HomeMy Public PortalAbout05- May 18, 2017 Speial Commission Meeting Minutes CITY OF OPA-LOCKA
"The Great City"
CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES
SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING
Thursday, May 18, 2017
5:30 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 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, 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: City Manager Yvette Harrell, City
Attorney Vincent T. Brown, and City Clerk Joanna Flores.
3. INVOCATION:
The invocation was delivered by Mayor Myra L. Taylor.
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
5. PUBLIC INPUT:
Agenda Items Only
6. RESOLUTIONS:
1. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-
LOCKA, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, TO PROVIDE SEWAGE DISPOSAL
SERVICE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY; PROVIDING FOR
INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Sponsored by City Manager
The above resolution was read by Attorney Brown.
It was moved by Commissioner Pigatt, seconded by Commissioner Riley for discussion.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that said that he is concerned about the length of time for the agreement.
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City Manager Harrell said that it is running concurrent to the billing agreement which is the other
agreement that is on the agenda for tonight.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he is still concerned.
City Manager Harrell said that the City does not have the capacity or the resources to deal with
the sewage.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that may be true, but he does not like the idea of entering into a twenty
year agreement.
Commissioner Pigatt asked if the City can withdraw the agreement after five years.
City Manager Harrell said that the agreement would have to reflect this and be agreed upon
between both parties.
David Ritchie, Miami-Dade County, said that he believes the county will be amenable to having
a lower time period. He explained that the county gave the City a wholesale rate for disposing of
its water. The wholesale rate is around three dollars ($3.00) whereas the retail rate is around
eight dollars ($8.00). If the City chooses to get out of the rate it will end up paying the retail rate
for the disposal of the water.
Vice Mayor Kelley asked who proposed twenty years.
Mr. Ritchie said that the county attorney proposes twenty years for everyone.
Vice Mayor Kelley asked the manager if she had a conversation with Mr. Ritchie regarding the
proposal.
City Manager Harrell said that she did not need to have a conversation with Mr. Ritchie because
she understood exactly what the agreement was for and there was no need to ask him to lower it.
The agreement should be accepted in the form that it was presented. If the commission wishes
for a lower timeframe, Mr. Ritchie said that they may change the agreement.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he is challenged with this time as none of them will be working for
the City in twenty years and who knows what will happen. He does not want to lock in for that
much time.
City Manager Harrell said that she did not focus on the length of time because the City needs to.
focus on the stability of the City. By allowing the City to have a contract of this length, it allows
the City to be locked in at the current rate now and have to be forced to pay the retail amount at a
later time.
Commissioner Pigatt said that twenty (20) years is a long time to be locked into the current
contract. He suggested that the agreement be amended to reflect that the City has the right to
terminate the agreement after five years as this is what is stated in the water billing agreement.
Mr. Ritchie said that he believes the county will be willing to change the agreement.
Commissioner Holmes said that he feel good about the twenty (20) years.
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Commissioner Riley said that he move for the modification to include five years.
Mayor Taylor said that there should have been a workshop to vet the agreements because she has
some questions and concerns.
City Manager Harrell said that the two (2) agreements are not tied together.
The commission continued to debate the terms of service with the agreement with the county.
The county has this same agreement in place with all of the municipalities it deals with. When
the county has to have a thirty (30) year surety bond and five (5) years is not enough; the City is
the only one that has disputed this timeframe. Mr. Ritchie then announced that the county just
communicated to him that the agreement stands at the standard twenty (20) years or nothing at
all; the wholesale agreements with all municipalities are for twenty (20) years.
There being no further discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 5-0 vote.
Vice Mayor Kelley Yes
Commissioner Pigatt Yes
Commissioner Riley Yes
Commissioner Holmes Yes
Mayor Taylor Yes
Commissioner Riley said that he would like to remove the item from the agenda and have a
workshop to discuss it separately and also send out an RFQ.
City Manager Harrell said that she is amenable to that.
Commissioner Pigatt made a call of order and stated that the commission is not allowed to
discuss an item before it is read into the record, followed by a motion and a second.
Mayor Taylor said it was not a discussion; it was to see if the manager was going to agree with
removing the item and therefore it need not be discussed.
2. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-
LOCKA, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, TO PROVIDE BILLING AND
COLLECTION OF WATER, SANITARY SEWAGE AND STORMWATER UTILITY
SERVICE CHARGES, IN A FORM THAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Sponsored by City Manager
The above resolution was read by Attorney Brown.
It was moved by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Pigatt for discussion.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he has been asking for a workshop/town hall on the whole water
issue for four (4) months now to discuss this issue.
