HomeMy Public PortalAbout07 08 2022 Regular MeetingMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING BEING HELD BY THE TOWN
COMMISSION, OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, ON JULY 8, 2022, 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
Thomas A. Smith Commissioner
Also Present &
Participating:
Absent w/Notice
IV. Minutes
Gregory Dunham
Edward Nazzaro
Edward Allen
Rita Taylor
Paul A. Lyons
Joan K. Orthwein
Town Manager
Asst. Town Attorney
Chief of Police
Town Clerk
Commissioner
Commissioner
A. Regular Meeting of June 10,2022
Commissioner Smith made a motion to approve the minutes of
the regular meeting on June 10, 2022. Vice Mayor Stanley seconded the
motion with all voting AYE at roll call.
V. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items
VII. B will be the Auditor's Report and XI. A. will be Resolution
22-03, which will move the other items to B. and C.
VI. Announcements.
A. Regular Meetings and Public Hearings
1. August 12, 2022, at 9:00 A.M.
2. September 9, 2022, at 4:00 P.M.
3. October 14, 2022, at 9:00 A.M.
4. November 11, 2022, at 9:00 A.M.
S. December 9, 2022, at 9:00 A.M.
B. Tentative Budget Hearing
1. September 9, 2022, at 5:01 P.M.
C. Final Budget Hearing
1.September 21, 2022, at 5:01 P.M.
Mayor Morgan called attention to the meeting dates and
stated that he would not be present for the August meeting nor the Final
Budget Hearing on September 21, 2022.
VII. A. School Board Member Erica Whitfield -State of Education Report
Mrs. Erica Whitfield gave a detailed report and stated that
after two years of being in a pandemic, and even though Palm Beach
County was one of the first to resume in -person classes in September of
Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
2020, it had been very difficult for the kids to acclimate. She stated
that Palm Beach County remained an A District, which is a testament to
the teachers in recovering from the pandemic. Mrs. Whitfield stated
that safety and security was a priority as well as having a Behavioral
Health Specialist in each school. She stated that the penny tax had
been able to purchase computers for every student during the pandemic,
which helped to keep the A rating. Mrs. Whitfield stated that 6.875
mils, which was set by the state, is how schools are funded. Mayor
Morgan thanked her for coming and for her enthusiasm in the position she
holds.
B. Auditor's Report
1. Presentation by Ron Bennett
Mr. Ron Bennett gave a detailed presentation and stated
that the Town had a clean report.
VIII. Communication from the Public (3 min. maximum)
Mr. Robert Ganger, Town resident, stated that with the imminent
closing of Ellie's Diner, he recalled that the first meetings regarding
undergrounding had taken place at Ellie's. He went on to say that he was
very pleased that the project was ending and happy that the Town had
decided to go down this path. Mayor Morgan thanked Mr. Ganger for his
leadership in initiating the undergrounding project.
Mr. Bob Burns, Town resident, asked if there had been any more
discussion regarding making Lakeview one-way in and Banyan one-way out.
Mayor Morgan stated that it had been reviewed and evaluated by the
police department and at this time it had been decided to keep things
the way they are. He added that the school was going to be addressing
their ingress and egress, which should help the situation.
IX. PUBLIC HEARING
A. Declaration of Ex-Parte Communication
There was none.
B. Administer Oaths
Town Clerk Taylor swore in Richard Brummer, Joe Pehota,
Cristofer Bennardo, Rebecca Travis, Jeff Hiscock and Sira
Prinyavivatkul.
C. Applications for Development Approval
1. An application submitted by Richard Brummer, as Agent for
Joseph and Laura Pehota, owners of the property located at
996 Pelican Lane, Gulf Stream, Florida, legally described
as S/D OF 9-46-43 NLY 109 FT OF WLY 94.52 FT OF E 227.50
FT OF LT 25.
a. Demolition Permit to demolish existing structure.
b. Land Clearing Permit to clear existing vegetation from
the building site.
c. variance to reduce the minimum rear setback applicable
to the Property from 30' to 21'.
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Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
d. Variance to increase the minimum Floor Area Ratio
applicable to the Property from 33% to 35.250 (Section
70-71, Code of Ordinances, Floor Area Ratios)
e. Variance to reduce the pool setback applicable to the
Property from 20' to 2' (Section 70-74, Setbacks)
f. Level 3 Architectural/Site Plan Review to permit the
construction of a new two-story Anglo-Caribbean style
single family dwelling with two -car garage, four
bedrooms, bonus room and swimming pool.
