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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1998-12-15 Regular Meeting54 COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - DECEMBER 15, 1998 The Regular Meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Tuesday, December 15, 1998, in the Council Chambers at Bal Harbour Village Hall. The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. by Mayor Spiegel. Those present were: Also present: Mayor Estelle Spiegel Assistant Mayor Andrew Hirschl Councilman Peg E. Gorson Councilman James Boggess Councilman Daniel Tantleff Alfred J. Treppeda, Village Manager Jeanette Horton, Village Clerk Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilman Gorson. Mayor Spiegel requested a moment of silence in honor of Governor Chiles 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was Offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Councilman Gorson to approve the minutes of the November 17, 1998, Regular Council meeting, as submitted. The motion carried unanimously (5-0), and the minutes were approved as submitted. 4. PRESENTATIONS - OFFICER OF THE MONTH: None 5. ORDINANCES SECOND READING/PUBLIC HEARING: None 6. ORDINANCES FIRST READING: None 7. RESOLUTIONS: None 8. REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: A. MAYOR AND COUNCIL: Councilman Tantleff stated Dade County is considering charging munici,.aliiies ror beach renourishment and maintenance, and if there's anything the Council needs to do, such as call the Commissioners, Mr. Treppeda should let them know. Mayor Spiegel stated the Village passed a resolution. Mr. Treppeda stated he sits on a dedicated funding task force, that the County has, and they're against supporting anything that makes the municipalities pay any additional fees for beach maintenance. Assistant Mayor Hirsch' stated a couple of residents have been complaining about the Island Cafe in Bay Harbor because they have an outside band that plays. Mr. Treppeda Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 1 JJ stated Bay Harbor Police are being called each time because their noise ordinance would have to handle that. Assistant Mayor Hirschl requested Mr. Treppeda speak to Linda Karlsson regarding the issue. B. VILLAGE ATTORNEY: Mr. Weiss requested an Executive Session on the AVA lawsuit and will contact everyone to schedule it. C. VILLAGE MANAGER: Taft Bradshaw Proposal for Landscape Architectural Design: Mr. Treppeda explained at the last meeting the Council discussed Mr. Bradshaw giving the Village a proposal for the bus shelters, and signage in the area of the SunTrust Bank. Mr. Bradshaw has also included a price for the design of a fountain at Founder's Circle, which was also discussed and the 96th Street median. Taft Bradshaw stated he met with Mr. Treppeda regarding three primary areas and submitted a proposal on: 96th Street, the bus shelters, the necessary street furniture, and Founder's Circle. Mr. Bradshaw reminded the Council this is the conceptual stage. Mr. Treppeda stated there's also an item for Mr. Bradshaw to work with the lighting consultant on the street lights. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) stated the money has been appropriated to bring down the water tower, so the next step would be to conceptually start with the design of the park. All the other things are items that Bill O'Leary had begun to study and the Council decided to move to Mr. Bradshaw. Mayor Spiegel questioned Mr. Bradshaw about his concept for Founder's Circle. Mr. Bradshaw suggested creating either a very strong water pattern where the fountain itself becomes the sculpture with pedestrian space around it, or studying the option of altering the traffic plan and moving the fountain to a different location giving a more dramatic weight. Councilman Boggess discussed the design options for bus shelters and would like to, if possible, work with stock manufactured items for the benches and shelters. Mr. Bradshaw will explore what's commercially available. The issue about doing a conceptual plan for a park was discussed. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) would like to see the park continue in a design concept and see what Mr. Bradshaw can come up with. Councilman Boggess agreed. Mr. Bradshaw will amend the proposal to include a design concept for a park. Mayor Spiegel requested the water fountain be designed so that the water will not spray onto the street. Mr. Bradshaw stated they can put wind sensors in the fountain so that when the wind hits a certain velocity, the fountain responds accordingly. Councilman Tantleff requested Mr. Bradshaw focus on the bus shelters and trash receptacles due to their deterioration. Assistant Mayor Hirschl questioned if Mr. Bradshaw's design includes the signs along Collins Avenue. Stanley Whitman, Bel Harbour Shops, stated Mr. Bradshaw's proposal isn't complete. The proposal says 96th Street median and it should include all of 96th Street, which is the right of way on each side of the median, from the Atlantic Ocean to the bridge at Bay Harbor Islands. That all ties into the entrances on Collins Avenue from Surfside to the beach property. In addition, he noted that there has been no discussion on the Collins Avenue entrances to the buildings. Also, the sign at the north end entrance. Mr. Whitman suggested going further to the County side of Haulover. Mr. Treppeda suggested separating it into two projects. Mr. Bradshaw suggested the Council develop a program of what they want the waterside park to be and establish some Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 2 56 goals and objectives they want to achieve. He would then do two separate proposals, making a new proposal for the park. