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HomeMy Public PortalAbout07-July 30, 2020 VWCITY OF OPA-LOCKA "The Great City" CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES VIRTUAL WORKSHOP (COVID-19) Thursday, July 30, 2020 5:30 P.M. 1. WELCOME/OPENING REMARKS: Mayor Matthew Pigatt called the virtual Workshop Meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, 2020. Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, issued by the office of the Governor Ron DeSantis on March 20, 2020, municipalities may conduct meetings of their governing boards without having a quorum of its members present physically or at any specific location, and utilizing communications media technology such as telephonic or video conferencing, as provided by Section 120.54(5) (b) 2, Florida Statutes. An opportunity was given to the public to email the City Clerk prior to the Commission Meeting with any questions/comments/concerns on items we will hear on this evening's Regular Commission Meeting agenda. This meeting is being streamed live at https://www.youtube.com/user/Cityof0palocka. Since this is a virtual meeting as authorized by the Governor of the state of Florida, again, members of the public wishing to address the commission have been offered the opportunity to do so. Public comments will be included as part of the public record for this virtual meeting and will be considered by the City commission prior to any action taken. 2. ROLL CALL The members of the City Commission appearing remotely were: Mayor Matthew Pigatt, Vice Mayor Chris Davis, Commissioner Sherelean Bass, Commissioner Joseph L. Kelley, and Commissioner Alvin Burke. Also appearing remotely was: Assistant City Attorney Candice Cobb, City Manager John E. Pate, and City Clerk Joanna Flores. 3. INVOCATION: The invocation was delivered by Commissioner Joseph L. Kelley. 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by City Manager Pate. 1 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — July 30, 2020 5. PUBLIC INPUT: City Clerk Joanna Flores stated the protocols for public comments. There were no public comments. 6. DISCUSSION ITEM: a) City's Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) b) Strategic Planning Session Mayor Pigatt introduced City Manager Pate to provide a report. City Manager Pate reported that the testing sites have been downgraded to a limit of 500 per day and there were 2 incident commanders managing the testing site. He reported that the testing center closed at 3 pm today due to the tropical storm which may or may not hit the City. He discussed a few tropical storm preparations. He stressed the difficulty with preparations, as it was not feasible for residents to be at a single location due to the coronavirus. He reported he signed an emergency purchase declaration for a generator to be installed as soon as possible at the 780 building, most likely the following day. He asked Lieutenant Chiverton to speak about coronavirus enforcement and hurricane preparedness. Lieutenant Chiverton reported 42 citations and 7 businesses shut down including restaurants. He reported 3 of the business owners were arrested. He reported the department was preparing with cones, signs and ice. He stated the officers will be placed on standby beginning tomorrow if needed. City Manager Pate stated it was his objective to tour the City that weekend, along with the Public Works Department, to survey the area, identify major flooding spots and work with Public Works to get immediate solutions. He briefly established the possible reasons why the flooding is exacerbated and his observations on possible solutions. He offered to answer questions. Commissioner Bass asked Lieutenant Chiverton what a PTA was. Lieutenant Chiverton stated that it was a promise to appear also known as notice to appear. Commissioner Bass offered to join the City Manager as a "foot soldier". Commissioner Kelley asked if the Public Works Department had reached out to the County to see if the trash piles that are still lying around could be picked up as much as possible. 2 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — July 30, 2020 Director Austin stated his department was reaching out to them on a daily basis. City Manager Pate added that he has reached out to the junkyards, to move vehicles away from the walls so that they won't flip over. Commissioner Kelley shared his concern about piles of trash that may become projectiles as well as certain vehicles at the junkyards. Director Austin stated that the County acknowledged that they were going to collect it, but did not provide a definitive date. Mayor Pigatt asked Director Austin if he had specifically requested that the County remove the trash before the storm hits. Director Austin stated that he had not told the County to pick up all of the trash piles, but to pick up all of the trash that posed imminent danger of causing damage. Mayor Pigatt asked if he specified before the storm comes. Director Austin stated that was correct. Commissioner Kelley asked if there was a phone number to call and follow-up on, to make sure the County complies with the request. He asked how the ice process will work. Lieutenant Chiverton stated there was a team of 18 for search and rescue, to pick up the ice and take it where it is needed. Commissioner Kelley asked how communication would be handled and how residents would be notified. City Manager Pate stated communication was being sent through email blast and social media. He stated a code red was sent at 5 pm on that day and a tropical storm warning was issued. He stated all facets of social media will be used to alert the residents. Commissioner Kelley asked if the closing of the testing site had been communicated to residents yet. City Manager Pate stated it had been drafted and he will be reviewing the communication soon. Vice Mayor Davis asked City Manager Pate if the junkyards were violating code. Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — July 30, 2020 3 City Manager Pate clarified it was a code violation and he was asking the junkyards not to put them back up once they were down. Vice Mayor Davis asked Lieutenant Chiverton how the Police Department handled the closing of the businesses. Lieutenant Chiverton stated 2 of the businesses were called in for service and the other businesses were identified through active patrolling because of large crowds. He explained that his staff was instructed to check all cafes and restaurants to make sure they were not in violation. Mayor Pigatt asked City Manager Pate for a status on the hurricane preparedness plan. City Manager Pate reported that the plan needed to be updated based on his review. He went over it step by step with his staff, including how previous hurricanes were handled and their responsibilities. He identified the status quo. Mayor Pigatt stated he wanted to see an updated hurricane preparedness plan for the City to be finalized and approved by the Commission. He asked City Manager Pate to continue his report. City Manager Pate introduced Public Relations Consultant Jessica Modkins to provide her report. Public Relations Consultant