Mr. Richard Brummer, Architect, gave a detailed
PowerPoint presentation. Mayor Morgan asked why he thought they were
entitled to the variances. To answer Mayor Morgan, Mr. Cristofer
Bennardo, legal representation for the Pehota's, gave a detailed
presentation on the request for the variances that were all relative to
the 707 sq. ft. sliver of land contiguous with the Gulf Stream parcel of
land. Mr. Bennardo explained that this parcel was outside the Gulf Stream
town limits and when investigating further, it was found that it didn't
belong to the City of Delray Beach either, so it was basically a "lost
parcel". Mr. Bennardo then went through the eight requirements of a
variance addressing each one. He added that the solution would be to
annex this parcel into the Town, and they would like to pursue this.
Mayor Morgan thanked him for the thorough evaluation and agreed this was a
very unique situation. Commissioner Smith asked if there had been any
comments from neighbors to which Assistant Town Attorney Nazzaro answered
that the Town had received a phone call from a neighbor stating they
thought the house was too large and inconsistent with the neighborhood.
Mayor Morgan stated he had to look at the application literally and only
look at parcel one since parcel two was not in the Town of Gulf Stream and
that would make the lot an interior lot and the house was too large for
the interior lot. With that said, he added that he could not go along
with the variance as it didn't meet criteria 3, 4, 5 and 8. Mr. Pehota
argued that it was one property and they had no knowledge that the parcels
weren't both located in Gulf Stream and felt the house was not a mansion
and would fit well within the neighborhood stating that his house would be
smaller than other houses on Pelican Lane. He added it would be much
nicer than the house that was presently there. Discussion was made
regarding whether to look at the lot as a waterfront or an interior lot.
Mayor Morgan asked where the taxes were being paid to which Assistant Town
Attorney stated he had spoken with an attorney from Delray Beach, and they
did not have the parcel annexed to Delray, but the Pehota's were paying
the taxes to Delray Beach.
The architectural style of the home was discussed, and Mr. Brummer
stated they were doing an inspiration of the Anglo Caribbean style. The
Commission did not like the stair tower feature on the front fagade and
thought the house was missing some Anglo Caribbean elements, specifying
shutters and vertical muntins missing on the windows and stating that the
windows were too large for Anglo Caribbean. Mr. Brummer asked for some
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Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
direction regarding the stair tower and Commissioner Smith stated it
needed some architectural element to break up the verticality of the
tower. Mayor Morgan also noted that the glass front door needed to be wood
to be Anglo Caribbean and added that this house looked contemporary in
design and not Anglo Caribbean. After much discussion, it was decided to
defer the application to the next Commission meeting in August so that the
applicant didn't have to go back to the ARPB. It was also decided that
suggestions made by the Commission needed to be done to make the house
more Anglo Caribbean and to pursue annexation with the Town for the second
parcel.
Commissioner Smith made a motion to defer the application to the
Commission Meeting on August 12, 2022. Vice Mayor Stanley seconded the
motion with all voting AYE at roll call.
X. Reports.
A. Baxter/Woodman
1. CIP Core Area Improvements
Rebecca Travis stated they would be giving a preliminary
design update and she gave a presentation on the roadway improvements,
then Jeff Hiscock spoke about the drainage, and Sira Prinyavivatkul
spoke about the water elements. After those items were discussed,
Rebecca Travis spoke about the cost and schedule. Due to inflation, she
added they had put a 30% contingency instead of a 20% contingency and
was hopeful that this being a year out, that inflation would go down and
supply and demand be in a better state. She stated it was a generous
cost estimate at a preliminary level and it would be fine-tuned when
they got into the finer points of the design.
Mayor Morgan recessed the meeting at 11:25. A.M. and called the
meeting back to order at 11:35 A.M.
B. Town Manager
1. Utility Undergrounding
Town Manager Dunham stated that there were 18-20 poles
that remained out of 60 and he expected them to be down in a couple of
weeks. The Commission commented at how beautiful everything was
looking.
