HomeMy Public PortalAbout02 13 15 MeetingREGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE
TOWN OF GULF STREAM ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 AT 9:00 A.M.
IN THE 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.
Pledge of Allegiance was led by the Mayor.
III. Roll Call.
Present and
Participating:
Also Present &
Participating:
IV. Minutes.
Scott W. Morgan
Robert W. Ganger
Joan K. Orthwein
Thomas M. Stanley
Donna S. White
John Randolph
William H. Thrasher
Rita L. Taylor
Garrett Ward
Danny Brannon
Christopher O'Hare
Christine Dehaseth
William Boardman
Richard Jones
Paul Engle
Tom Laudani
A. Regular Meeting of January 9, 2015
B. Special Meeting of January 26, 2015
Vice Mayor Ganger moved to approve the minutes
Regular Meeting and the Special Meeting minutes
the motion was seconded by Commissioner Stanley
roll call.
Mayor
Vice Mayor
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Town Attorney
Town Manager
Town Clerk
Police Chief
Engineer
Town Resident
Fla. Coalition
Town Resident
Architect for Cacioppo
O'Brien, Suitor
Seaside Builders LLC
of January 9, 2015
of January 26, 2015 and
with all voting AYE at
IV. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items.
There were no changes in the agenda.
VI. Announcements.
A. Regular Meetings and Public Hearings
1. March 13, 2015 @ 9:00 A.M.
2. April 10, 2015 @ 9:00 A.M.
3. May 8, 2015 @ 9:00 A.M.
4. June 12, 2015 @ 9:00 A.M.
5. July 10, 2015 @ 9:00 A.M.
6. August 14, 2015 @ 9:00 A.M.
Mayor Morgan asked if any of the Commissioners expected to be absent for
the March 13, 2015 meeting and all indicated they expect to be present.
Town Commission Regular
Meeting & Public Hearing
February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
VII. Communication from the Public (5 min. maximum)
Mayor Morgan asked if anyone from the public cared to make comments and
Christine Dehaseth, a former resident of Gulf Stream currently residing
in Ocean Ridge, was recognized. Ms. Dehaseth introduced herself and
explained that she is the Executive Director of the Florida Coalition
for Preservation and is present to speak about the project called All
Aboard Florida. She explained All Aboard Florida Holding Company is a
newly formed subsidiary between Florida's Investment Group and Florida
East Coast Industries. She further explained they are developing a
privately owned, operated and maintained high speed rail service between
Miami and Orlando with stops in Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach that
will provide 16 round trip high speed trains resulting in 32 daily gate
closings in addition to the current gate closings that already exist for
freight trains. This will result in 3 to 4 trains per hour between the
hours of 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. at speeds of up to 79 MPH in Palm Beach County
and up to 110 MPH in counties farther north, plus 20 freight trains,
each of them up to 2.6 miles long, running 24 hours a day, she said. Ms.
Dehaseth pointed out that these tracks are within a block west of Place
Au Soleil and within k mile from the main bridges that allow barrier
island residents to travel on and off the island. She listed some of
the issues associated with this project, those being: traffic backups,
increased noise pollution from the whistles, potential delayed response
of emergency vehicles and response to hospitals, a loss of property
values in the areas of Place Au Soleil to be upwards of 20 %, no
provisions for pedestrian crossings, tracks are over 100 years old and
will require considerable construction prior to the increased use,
bridges in Martin County not sturdy enough to handle the increase, will
travel thru environmentally sensitive areas. She reported that many
believe that the business model is flawed and that state taxpayers may
end up on the hook at the very end and that there is no evidence that
the projected ridership of 12,800 persons a day is achievable,
especially with the proposed ticket fee being $100.00 with no time
savings between driving or taking the train to Orlando.