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mavor Hirschl to accept Mr. Bradshaw's proposal. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mavor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl ave; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson ave; Councilman Tantleffaye. Approval of Proposal by Coastal Systems International for Engineering Services and Landscape Architecture Services for Beach Master Plan: Mr. Treppeda explained at the last workshop, on November 23`d, it was requested having further discussion at the Resort Tax meeting, which was done this morning. The Resort Tax Committee gave a recommendation that the Council ask Coastal Systems International to prepare a design for a single path so the Council can consider it. 't Harvey Sasso, Coastal Systems lnt national, stated they Were envisioning a phase I project that would include a re -do of the conceptual designs, new costs for the conceptual designs, and doing some of the surveying and the aerial photography to get ahead. That way when the permitting process begins, they will be done, and it will also assist in the actual design elements as well. Their proposal at this point is to have Taft Bradshaw talk about the conceptual design elements. Taft Bradshaw stated the critical edge is where the private property ends and the state land begins and being able to make the transition between the development and the path as a vegetative experience. Mapping information is needed and that's why there are four different elements in Phase I. Preliminary budgets can also be put together for the Village to develop a budget plan based on the concept. Once that is accepted, Phase II would begin. Mr. Sasso reviewed Part I of the proposal, Survey and Base Map, and suggested that they proceed with the Part I services, excluding the Planimetric Map. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) questioned if the figures on Table I (Jogging Path Only) include the state permits. Mr. Sasso responded yes. They're suggesting doing the base map and surveying, revise the conceptual design, put some of that in the computer, and bring that to the Council with some cost estimates. In addition, they can have some pre -application meetings in Tallahassee to get some feedback. They're looking for approval on Part I (Survey and Base Map), a revision to Part II, which would include some design work with $10,000 for a revised conceptual design, and comtig up with some cost estimates. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) questioned if it would be simpl r to substantially repair the existing jogging path. Mayor Spiegel suggested just repairing and moving the existing jogging path to avoid the flooding problem, then the Village could get by with less permitting. Mr. Sasso agreed that was possible. Stanley Whitman stated the motion at the Resort Tax Committee was to have the landscape architect come up with an altemate scheme that showed one path so the Village has the advantage of picking which one is the better. He doesn't see how a judgment can be made until that's done. After they put it on paper, they should make a recommendation to the Council. Mr. Sasso thinks the concept is to pull it landward, but if they're going to one path, it should meander more. They're proposing to initiate Part I of the proposal, which is the surveying Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 3 5'7 and the base map, so they can get that level of detail on paper. They would then do a modified Part II, which instead of design development, do the conceptual design, and then some meetings and presentations would be done on an hourly basis. Part I would be $20,000, and Part lla would be $10,000 for the conceptual design, plus some hourly meetings after that. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirschl to approve up to $35,000.00 to get the project going. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Manor Spiegel ave' Assistant Manor Hirschl ave: Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson ave; Councilman Tantleff ave. Approval of "Construction Documents" Phase for Guard House Proiect (Tawfik & Rosabal, Architect/Subcontractor to C.A.P. Engineering): Mr. Treppeda explained this was approved at the workshop meeting, but it wasn't an official vote and the Civic Association would like to keep working with Tawfik & Rosabal. The Village is using C.A.P. as the main company and C.A.P. is using Tawfik & Rosabal as a subcontractor. They've already completed the first phase and a presentation was done at the workshop. The cost for Phase II is $8,832.00. Howard Berlin, President of the Bal Harbour Civic Association, stated they're pleased with the work they're doing and want to move forward. Assistant Mayor Hirschl clarified the money is from the special taxing district in the Security District. So, it's self taxed by the residents. