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HomeMy Public PortalAbout02- February 01, 2017 Speial Commission Meeting Minutes CITY OF OPA-LOCKA "The Great City" CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING Wednesday, February 01, 2017 6:30 P.M. Sherbondy Village Auditorium 215 Perviz Avenue Opa-locka, FL 33054 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Myra L. Taylor called the meeting to order at 6:30p.m. on Wednesday, February 01, 2017 in the Auditorium at Sherbondy Village, 215 President Barack Obama (Perviz) Avenue, Opa- locka, Florida. 2. ROLL CALL: The following members of the City Commission were present: Mayor Myra L. Taylor, Vice Mayor Joseph L. Kelley, Commissioner Timothy Holmes, Commissioner John B. Riley and Commissioner Matthew A. Pigatt. Also in attendance were: Acting City Manager Yvette Harrell, City Attorney Vincent T. Brown, and City Clerk Joanna Flores. 3. INVOCATION: The invocation was delivered by Vice Mayor Kelley. 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison. Mayor Taylor said that she wanted to move the meeting to tomorrow, but her colleagues had other things scheduled. She said that she is exercising chairman's privilege and is taking over the meeting. It is now a mayor and commissioners meeting. She told the city manager that if she is overstepping her boundaries as mayor, then she apologizes, but she is here for the people. She said that she is rescinding all of her votes that had anything to do with waste haulers. She voted with the commission the last time because she did not want to see a separation with the dais. There are people who want to see the City dissolve by divide and conquer, but the commission is here for the people. She wants the employees to go back to their 40 hours. On a side note, former Commissioner Dorothy Johnson is leading the bandwagon to have her rescinded from office. She wants it to be known that the commission does not make the decisions as everyone thinks: the state is making the decisions. The state is in front, they tell the City what they want it to do and that is how it is done. If Ms. Johnson wants her gone then it is within her right to do so, but she was out of office for six years and never came before the commission to speak ill of anyone on the dais. There have been commissioners in office for twelve (12) years and the situation was no better. She would like to have mediation, someone that does not know the city to come in and mediate between the two (2) parties. She would like to leave everything the same and the services remain until mediation is complete. She has identified a person that she does not know, to come and mediate for the City. She asked the city manager to defer all of the items dealing with the waste haulers. Special Commission Meeting Minutes—2/01/2017 1 Vice Mayor Kelley made a point of order to continue with the agenda as prepared and discuss each item in their respective order. Mayor Taylor said that she does not want to move forward with any of the items. Vice Mayor Kelley asked the city attorney if a vote can be rescinded without reopening the item first. Mayor Taylor said that she is going to finish what she has to say and she wants the parties to agree to mediation. She asked the manger to defer the items. Commissioner Pigatt said that he is new to the dais and does not understand what is going on right now. Commissioner Holmes asked the city attorney if this was legal. City Attorney Brown said that the mayor cannot rescind her vote once it has passed from a previous meeting. Commissioner Holmes said that what the mayor is doing is not legal and asked the city attorney if the City had a strong mayor form of government. City Attorney Brown said that the City does not have a strong mayor form of government. Commissioner Holmes said that no one will control his vote. Everyone sees who has ties to certain businesses and what they are trying to do. There is so much corruption going on in the City and people don't want to do the right thing. He informed the mayor that she does not run the City. He has supported her in the past and he will not continue to support her because she is not doing right by the City. Mayor Taylor said that her position is to raise the level of the City. She just wants mediation. She thinks the commission should want it too. Commissioner Pigatt asked the city attorney what chairman's privilege was. City Attorney Brown said that he has not seen chairman's privilege in Robert's Rules of Order. It is something that the commission has adopted in the past and it has never been challenged or raised by anyone prior to tonight. Commissioner Pigatt asked if it is legal for the mayor to take over the agenda, ignore, the agenda, and recall items on the agenda. City Attorney Brown said that the mayor can ask the city manager to rescind items at her leisure; she cannot ask this of the