Commissioner Holmes called for a point of order and said that at this point they need to vote the
item up or down.
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Mayor Taylor said that a discussion needs to be had before they can vote.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he has a lot of questions, but will only ask Mr. Ritchie to address
where the City and the county is with the current billing situation.
Mr. Richie said that the county has absorbed all of the costs that have been incurred to date. It is
the county's desire to make sure that the City succeeds. Once the system is in place and the
county starts doing the work, then the City will reimburse the county.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that it states in the agreement that the City will be charged.
Mr. Ritchie said that for the record, the City will not be charged until the county starts doing the
work, then they will need to be reimbursed.
City Manager Harrell said that any employees not employed by the county will be reclassified
once the county takes over the billing completely. She told the vice mayor that the utility billing
employees will not lose their jobs.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that the agreement shows that the county will take two (2) employees so
does this mean that the City will find a position for the rest.
Mr. Ritchie said that the meter readers will remain where they are as they will continue to
maintain the system and make repairs. The utility billing employees will be absorbed by the City.
Commissioner Riley said that he has no issues with the county, but it looks as though they are
taking over everything. He thinks the commission should explore other options and take
advantage of them. It looks as though there will be nothing left for the City; the City should
explore other options and make a decision based on what is offered to it.
Commissioner Pigatt said that he thinks that there is a great opportunity before the City to allow
it to solve the water billing issues that have been the source of complaints for many years. The
Avanti Company did the audit and determined that many of the meters needed replacing for an
amount that was around two million dollars ($2,000,000.00). Under this agreement, the county is
willing to put up the money to replace the meters and then be reimbursed by the City. It is
beneficial to the City to go along with this agreement as is.
Commissioner Holmes said he has always questioned the county taking over certain
departments, but wants to move forward with getting the City back to a better place. He is ready
to vote on the item.
Mayor Taylor asked if the gist of the agreement was to get the bills paid and for water and the
meters.
City Manager Harrell agreed with the mayor.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he is as concerned as Commissioner Riley that the City is handing
everything over to the county. He hears the residents saying that the City is giving everything
away and there will be nothing left.
He suggested an amendment to look at the agreement again in five (5) years.
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City Attorney Brown said that it is already in the agreement under section 25.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he does not like seeing twenty (20) years as the number. He then
made a motion to amend this agreement from twenty (20) years to ten (10) years.
It was seconded by Commissioner Holmes.
Commissioner Pigatt said that he is confused because this is what he originally asked and was
told no.
Mr. Ritchie said if that is the case then he misunderstood Commissioner Pigatt, but changes can
be made on this agreement and not the sewer.
There being no further discussion, the motion on the amendment passed by a 4-1 vote.
Vice Mayor Kelley Yes
Commissioner Pigatt Yes
Commissioner Riley No
Commissioner Holmes Yes
Mayor Taylor Yes
There being no discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 4-1 vote.
Commissioner Holmes Yes
Vice Mayor Kelley Yes
Commissioner Pigatt Yes
Commissioner Riley No
Mayor Taylor Yes
3. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-
LOCKA, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO APPLY BUDGETED
SALARY ADJUSTMENTS TO EACH ELIGIBLE CITY EMPLOYEE
RETROACTIVELY TO OCTOBER 1, 2016; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF
RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Sponsored by City Manager
The above resolution was read by Attorney Brown.
It was moved by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Riley for discussion.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that Section 3 mentions the adjustments and the time it takes to receive
the retro pay, but he wants to know the process for employees who do not agree with the amount
that they are to receive. He asked how the calculations were made.
City Manager Harrell said that the employees have the option to dispute it or not accept the
money.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he knows the employees will not turn down any money that is owed
to them, but wants to make sure if an employee disputes an amount, then they have the option.
Commissioner Pigatt asked the city manager why her retro pay was not included on this list.
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City Manager Harrell said that her retro pay was already approved by the commission.
Mayor Taylor asked if any police officers were included on the list.
Vice Mayor Kelley said that he did not understand Commissioner Pigatt's question and for the
record no one should have gotten a check if it was not approved.
There being no further discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 5-0 vote.
Commissioner Pigatt Yes
Commissioner Riley Yes
Commissioner Holmes Yes
Vice Mayor Kelley Yes
Mayor Taylor Yes
7. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the Commission, it was moved by Vice Mayor
Kelley, seconded by Commissioner Holmes and Commissioner Pigatt to adjourn the meeting at
7:31 p.m. ------N
411
ATTEST:
4 $ .
CITY CLERK
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