Ms. Dehaseth said that there are two activist groups in Martin County
that will soon be filing a class action suit and that over 48,000 have
signed petitions in opposition, with 40 municipalities having passed
resolutions expressing their concerns over the project. She presented
copies of the Resolutions adopted by Jupiter Island and Jupiter Inlet
Colony and advised that Ocean Ridge is drafting one to consider at their
next meeting with the Mayor of Delray Beach agreeing to bring the matter
before his Commission after the election. She further advised that the
Coalition will be conducting an aggressive outreach program to make
citizens aware of the quality of life issues and give them the
information they need to become better informed and more involved,
potentially writing letters and signing petitions.
Mayor Morgan thanked her for presenting these facts.
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Town Commission Regular
Meeting & Public Hearing
February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
William Boardman, a town resident, was recognized and stated that he
wanted the Mayor and Commissioners to know how pleased he is with the
way the matters of the Town are being handled, especially the litigation
matters. He said that because of his active involvement in the past
campaign, a lot of people have come to him and communicated their
thoughts which the Mayor and Commissioners would be proud to hear. He
pointed out that Gulf Stream is a sophisticated, knowledgeable community
and that many have handled litigation issues in their lives and they are
very supportive in the offensive character of the way the litigation has
been handled. He said they fully understand the only way to stop the
kind of unpleasantness we have been forced to deal with is to take the
battle to the enemy and put their financial resources at risk. Mr.
Boardman said the feedback that he has received shows there to be great
support for what the Mayor and Commissioners are doing.
Mayor Morgan thanked Mr. Boardman and expressed his appreciation for his
support.
There being no further public comment, the Mayor asked if there had been
any ex -parte communication with regard to the application that will be
heard during the Public Hearing.
Commissioner Orthwein stated she had a brief conversation with Mr.
Laudani.
Mayor Morgan asked the Town Clerk to swear in those who plan to speak
during the Public Hearing and Richard Jones, Paul Engle, Christopher
O'Hare and Tom Laudani were sworn in.
VIII. PUBLIC HEARING.
A. Application for Re- Platting Approval
1. An application submitted by Paul Engle, O'Brien, Suiter &
O'Brien, Inc. as Agent for Mr. & Mrs. James A. Cacioppo,
the owners of property located at 3140 and 3180 Polo
Drive, Gulf Stream, Florida, which is legally described as
Lots 5, 6 & 7 Gulf Stream Cove Subdivision.
a. LEVEL 3 ARCHITECTURAL /SITE PLAN REVIEW to permit the
re- platting of Lots 5,6 & 7 in Gulf Stream Cove
Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 24, Page 185,
Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida, a total
of 45,827 square feet or 1.05 acres more or less, into
two lots, 3180 Polo Drive being Lot 1, a total of
16,509 square feet and 3140 Polo Drive being Lot 2 a
total of 29,318 square feet.
Mr. Richard Jones of Richard Jones Architecture, Delray Beach was
recognized and stated that he was here with Paul Engle of O'Brien,
Suiter & O'Brien, Inc., Surveyors, and he believed that Mr. Ladauni of
Seaside Builders would be joining them. He stated that he was present to
discuss the application for a re -plat of the two lots at 3140 and 3180
Polo Drive and that 3180 is the larger of the two and is on the corner
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February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
of Polo Drive and Palm Way. He reminded that lot 3140 had come before
them for a custom home that Seaside was planning to build and which was
subsequently approved. He explained that since the approval there has
been a new buyer of the property and the new buyer's wish is to shift
these lots into a different configuration which was shown in an exhibit
that flips the larger lot, 3180 and the smaller lot 3140. He explained
that 3140 is currently better situated to take advantage of the water
access and that by flipping the two, the larger lot will have the water
front advantage. Conforming lots of 16,509 and 29,318 square feet are
created allowing the new owner of the property to develop the property
as two independent lots and two independent houses, he said, adding that
Mr. Ladauni is still going to be the builder of these homes. Mr. Jones
reported that the owner is currently one of the owners of one of the
Harborview lots and that they were currently working with them on the
designs of the houses for 3140 and 3180 Polo Drive. He further reported
that significant progress had been made and he displayed the floor
plans, both first and second floors, adding that the elevations are not
finished. He stated that the smaller house, which would be for 3180,
has a square footage of about 5,447 under roof and the larger home for
3140 has a square footage of approximately 8,322 under roof. Both lots
will utilize the special exception provision in the Code for additional
covered area up to 300 square feet.