remainder of the dais; the agenda must move forward. The city manager does not have to withdraw items that she has sponsored. Commissioner Pigatt asked that the commission move forward with the agenda. Mayor Taylor said that she only wants mediation and for the same services to continue. Special Commission Meeting Minutes—2/01/2017 2 City Attorney Brown said that no other motions can be brought forth tonight including motions for mediation. The only items that be taken up tonight are the ones on the agenda. If the city manager chooses to defer any items, it is up to her, but the commission cannot make any motions for mediation. Mayor Taylor wants to defer the items and wants the commission to agree so that the community can have peace. Commissioner Pigatt asked if his motion is to be ignored. Mayor Taylor said that she is not ignoring his motion and she was addressing the city attorney. City Attorney Brown said that there does not need to be a motion to move forward with the agenda because it has already been set. It was prepared by the city clerk, properly noticed and is ready to be taken up. The thing the commission needs to know right now is if the city manager is going to defer her items. Vice Mayor Kelley said that he still wants clarity. City Attorney Brown said that in order to rescind a vote, the rescinding must be done prior to the calling of the next item. The mayor cannot rescind her vote tonight on items that were passed last week. Her vote from the last meeting stands. Vice Mayor Kelley said that he would like to move forward with the agenda. Commissioner Holmes said that since the mayor is so unhappy here, maybe the commission needs to have a resolution to have her removed from the dais. It seems that all of the city's problems stems from the seat she is sitting in and the y need to put a stop to it. He knows what she is trying to do and he does not like it. Mayor Taylor said that as the chairman of the commission, no one person is responsible for what is going on and she has never pointed a finger at individuals. To have one pointed at her is unfair. Everyone has voted for something that they changed their mind on later. She is only asking for mediation. She asked the city manager if she wants to continue. City Manager Harrell said, "Yes." 5. PUBLIC INPUT: Agenda Items Only Douglas Jeffrey, 6255 Miami Lakes Drive, Suite , said that he is there representing UWS and he wants to start off by saying that his client loves the City of Opa-locka and want nothing more than to continue providing services. The City is violating the Citizens Bill of Rights and the Code of Ordinances. He said that the rates are no surprise and are competitive through the RFP. The city manager is being coached by Waste management and it is not right. He pleaded with the commission to continue the services with UWS. Mayor Taylor acknowledged Commissioner Barbara Jordan and Oversight Board Member Vernita Nelson in the audience. Special Commission Meeting Minutes—2/01/2017 3 Hector Castellanos, Lejeune Commerce Center, said that he applauds the City's attempts to make everyone happy. UWS has not picked up his garbage since January and on top of that, they came and dumped all of his garbage on the floor and took their bins. This is not negotiation, this is just mean and they are doing whatever they want. He told the mayor that she is being bribed and she needs to understand that. Former Commissioner Dorothy Johnson, 14225 NW 22nd place, said that she will be filing a lawsuit against the City based on what the mayor said about her and it will impact the City's budget. 27th Avenue needs to be maintained in house and those individuals be given an increase. Top earning employees need to be given a salary reduction 6. EMERGENCY ORDINANCE: a) AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AMENDING SECTION 11-65 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA TO ALLOW THE CITY OFOPA-LOCKA TO ISSUE MULTIPLE FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Sponsored by City Manager The above ordinance was read by title by Attorney Brown. Mayor Taylor opened the floor for a public hearing. Former Commissioner Dorothy Johnson, 14225 NW 22nd place, said that she has doubt in the document that she has before her regarding the budget. She has an older budget book and she has compared them and has found that some of the numbers aren't adding up. There is a rec leader making more than the director and that is not right. She has found at least fifteen (15) errors and hopes that these will be addressed before sending the budget to the board for approval. There being no further persons to speak on the public hearing, and the public hearing was closed. It was moved by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Riley for discussion. Vice Mayor Kelley said that he knows that at some point there will be amendments to the budget. He asked the city