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to approve $8,832.00 for Phase II of the Guard House Project . The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. Discussion of Bus Service: Mr. Treppeda explained at the last Council meeting he brought the results from the bid that went out for a bus service. There was a low bidder, but the Council had requested to see if either Bay Harbor or Surfside could help the Village. They are unable to expand their bus services. He checked with the low bidder and the minimum amount of days they could provide service is two days per week, five hours per day. The price would be $23,140.00 with a one year contract. The second lowest bidder's price was a little bit higher. A motion was offered by Councilman Tantleff to approve this. The motion died due to the lack of a second. Mutual Aid Agreement with Sunny Isles Beach Police Department: Mr. Treppeda explained Sunny Isles Beach Police has asked Bal Harbour to enter into a mutual aid agreement so the departments can provide assistance to each other when needed. A motion was offered by Councilman Tantleff and seconded by Councilman Boggess to approve the mutual aid agreement with Sunny Isles Beach Police Department. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Major Spiegel ave; Assistant Manor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff ave. Special Master Reappointments: Mr. Treppeda explained, on December 31st, the terms of the two Special Masters, Darcee Siegel and Russell Mace, expire. The Village has been very happy with their service and Mr. Treppeda recommends reappointing them for a year. They have both expressed an interest in serving again. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to approve the reappointment of Darcee Siegel and Russell Mace as Special Masters for Bal Harbour. The Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 4 r; J motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye: Councilman Tantleff aye. Replacement of Three Date Palms: Mr. Treppeda explained there are three trees on the West side and one is dead, and two are about to die. There is money in the Resort Tax budget to replace those trees, so he's asking for approval to replace three at the bid price of $4,900.00. They are in touch with the agricultural extension and will get someone from there to give the Village another opinion on what can be done about the trees. All the tissue samples that were taken show neither lethal yellowing nor ganaderma, which is another disease that these trees get. Mr. O'Leary thinks there's just a lot of water under the ground that's rotting out the roots on the trees at that end of the Village. The other trees are being planted a lot higher. Councilman Tantleff questioned about replacing them with different types of trees. Assistant Mayor Hirschl stated that they were told there is always a percentage that will die one to two years out of warranty and each year three, or possibly more, will die. Changing it aesthetically would not be the right thing to do. A motion was offered by Councilman Tantleff and seconded by Councilman Boggess to approve the replacement of three Date Palms at $4,900.00 each. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Manor Spiegel aye: Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. Authorization to Purchase All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) for Police Department Use on the Beach: Mr. Treppeda explained all of the surrounding coastal police departments (Sunny Isles, Golden Beach, Surfside, Miami Beach) use all terrain vehicles. Chief Freeman would like to purchase one and $7,000 is budgeted this year. Research has been done and the police officers recommend the Kawasaki. Mayor Spiegel questioned if any of the funds can be used that the police department has been getting from other sources. Mr. Treppeda responded yes, the Police Chief would have to make a request for that. Mr. Treppeda reported Kawasaki would also loan the Village a jet ski at no charge. Councilman Boggess questioned if they approve this, if it can still be taken out of the forfeiture funds. Mr. Weiss responded no. Per statute, it has to be a specific request from the Police Chief. It was the consensus of the Council to table this issue until the next meeting. F.P.L.: Mr. Treppeda requested F.P.L. be taken out of order to give an update on the situation. Rosa LaRue, F.P.L., stated she met with Mr. Treppeda and gave him a preliminary layout of how they're going to run the facilities through the whole subdivision. Right now, several projects are pending for the subdivision. One of them is the water tower. They will be removing some of the facilities there, like the transformer, etc. So, they're not sure exactly where they're going to be putting one of the facilities. The second thing is the rebuilding of the entrance way, the guard house. They need to get the plans from Mr. Treppeda so they can see where they're going to do the actual layout of the cables. They're also waiting for Mr. Treppeda to set up a meeting with the homeowner's association so they can be shown the layout and what inconvenience and stages of the project they will be having. Assistant Mayor Hirschl questioned what they will be doing. Ms. LaRue stated the whole subdivision was laid out and served by a loop system. She explained a loop system can only carry a certain amount of voltage at one time and thirty years of building homes, etc. the voltage demand has increased. They have broken it out to different loop systems and Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 5 went from a two loop system to a four loop system. In doing so, they'll have to put big transformer or switch cabinets out there to break that out. They are in the process of doing that actual layout. The cables will probably remain the same and only a couple will be rerouted because of the new facilities being put in. Ms. LaRue stated the money has been approved