2. Update -Rezoning Request for Auto Dealership West of
Place au Soleil
Assistant Town Attorney Nazzaro gave an update stating he
and ARPB Chairman, Malcolm Murphy, had attended the meeting on June 20,
2022, and had spoken in opposition, but that the rezoning request had
passed 6-1 in favor of the auto dealership. Mr. Nazzaro added that he
was still trying to obtain concessions from the dealership for the Town.
3. Inter -local Agreement for Building Department Services -
Highland Beach
Town Manager Dunham stated that Assistant Town Attorney
Nazzaro had drafted an Interlocal Agreement with Highland Beach for them
to present at their July 19, 2022, meeting and if their Commission
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Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
approved, a special meeting could be called for our Commission to
approve the ILA. Vice Mayor Stanley questioned how things would be
processed with Highland Beach and if there would be a backlog to which
Assistant Town Attorney Nazzaro thought they would be processed in the
order that they came in and no preferential treatment would be given to
Highland Beach applications. Mayor Morgan thought they should get that
clarification.
C. Architectural Review & Planning Board
1. Meeting Dates
a. July 28, 2022, at 8:30 A.M.
b. August - No Meeting
c. September 22, 2022, at 8:30 A.M.
d. October 27, 2022, at 8:30 A.M.
e. November 17, 2022, at 8:30 A.M.
f. December 22, 2022, at 8:30 A.M.
Mayor Morgan called attention to the meeting dates.
D. Finance Director
1. Financial Report for June 2022
Town Manager Dunham stated Delray Beach was going to be
raising their water rates. CFO Tew stated the rates went up on July 1,
2022, and it would be noted on the next bill that the rate went up 5.320
and would raise rates for the next five consecutive years and they would
be substantial. Assistant Town Attorney noted that the Town's agreement
with Delray will end in 2023 so we would be re -negotiating that contract
and they had already been in discussions with Delray Beach regarding
this renewal.
E. Police Chief
1. Activity for June 2022
Chief Allen requested that the report be accepted as
submitted and added there was a lot of construction still going on that
was keeping the police department busy. He added that a boat had come
ashore and when the Gulf Stream PD arrived at the scene, border patrol,
customs and the sheriff's office were already present, and they were
told that an 85-year-old woman had been able to escape.
Mayor Morgan accepted all reports as submitted.
XI. Items for Commission Action.
A. Resolution 22-03; A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE
TOWN OF GULF STREAM, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING
WATER RATES AND CHARGES BY RESOLUTION AS PROVIDED IN ORDINANCE
NO. 03/4 AMENDING CHAPTER 34 UTILITIES AT ARTICLE II SECTION
34-26 FOR THE OPERATION OF THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR
THE TOWN, PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Assistant Town Attorney Nazzaro explained that CFO Tew had
just mirrored a resolution from 2015 permitting the Town to set water
rates by resolution. CFO Tew stated that it was reflecting the increase
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Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
in water rates from Delray Beach, and she would be bringing a resolution
every time Delray increased their rates over the next five years.
Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion to approve Resolution 22-03.
Commissioner Smith seconded the motion with all voting AYE at roll call.
B. Presentation of Proposed Budget
1. Budget Consideration
Town Manager Dunham stated that the source of revenue for
the Town's General Fund is the Ad Valorem Tax and over the last five
years, the Town has either lowered its Ad Valorem Tax Rate or set it at
the rolled back rate with the results being that the General Fund
Revenues over the last five years have basically been the same at
4,600,000 to 4,700,000. Mr. Dunham gave the numbers for the existing
year (2022) budgeted ad valorem proceeds which were $4,626,948 and added
that if the Town used the 2023 rolled back rate the numbers would be
$4,673,891, but if they stayed at the 2022 millage rate the proceeds
would be $5,225,242. Mr. Dunham then went over the Town's current
taxable value and what was estimated for 2023. He stated that a water
valve exercise machine, two police cruisers and equipment would need to
be purchased.
Mr. Anthony Beltran, Water Supervisor, explained that the town
has 87 valves and that they were exercising them by hand at the present
time, which was very time consuming and laborious. He added that by
Health Code, the valves must be exercised twice a year and with the
exercise machine, they would be doing it more often which would help the
valves operate more efficiently.