Modkins reported issuing press releases for several events such as: kids and covid-19, the Manager's Corner and how to run for office. She stated that Commissioner Bass will be on Hot 105 the next morning. She reported that newsletter went out with the latest topics, including information about the tropical storm and the Sherbondy Park closing. She reported on the "Opa-locka: We Are Working for You" campaign. She explained that the following day, a link will be provided to residents with information to anonymously report COVID-19 violations over the web or by phone. City Manager Pate asked Ms. Modkins if the information on the tropical storm was going to be sent to him for approval. Ms. Modkins reported that she had approved the graphic with the information on the amount of time for the tropical storm to reach shore and that was published with tri-lingual messaging. She stated that the preparedness tips had not been approved yet. City Manager Pate asked who was next in line to do a code red message. Ms. Modkins stated she believed it was Commissioner Kelley's turn. Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — July 30, 2020 4 Commissioner Kelley stated that he could. Commissioner Burke asked if he could get masks for kids. City Manager Pate stated he had requested them and he was waiting for more information before proceeding. Mayor Pigatt asked Vice Mayor Davis to provide an update from his meeting with the Florida League of Cities in regards to coronavirus and the CARES Act funding. Vice Mayor Davis reported that the League of Cities took a strong position as it relates to CARES Act funding and getting it to the people who need it most, such as businesses and residents. He briefly explained some of the negotiations between the County and the cities, with the County taking a more regional approach. He asserted that the chances looked slim for the City to be reimbursed by the County except for testing, enforcement and basic outreach which should be covered. He suggested requesting the reimbursements from the County. He explained the County had allocated $35 million in funds for all of the municipalities in the County. City Manager Pate asked Lieutenant Chiverton what the protocol was to respond to a weather emergency such as a hurricane or tropical storm. Lieutenant Chiverton explained the officers were prepared with equipment but were missing a location for sleeping quarters and he suggested using a floor inside of City Hall. He shared that last time, they used the old police station. City Manager Pate stated it was important to invest in law enforcement and public safety. He advocated for law enforcements receiving a l % hazardous bonus to be paid retroactively. Commissioner Kelley asked Lieutenant Chiverton to explain alpha bravo manpower during emergencies. City Manager Pate stated that alpha bravo was to be used at his and the Police Department's discretion. He explained that if more officers are required, alpha bravo will be executed, which will activate 2 more platoon officers, day shifts, night shifts and no days off. Commissioner Kelley shared his concerns for the code enforcement team's equipment and asked City Manager Pate to make sure they had rain gear and other resources. Director Austin stated that his staff was well equipped. 5 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — July 30, 2020 Mayor Pigatt asked to discuss what other things could be done to support the Police Department and lower crime rates. He requested a strategy to lower violent crimes. He asked City Manager Pate to discuss the strategic plan. City Manager Pate stated the Commission has to pass a strategic plan as a condition for the audits. He suggested having a strategic plan shortly after the budget for FY 21 was passed or in November. He wanted to discuss the strategic plan and how the Commission wished to tackle the task. Mayor Pigatt shared that on a previous meeting, the general goals of the strategic plan were discussed and he asked if the City Manager's Office had written down the information to consider it. City Manager Pate asked Mr. Gay to discuss the strategic plan previously created. Mr. Gay explained the previous strategic plan titled 2020 vision, put together by the Commission in 2013. Mr. Gay reviewed some of the subjects in the strategic plan and how it has been used by the City as a guideline for goals and benchmarks. Mayor Pigatt requested an update on reviewing the plan to combine it with what was discussed in the previous meeting. He also requested that the five year recovery plan be done in tandem with the strategic plan. He requested the documents before moving forward. Commissioner Kelley stated he was under the impression that the previous documents were being used and were going to be given to the Commission as a starting point for the strategic plan. He requested the information regarding how long ago the strategic plan was upgraded. Mr. Gay stated it was last revised in September of 2014. Commissioner Kelley asked if there was an upgrade since 2014, that it be provided to the Commission to be able to gather the ideas and thoughts based on that document. Vice Mayor Davis stated the comprehensive plan was a document establishing the foundation and future expectations for the City. He suggested discussing the results of the previous strategic plan and why some of the goals were not met. Commissioner Burke stated the strategic plan was previously put together by the Commission, and he suggested to look at the document, add to it and go from there. 6 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — July 30, 2020 City Manager Pate stated he did not want it to conflict with the five year plan which is also comprehensive. Mayor Pigatt requested an update on Glorieta Park coming up to code with the storm water management. He also requested an update on any running liens or fmes. City Manager Pate stated there was a fine for that property but that there were no running liens. He stated the biggest issue for code enforcement was the relocation of the individuals living there. He stated the apartment complex was neither maintaining the waste water system nor the rain water system to control flooding. He stated that while there are fines pending, there have been no adjudications due to the hold on special magistrate hearings. Mayor Pigatt asked if it was possible for virtual special magistrate hearings to continue enforcement. City Manager Pate stated he will be requesting guidance from the City Attorney. Mayor Pigatt requested the information regarding Glorieta Gardens. He showed concern for the lack of code enforcement. He asked if the information was forwarded to the Commission. City Manager Pate stated that the information was sent just to the Mayor, but will be sent to the rest of the Commission. 7. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the City Commission, it was moved by Commissioner Burke, seconded by Vice Mayor Davis to adjourn the workshop meeting at 6:30 p.m. ATTEST: Jo . P u . Flores, CMC Ci Clerk Matthew A. Pigatt Mayor 7 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes —July 30, 2020