Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout05 10 19 MeetingMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM ON FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2019 AT 9:00 A.M. IN THE WILLIAM F. KOCH, JR. COMMISSION CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL, 100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA. I. Call to Order. Mayor Morgan called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. Ii. Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Morgan led the Pledge of Allegiance. III. Roll Call. Present and Participating: Scott W. Morgan Mayor Thomas W. Stanley Vice Mayor Paul Lyons, Jr. Commissioner Joan K. Orthwein Commissioner Also Present & Participating: Gregory Dunham Edward Nazzaro Edward Allen Rita Taylor Absent with Notice: Donna White IV. Minutes. A. Regular Meeting of April 12, 2019. Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion to April 12, 2019, and the motion was seconded by with all voting AYE at roll call. Town Manager Staff Attorney Police Chief Town Clerk Commissioner accept the minutes of Commissioner Orthwein V. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items. Town Clerk Taylor stated that Item VIII was being removed at the request of the applicant and a line item XI. E. Grant Funds Distributions was being added. VI. Announcements. A. Regular Meetings and Public Hearing 1. June 14, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. 2. July 12, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. 3. August 9, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. 4. September 13, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. 5. October 11, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. Mayor Morgan called attention to these dates. VII. Communication from the Public (3 min. maximum) Kristine de Haseth stated that she taught a Civics course at Gulf Stream School to seventh graders on how they can get involved at a local level. The entire class and teacher were present and several students made comments in groups of three. The first three commented that there were no term limits in Gulf Stream and that it had been that way since Gulf Stream was established. They mentioned that nearby towns had term limits and it had worked well for them. They stated that the original idea of no term limits was outdated and they consider having term limits to create a better and more efficient political system. They added that Ocean Ridge had recently implemented a change in their term limits allowing three three-year terms with a one -term break before being Minutes of Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held May 10, 2019 @ 9:00 A.M. allowed to sit on the Commission Board again. They felt this allowed people to not only take a break but bring fresh eyes and new perspective to the board and town. Mayor Morgan commented that they were well- informed and he appreciated their ideas. The second trio of students wanted to discuss golf cart rules in the neighborhood. They stated they had gone to the Police Department to ask about lowering the age limit on driving golf carts and had been told that the age requirement was a state law and the city could not change it. They asked that the Commission consider lowering the age requirement in the Town if the State of Florida ever did so. VIII. Board of Adjustment Hearing Removed at the request of the applicant. IX. Public Hearing A. Applications for Development Approval 1. Amended application submitted by Carlos Linares, Architect, as Agent for Kevin and Michelle Clark, owners of property located at 3400 Polo Drive, Gulf Stream, Florida, which is legally described as Lot 10 & N 50' of Lot 11 in Polo Cove Subdivision. a. Color palette as presented on October 4, 2018. b. Amended site plan and landscape plan to preserve existing landscaping, including Ficus tree in front. Carlos Linares, Architect with Randall Stofft, stated that this application had been previously approved with a couple of conditions, one being to keep the Ficus tree on Polo Drive. After discussion with the homeowners, the driveway has been reconfigured to maintain the Ficus, he added. Mr. Linares noted that Maureen Smith, landscape architect, had also changed and updated the landscaping per the reconfiguration of the driveway. Mr. Linares did not think discussion was needed on the color palette, as it had not changed since being approved the first time it was submitted. Ms. Smith noted that the two Sylvester Palms had to be removed and explained the changes and updates that were made in order to keep the Ficus tree. Commissioner Lyons asked why the Royal Palms were being taken out, to which Ms. Smith said they were not being taken out. Commissioner Lyons then referred to the survey and wanted to know what the X meant. Ms. Smith stated that it must have been a mistake and assured Commissioner Lyons and the Commission that the Royal Palms were not being removed. Town Manager, Greg Dunham, asked if they could meet privately to make sure everything was correct, to which Ms. Smith agreed. Vice Mayor Stanley asked to see a before and after, to which all the Commissioners thought the re -design was much better. Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion to approve the revised Level III Architectural/Site Plan based on a finding that the construction of a two-story 7406 sq. ft. single-family Bermuda style home with attached garage, pool and pool pavilion meet the minimum intent of the Design Manual and applicable review standards with the following conditions: 1. Prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy the owner of the property shall prepare and sign a Gulf Stream Driveway Removal Agreement. 2 Minutes of Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held May 10, 2019 @ 9:00 A.M. 2. Any minor modifications in the approved landscaping shall be submitted to the Town Manager for review and approval and any major modification shall be brought back to the ARPB for review and approval, prior to commencement of landscaping, with a caveat that the applicant and staff will meet with regard to the landscaping on the roadside including the Royal Palms, which the Commission regarded as minor and would not need to come back to the ARPB but go to the Town Manager. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Orthwein with all voting AYE at roll call. X. Reports A. Town Manager 1. Utility Undergrounding Town Manager, Greg Dunham, stated that both Comcast and AT&T have been pulling fiber and cable at a rapid pace and there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel. 2. Update on IT Systems Status Mr. Dunham referred to CFO, Rebecca Tew, who stated that the Town was well under way in migrating over to Financial Edge NXT, which is the cloud -based financial software. The database has been moved over and the Town is in a testing environment now, she added. She stated that she and Renee Basel have completed most of the training required. The go -live date of July 31, 2019 has now been moved to mid- June. Mrs. Tew stated that the external database that the Town uses as a back-up is portable so that if a major event should happen, and with her FDLE clearance, she could take it home with her. She added that she is meeting with CGA, the IT providers, in the next week to come up with a time frame to select software and back-up system packages. Mrs. Tew stated that the Town is also in the process of moving the company shared drive over to Laserfiche, which is cloud -based and will be able to begin using Laserfiche as the company shared drive. Doing this significantly decreases the Town's server capacity by about 500-.. Commissioner Lyons wanted to know that once the Town completes the conversion, if it would then be totally on the cloud to which Mrs. Tew answered in the affirmative. Commissioner Lyons then wanted to know what the protocol was for back-up to the cloud base. Mrs. Tew explained that with both Laserfiche and Blackbaud Financial, at no time can the Town's information be stored on less than three geographically different server farms at any one point in time. If one collapses or goes down due to some catastrophic failure, it automatically migrates to another farm. She added that with the financial software, she could, at any time, take a snapshot and store it on a thumb drive. She can also request, once a month, a complete paper hardcopy back-up of the Town's entire financial repository. Mrs. Tew said that it would take up a lot of space and she didn't know where it could be stored, but it could be done if he was worried about security, although she is very comfortable with how well the Town's data is protected. There is a redundancy on the redundancy in the cloud, she added, and went on to say that the Federal Government and other governments across the United States all use the cloud. Commissioner Lyons was very concerned about threats and hacking and stated how it's constantly in the news. He liked the fact of having a 3 Minutes of Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held May 10, 2019 @ 9:00 A.M. hard copy in the Town's possession and asked the Commission if he was the only one who had reservations. Mayor Morgan reiterated that this was all thought about and discussed when first considering going to the cloud and that Vice Mayor Stanley and Mrs. Tew had worked very hard to put together the best possible scenario for the Town. Mrs. Tew also stated that she had implemented an IT security awareness training each year for the staff. Commissioner Lyons then asked if the decision was that the Town was going to back up on the cloud, to which Mrs. Tew responded that it was the best case scenario. Commissioner Lyons stated if everyone else was comfortable with it, then so be it. B. Architectural Review & Planning Board 1. Meeting Dates a May 23, 2019 at 8:30 A.M. b. June 27, 2019 at 8:30 A.M. c. July 25, 2019 at 8:30 A.M. d. No August meeting e. September 26, 2019 at 8:30 A.M. Mayor Morgan called attention to these dates. C. Finance Director 1. Financial Report for April 2019 There were no questions or comments from the Commission. D. Police Chief 1. Activity for April 2019 Chief Allen asked that his report be accepted as presented. The Mayor declared both reports be accepted. IX. Items for Commission Action. A. Request for Construction Trailers @ 3112 Gulf Stream Rd. and 2401 N. Ocean Blvd.-Mouw Associates, Inc. Town Manager Dunham noted that there were surveys showing where the trailers would be located and that he and Chief Allen had gone out and inspected the areas and the trailers couldn't be seen from AlA. Commissioner Orthwein made a motion to approve the request for construction trailers at 3112 Gulf Stream Rd. and 2401 N. Ocean Blvd. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Stanley with all voting AYE at roll call. B. Ordinance No. 19/1; AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE TOWN'S CODE OF ORDINANCES AT CHAPTER 42, BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATIONS, ARTICLE II CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS, SECTION 42-27, ISSUANCE OF PERMITS; INSPECTIONS, TO CLARIFY THE PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION OF BUILDING PERMITS; DELETING SECTION 42-28, COUNTY TO PROCESS APPLICATIONS; FEES FOR SERVICE, IN ITS ENTIRETY; AMENDING SECTION 42-29, CONSTRUCTION ABANDONMENT, TO ADD REGULATIONS THAT ADDRESS THE EXPIRATION OF TOWN ISSUED SITE PLANS, TO BE RENUMBERED 42-28; AND ADDING A NEW SECTION 42- 29, DEMOLITION PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Second Reading and Adoption) Commissioner Orthwein made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 19/1. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Stanley with all voting AYE at roll call. 10 Minutes of Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held May 10, 2019 @ 9:00 A.M. C. 5 Year Extension of Interlocal Agreement for Fire -Rescue Services from City of Delray Beach Town Manager Dunham asked for approval of the five year Extension of the Interlocal Agreement the Town has with Delray Beach for Fire -Rescue Services. He stated that this is based on the exact same conditions that have existed for many years. Commissioner Lyons asked what the built-in escalation price is, to which Staff Attorney Nazzaro answered it is 50. Commissioner Lyons wanted to know if it was automatically 50 or subject to CPI, to which Staff Attorney Nazzaro answered it is 50 or CPI, whichever is higher. Commissioner Orthwein made a motion to approve the 5 -Year Extension of Interlocal Agreement for Fire -Rescue Services from City of Delray Beach. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Stanley with all voting AYE at roll call. D. Items by Mayor & Commissioners 1. Current Roadside Lawn Protection Policy Mayor Morgan stated the concern he and others in Town have had regarding the stakes and other yard obstruction pieces in the rights-of-way in the Core of Town and a bit of AlA. He wanted to go through the history of these, how it has progressed and what the risks and liabilities are to the Town. Mayor Morgan said that the stakes have increased so substantially that it presents a hazard to the residents, mentioning the many kids riding bikes and others walking. In addition to those, he mentioned the risks to the Fire and Rescue and the aesthetic appearance in Town. The Mayor then turned to Town Manager Dunham for the history of the stakes in Town. Mr. Dunham stated that going back to February of 1993, the Town adopted a rule that said nothing other than low landscape materials and mailboxes within six feet of the edge of pavement were allowed in the right-of-ways. Under Florida State Statutes, the Town would have to comply with the standard unless upon sound research, the Town deemed another standard appropriate. Mayor Morgan reminded everyone that Scott Harrington was the Town Manager in 1993 and had done extensive research on this and concluded that there was no reason to be an exception from the Florida Statute, so there were no stakes. Mr. Dunham continued with the history stating that in 1999, the Town amended the rule and approved as an exception to the Town Right -of -Way Policy, Town residents who own property in the vicinity of an active construction site will be permitted to install white or painted dark green capped PVC pipes 36" inches above grade along the front of their property two feet from the road's edge. The pipes should be approximately nine feet apart. The maximum pipe size shall be two inches in diameter and the pipes shall be removed immediately following the issuance of a CO from the construction site. He added that five years ago, this came up again, but there were no changes to what was approved in 1999. Mr. Dunham stated that in 2004, the Town passed an Ordinance that said it shall be unlawful for any person to place and/or maintain any obstructions within the right- of-way of the Town without first being given authority in writing by the Town to place said obstructions. Mayor Morgan asked Staff Attorney Nazzaro about the liability of these stakes to the Town. Mr. Nazzaro 5 Minutes of Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held May 10, 2019 @ 9:00 A.M. stated that the Town would be liable with a limit of $200,000 per person, $300,000 per incident and because of this issue, many municipalities have prohibited these types of obstructions. Town Manager Dunham also reached out to the Delray Beach Fire Department to get input. Chief DeJesus said that their main concern when answering a call is the landscape companies parked on the side of the road, but they are also concerned about the stakes and the pyramids because they cause tire damage to the firetrucks. The discussion then moved to the narrow streets in the Town. Commissioner Lyons stated that after the Town has gone through all they have with undergrounding to beautify the Town and now these stakes all over town is aesthetically offensive to him but safety should be the prime criteria. He added that he would not like to widen the roads because that is part of the small town charm, but certain streets may need to be widened for safety issues. He also brought up the fact that many people's landscaping goes into the Town's right-of-ways and said that whether or not roads are widened, the obstructions must come down. Commissioner Orthwein said she felt that there were stakes up in places that didn't even need stakes, especially the wider roads. She then brought up the option of possibly making some of the narrow roads one way streets and monitoring the bigger landscape trucks. Mayor Morgan suggested looking into landscape companies that may have more narrow truck beds. Chief Allen stated that the Police Department had put a lot of thought into making some of the streets one way, but they felt that the elderly folks in Town would have a hard time adjusting to any changes of that magnitude and they didn't want to have to start enforcing it as it would be enforcing 990 of the Town's own residents. It would also affect GPS, which can take up to a year to make a change, and EMS trucks as well, he said. Mr. Graziano, a Town resident, said that he had measured Lakeview and Banyan and they were 16 ft. wide, which is two feet narrower than the narrowest recommended width for a two-lane road by the Florida Department of Highways. He said another problem was people who had tall plantings in the right-of-ways. Large trucks cannot make turns without running over the landscaping on the narrow roads, he added. Chief Allen stated that since putting the NO TRUCKS signs up mid- January, they have stopped over 65 vehicles. Mayor Morgan and the Commissioners came to a unanimous conclusion that the stakes definitely need to come down. The Mayor said he would send out a letter to residents asking them to take the stakes down and remove them from their properties and the rights-of-way. E. Grant Funds Distributions Town Manager Dunham stated that the Criminal Justice Commission is looking for approval of the distribution funds to Palm Beach County in the amount of $322,532 with a letter and the signature of the Mayor. The grant money is planned to be used for a re-entry program which provides transitional services for adults and juveniles released from jail and prison to Palm Beach County. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement requires 510 of the local units of government to approve this. Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion to approve the JAG Grant A Minutes of Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing Held May 10, 2019 @ 9:00 A.M. Funds Distribution as presented with Mayor Morgan sending a signed letter to approve it. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Orthwein with all voting AYE at roll call. X. Adjournment. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 10:32 A.M. Rer/ee Basel Ex cutive Assistant 7