Town Manager Dunham stated the Town always budgeted for weather
related contingencies and that a truck also needed to be purchased and
that wasn't listed in the report. He noted that the Town was in the
fifth year of its 10-year Capital Improvement Plan and the sixth year
would begin in October of 2022. Mr. Dunham stated that Gulf Stream had
a talented workforce, and it was important to retain them. He added he
was recommending a 5% COLA, and in addition to that, a one-time
Inflation Correction that would not be added to the base salary of the
individual. He noted that the Inflation Correction would not apply to
the Town Manager, Town Clerk, Chief of Police, or the Captain of the
Police. Mr. Dunham stated that when looking at COLA, they relied on the
CPI of Miami -Dade County, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. This
year the CPI for those counties was 9.6% as of April, thus, to be
competitive in the market, he was suggesting 50-o. Mr. Dunham stated that
the present administrative staff had been together for eight years and
it was important to keep them, although the inflation issues were
affecting COLA's. He mentioned he wanted to stay competitive with other
towns and stated that the Town of Manalapan had given a 5% COLA increase
in February and were doing another 5% in October, as well as considering
an Inflation Correction. Mr. Dunham suggested discussing personnel
items in more detail at the August meeting.
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Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
Mayor Morgan was not comfortable with the Inflation Correction,
and he gave kudos to CFO Tew for all the time spent working on it and
the percentages based on salary. He felt it was the wrong approach. He
thought the 5% COLA was consistent with neighboring towns as well as the
Federal Government. Mayor Morgan stated that fuel costs were what was
driving inflation and it had doubled since January of 2021. He felt
more comfortable with an amount to compensate employees across the board
and not based on their income. Mayor Morgan stated that CFO Tew had
come up with the number of days worked per year and 25 miles each way
for the commute and gave the IRS mileage rate to come up with a figure.
He thought that was the approach the Town should take, and it would not
apply to those employees who receive a car allowance. Mayor Morgan
wanted it to be fair for all the employees of the Town and if it was
based on salary, it was not fair. Town Manager Dunham stated that he
was sure the employees would be appreciative of any type of inflation
correction.
2. 2021-2022 Millage Rate
Commissioner Smith expressed concern that with rising
costs in compensation and supply costs, he thought the residents should
expect or realize that it would need to be paid through real estate
taxes or a small increase. He suggested to land somewhere between last
year's rate and the rollback rate even though he had been assured by
Town staff that the budget could be met without doing that. Mr. Dunham
wanted to qualify that he and CFO Tew felt comfortable with the rollback
rate, but they did not think it would be sustainable in the near future.
CFO Tew agreed and added that she hadn't anticipated the updated 300
contingency from Rebecca Travis on the CIP Project. Mrs. Tew added that
because of that, she would not go with the rollback rate at this time.
The Commission agreed they were all surprised at the 30o contingency
numbers given by Baxter & woodman.
Mayor Morgan stated in looking at the budget, he didn't think
they should go with the rollback rate either and should consider keeping
the millage rate from last year. Vice Mayor Stanley agreed.
Commissioner Smith wanted to know the history of the millage rate for
the Town and CFO Tew explained that the Town had been at the rollback
rate or below it for the last five years.
Mayor Morgan stated that the 2021-22 Millage Rate was 3.6724.
3. Proposed Millage Rate for Fiscal Year 2022-2023
Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion that the proposed Millage
Rate for Fiscal Year 2022-23 is 3.6724. Commissioner Smith seconded the
motion with all voting AYE at roll call.
4. Certification of Rolled Back Millage Rate
Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion to certify the 2023
rolled -back rate of 3.2849. Commissioner Smith seconded the motion with
all voting AYE at roll call.
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Minutes of Town Commission
Regular Meeting July 8, 2022 @ 9:00 A.M.
5. Date of First Public Hearing -Tentative Budget Adoption
Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion that September 9, 2022,
at 5:01 PM would be the Public Hearing for the Tentative Budget
Adoption. Commissioner Smith seconded the motion with all voting AYE at
roll call.
6. Date of Second Public Hearing -Final Budget Adoption
Vice Mayor Stanley made a motion that September 22, 2022,
at 5:01 PM would be the Public Hearing for the Final Budget Adoption.
Commissioner Smith seconded the motion with all voting AYE at roll call.
C. Items by Mayor & Commissioners
There were none.
XII. Adjournment
Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 12:22 P.M.
Renee
Deputy Town Clerk
Rl