and the work will be done. Commencement of the work will probably be the beginning of February or late January, depending on how fast they can get the homeowners to approve the layout and the inconvenience they will be incurring. There are four sites where they'll have to cut some of the roads and re -landscaping, etc. Primarily at the entrance way they have to do some cutting there and a couple spots inside the subdivision. Ms. LaRue reported 80% of the cable testing has been done and so far none of the cable has any problem with leakage, etc. The Bal Harbour Shops will no longer be in association with the subdivision. They are in the process of making a book for all the cable crews that work 24 hour shifts that show exactly where the transformers are in relationship to the home. Mr. Treppeda received a copy of the book yesterday and each crew will have it on the truck. Caesar Seijas stated he reviewed everything they've done and, based upon the testing and the design, it should eliminate the problem. It's not a new system, it's a patch job to make it work. For a new system, they would have to dig and put new cable in. Based on what they're planning to do, and the work that they've done to restore power, outages should be eliminated and the amount of time to come back when there is an outage should be shortened. Mr. Seijas stated if there's still a problem after this project, then there's a problem with the cable. He has not seen the report yet showing that there are no cable problems. Mr. Treppeda questioned if they do all the items discussed and the Village is still having problems, what the next step would be. Ms. LaRue stated the facilities are perfectly fine and there was just too much of a load on the existing cables. The cables and the duct system are perfectly fine. Assistant Mayor Hirschl suggested there are alternative designs that have not been explored. Ms. LaRue stated everything is in duct system and the system is fine. Mr. Seijas would like to see where the cable failed the most and compare that to what they're doing with the testing of the cable. Based on their analysis of the cable, they don't need to replace the cable. Based on what has been done on the design with breaking up the loop, it's the best scenario without replacing the cable. Even if they replace the cable, they would probably have to break up the loop because there's too much load on the existing design. When they finish their cable study, he will look at that and the design and report back to the Council. Fourth of July Fireworks Display: Mr. Treppeda explained the cost of the annual fireworks display from Zambelli is $16,200.00. If the Village does a 50% deposit by December 31 st, which has been done for the past few years, then the Village will get about 65 extra fireworks. Councilman Boggess stated he noticed last year the fireworks in Bal Harbour were more spectacular, but the fireworks in Surfside lasted a lot longer and they didn't spend as much money. Mr. Treppeda will see if Zambelli will stretch the fireworks out longer. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirschl to approve the 50% deposit for the fireworks display. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleffaye. Purchase of Computers: Mr. Treppeda explained there are about seven computers and the network that need to be replaced. Microsolutions Management, Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 6 J�� 60 which is the company that the Village has been dealing with for quite a while, maintains all of the computers and the Village has an agreement with them. Their prices were checked along with CompUSA and Gateway. CompUSA's prices were higher than Microsolutions', and Gateway was about the same. The total cost, which is budgeted, is $21,732.66. This will enable Village Hall to have Windows NT network, run the Internet to certain people at Village Hall, fax from desks, and will improve the E-mail system. Gary Fiorito, Microsolutions Management, stated it's an improved E-mail system with a file exchange server, which will allow files, appointments, and calendars to be shared, The new network will be ten times faster than the current one and will also allow for e-mail on the Internet. Mr. Treppeda stated he wants to switch over to the Microsoft product because Village Hall is presently using WordPerfect, but everyone is switching over to Microsoft. Adding Windows 98 on the present machines is really slowing them down and wastes time. Councilman Boggess questioned if the Village is getting an exchange on the present computers. Mr. Treppeda responded some of them will be used for other people that don't need the capability and others can be exchanged or sold. Mr. Treppeda explained the server. Mr. Treppeda stated there is $28,000.00 budgeted. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Councilman Gorson to approve $24732.66 for the purchase of computers and a computer server from Microsolutions Management Inc. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. Ratification of Contract Between Bal Harbour Village and the Police Benevolent Association: Mr. Weiss stated the memo outlines the agreement that was reached with the P.B.A. and is in line with what was discussed at the Executive Session. The police department voted and approved it. The raise is between two and four percent, based upon a C.P.I., which he thinks is a fair way of giving a cost of living adjustment as opposed to trying to guess what it's going to be. They got some help on the sick utilization to benefit the Village, they came to an agreement on educational credit, they got the ability to have certain people stay home if they were unnecessary on holidays, doubled the amount of money for educational assistance, and other non -monetary technical things. They did not increase the pension benefits, but agreed to contribute $1,500 towards a study. If anything comes out of that study and they want to increase their pension, then they would have to pay for it themselves. They were given a slight increase on the amount of premiums for family coverage. Overall, he and Mr. Treppeda recommend the Council approve it. Mr. Treppeda stated the Village was able to add one step onto the pay plan, making it a six step plan instead of a five step plan. That gives the Village the ]option of starting police 5% less. Mr. Weiss stated the Village's starting salary is higher than most top out salaries. Other cities have been raided by new police departments (Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Pine Crest) and other departments have lost officers, but Bal Harbour has not experienced that because of the salary. There are also four or five cities looking to incorporate that will be looking for police officers, so this is the way to protect Bal Harbour's officers. Councilman Boggess questioned if an adjustment needs to be made for the insurance for the general employees. Mr. Treppeda responded he plans on giving general employees the same benefit and there is money in the budget for that. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Boggess to ratify the contract between Bal Harbour and the Police Benevolent Association. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 7 E;1 Plaque for Village Hall: Mr. Treppeda explained the Village currently has two plaques, one on the front of Village Hall and one at the Public Works building. The two plaques were discussed. Roberto Beltran discussed the proposals for the new plaque. Councilman Boggess doesn't think "Florida's Paradise" is necessary for the plaque. Mayor Spiegel questioned if it should read "of the Bal Harbour Village" or "of Bal Harbour Village." Mr. Treppeda responded it should be of Bal Harbour Village." A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to approve the second proposal that shows the Architect, Attorney, Manager, etc., eliminate the word "the," and eliminate "Florida's Paradise." The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. It was agreed to leave the original plaque and add the other plaque. It was agreed the plaque should read Bal Harbour Village Hall Renovation - dedicated January 1999 - then the names of the people. Councilman Boggess withdrew his motion. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to approve the plaque as revised. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson ave; Councilman Tantleff aye. Annual General Employee Performance Bonus: Mr. Treppeda explained each year the general employees are eligible for between a 1 and 4 percent bonus depending on performance. The average for all the ratings is a 3.07 percent out of a possible 4. The total cost will be $37,678.03, which is within the budgeted amount of $55,939.00. A motion was offered by Councilman Tantleff and seconded by Councilman Gorson to approve $37,678.03 for the 1998 Employee Performance Bonuses . The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. The Village Manager and Village Clerk were asked to leave the room. Mayor Spiegel explained they were asked to leave to discuss a bonus for them. Councilman Tantleff commented that it seems the Village, instead of being proactive, is reactive when it comes time for a grant. He thinks Mr. Treppeda needs to be more proactive. Even though he does a wonderful job, he thinks to give him four percent is saying that there's no need to improve and he was just given a raise. Councilman Boggess pointed out that Mr. Treppeda's contract was renewed without a raise. Councilman Boggess stated that Mrs. Horton received a raise because of additional duties in the finance department. Councilman Boggess suggested between three and four percent for both of them. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to approve a three percent bonus for Mr. Treppeda and a three percent bonus for Mrs. Horton. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson aye; Councilman Tantleff aye. Mr. Treppeda and Mrs. Horton returned to the meeting. 9. OTHER BUSINESS: Charles Brown, resident - 268 Bal Bay Drive, thanked the Council because the amphitheater is dead and the residents of the Village really appreciate all the efforts of the Council. He stated that property is going to be developed someway and thinks the Village has to still watch it. He would like to keep the Committee that was formed a number of years ago, the Advisory Council for the Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 8 62 amphitheater, going until it is seen what is going to happen with that property. Mayor Spiegel stated the Village's Attorney, Tony Cleveland, in Tallahassee is still maintaining a very close watch. Councilman Boggess stated the environmental issue is the hook right now. i O. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council, a motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirschl to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously (5-0), and the meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m. Mayor Estelle Spiegel Attest: anette Horton, CMC/AAE Village Clerk /elw Regular Council Meeting 12/15/98 9