councilman Hirschl to approve these expenditures. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin aye; Councilman Boggess absent. 50th Anniversary Picnic at Sea View Hotel: Mr. Treppeda reviewed the expenditures for this event, which were as follows: Two banners and roll tickets for ice cream $10.94 Name Tags $16.70 Three tents and 50 chairs $1,139.70 Balloons and additional name tags $43.47 Rental of two ice coolers, one volleyball net/ball, and one horseshoe game $73.26 Moonwalk for children $250.00 Clown for children $125.00 Mel Olman Music $500.00 Magician $350.00 Food, Beverage, and labor provided by Sea View Hotel $4,000.00 He then proceeded to explain the total expenses were $6,509.07, and cash received from admission fees was $2,955.00. Therefore, the total subsidy due from the Village is $3,554.07. At this time, he requested approval of the subsidy of $3,554.07 for this event. A motion was offered by Councilman Hirschl and seconded by Assistant Mayor Blank to approve the expenditure of $3,554.07 out of Resort Tax Funds. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Blank aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin aye; Councilman Boggess absent. It was the consensus of the Council to have an annual picnic, and the village Manager should include this event in next year's budget. 12. Other Business: Councilman Taplin read from the minutes of March 19th, page 6, Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 9 which is as follows: Mr. Treppeda asked Mr. Wolpin to explain the duties of the Council issues dealing with resort tax. Mr. Wolpin explained the Resort Tax Committee is charged with the duty of making recommendations on all items of expenditures dealing with tourism promotion. The one area that they have authority to take action is the placement of advertisements in the various media, in accordance with the budget of the Village. He further explained as to all other items, the final decision is with the Council after receiving input by the Resort Tax Committee. Councilman Taplin explained this is what was brought up early in the meeting by Assistant Mayor Blank. Mr. Weiss explained the issue was why that was not brought up before. Councilman Hirschl commended Mr. Treppeda for going to the Village's Code and interpreting it properly. Charles Brown, 268 Bal Bay Drive, explained he has received complaints about the activities under Haulover Bridge, and requested the Council look into keeping the gate locked. Mr. Treppeda stated he will see that the gate is locked Mr. Brown then proceeded to explain he has received complaints from the residents of 80 Park Drive about the noise coming from trucks making deliveries at the Bal Harbour Shops. Mr. Whitman suggested the residents contact the Shops or the police department when this happens. Sybille Holder, 24 Bal Bay Drive, asked when the beach chairs by the Sheraton Hotel will be removed, since the Sheraton renovation is now complete. Mr. Treppeda stated he will review this and speak to the Manager. 13. Adiourn: There being no further business to come before the Council, a motion was offered by Councilman Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Taplin to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously (4-0), with Councilman Boggess absent, and the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Mayor Estelle Spieg1 Attest: eanette Horton,CMC/AAE Village Clerk Regular Council Meeting April 16, 1996 10