manager how the process is going to work for these amendments. City Manager Harrell said that the amendments will be made as all of the other prior amendments. Vice Mayor Kelley said that the city manager should have an idea of how she will handle the amendments because he sees that this will arise at a later time and departments may have to amend their budgets. He inquired about the Brownsfield Project as well as the Cultural Arts Center Project and where those dollars will go once obtained by the City. City manager Harrell said that once the funds are disbursed the City will handle the mold and refurbishing of the Cultural Arts Center and the Brownsfield project is ongoing until 2018. Special Commission Meeting Minutes—2/01/2017 4 Commissioner Pigatt said that on page 67 which is the city commission's budget sheet, he is not listed. Finance Director Charmaine Parchment said that the expenses were defunded so the finance department did not see a reason to include him as a line item. Commissioner Pigatt said that he sees a budgeted line item for former Commissioner Luis Santiago who is no longer a commissioner for the City. He said that his name should be included in the budget to reflect a current commissioner even though it has been defunded. City Manager Harrell agreed to add Commissioner Pigatt's name to the budget. Commissioner Pigatt said the finance director's salary was at $90,000.00 and the reduction was $9,000.00, but the new salary is at $90,000.00 when it should be at $81,000.00. Finance Director Charmaine Parchment said that she will make the changes. Commissioner Pigatt said that all errors should be corrected before being sent to the state. Commissioner Holmes asked the city attorney if this is the proper forum for bringing up all of these issues with the budget being that this is not a workshop. City Attorney Brown said that this is the forum for addressing these concerns. Commissioner Riley asked the city manager if there is a time line on the budget. City Manager Harrell said that the City is looking at May 31st. Commissioner Riley asked if the process has started to do budget amendments. City Manager Harrell said that the City anticipates the amendments so they have started already. There being no further discussion, the motion on the amendment passed by a 4-0 vote. Commissioner Pigatt Yes Commissioner Riley Yes Vice Mayor Kelley Yes Commissioner Holmes Yes Mayor Taylor Yes 2. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA- LOCKA, FLORIDA, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 16-16 BY AMENDING THE ANNUAL ADOPTED PROPRIETARY AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUND BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2016-2017, COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2016, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2017; PROVIDING FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS ESTABLISHED BY THE BUDGET; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS; PROVIDING FOR APPROPRIATION OF ALL BUDGET EXPENDITURES; PROVIDING FOR FEES CONSISTENT WITH APPROPRIATION AND AMENDMENT; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING Special Commission Meeting Minutes—2/01/2017 5 FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE (first reading held on February 16,2017.Sponsored by City Manager The above ordinance was read by title by Attorney Brown. Mayor Taylor opened the floor for a public hearing. Dorothy Johnson, 14255 NW 22' Place, said that she does not remember where the risk management was tied to the law enforcement department. She would like to be provided with a copy of the employment agreement. She does know where the City is going with this, but the City has never paid for litigation for contracted persons. The decisions that the city commission is making is costing the City and it will continue to do so. She does not like it. There being no further persons to speak on the public hearing, and the public hearing was closed. It was moved by Commissioner Riley, seconded by Commissioner Holmes for discussion. Vice Mayor Kelley said that he is intrigued that when he asked for a response regarding the budget, not much was said, but when his colleague asked about it, he was given information and a timeframe. Also, he is concerned about the numbers for the franchise fees. He knows it is set at 28%, but he is concerned with the numbers that are being projected and may change at a later time. There being no further discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 4-1 vote. Vice Mayor Kelley No Commissioner Riley Yes Commissioner Pigatt Yes Vice Mayor Holmes Yes Mayor Taylor Yes 7. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, it was moved by Commissioner Riley, seconded by Commissioner Pigatt to adjourn the meeting at 6:30 p.m. 7( 4/ 61,"-VAYOR ATTEST: %)\--r> CITY CLERK Special Commission Meeting Minutes—2/01/2017 6