In reply to questions from Mayor Morgan and Vice Mayor Ganger, Mr. Jones
Stated that the two homes would be constructed at the same time and the
larger one, 3140 Polo Dr., will be occupied by the owners and the
smaller home at 3180 Polo Drive is for their parents. He called
attention to the very large setback between the new homes, that being
nearly 70 feet, and that the second story of each of the two homes is
between 20% and 25% of the square footage on the first floor.
Vice Mayor Ganger wanted to be sure that once this re- platting is
completed it would not be possible to build one house across both lots
without going thru the entire process again and having it approved. Mr.
Jones said that is correct.
Attorney Randolph asked Mr. Jones if they would be willing to enter into
a declaration of use agreement in that regard, that there shall be no
unity of title.
Tom Laudani of Seaside Builders was recognized and related the history
of the two lots and assured there is no intention to unify the two lots.
He asked Attorney Randolph if the proposed declaration of use agreement
would mean that the lots could not be unified unless the matter was
brought back to the Commission for approval and Attorney Randolph said
that is correct. There was considerable discussion regarding future
unification of title resulting in Mr. Laudani stating he had no
objection to entering into a recorded declaration of use agreement for
these properties.
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February 13, 2015 0 9 A.M.
Mr. O'Hare asked to speak on this matter and said he had no objection to
this restructuring but believed the staff should have made a
recommendation on this and put it on a consent agenda. He pointed out
that he owns two properties next to each other and wondered how the Town
can ask Mr. Laudani to sign a document that would prevent these lots
from being unified without going to every other property owner who has
two lots side by side and having them do the same thing. He believed Mr.
Laudani is not being treated fairly. On another matter, he said there
are 16 or 18 square feet of objects calling attention to an idea or a
theme and this violates the sign ordinance, in his opinion, and he
wanted to know if the Commission agrees.
Attorney Randolph said that he will answer that. He said this does not
violate the sign ordinance based upon the Towns interpretation of the
sign ordinance.
Mayor Morgan asked if there are any other comments on this application
and in that there were none, he asked for a motion.
Commissioner Stanley made a motion to approve the Level III
Architectural /Site Plan based on a finding that the proposed re- platting
of Lots 5,6 and 7 Gulf Stream Cove Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book
24, Page 185, Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida, a total of
45,827 square feet or 1.05 acres more or less, into two lots, 3180 Polo
Drive being Lot 1, a total of 16,509 square feet and 3140 Polo Drive
being Lot 2, a total of 29,318 square feet meet the minimum intent of
the Design Manual and applicable review standards subject to the
condition that there will be a deed restriction preventing the unity of
title of the lots to be approved by the applicant and the Town's
Counsel. Commissioner Orthwein seconded the motion and all voted AYE at
roll call.
IX. Reports.
A. Utility Undergrounding -Danny Brannon (Engineer)
Mr. Brannon reported that the last payments for Phase I to the
underground contractor and the surveyor have been made and it appears
that Phase I will be completed slightly under budget. He further
reported that they are in the process of getting the telephone and cable
wires off the poles. He said they now have the FP &L Plans and are
reviewing them to make certain they do not include improvements that are
not a part of the Town's undergrounding project and that they are
properly capitalizing materials.
Vice Mayor Ganger inquired if these considerations are expected to
increase the cost of the project and Mr. Brannon believed that we will
not be over budget if everything goes as is planned.
Mayor Morgan requested that Mr. Brannon investigate the market for the
used transformers and report the findings to the Town Manager so the
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Town can determine if there is a monetary benefit to keeping them when
they come off the poles.
Vice Mayor Ganger asked if we are any closer to getting the rest of the
wiring down and Mr. Brannon advised that this is a long process as these
utilities only work on this type of work when they have nothing else to
do as this is not considered a priority. He further said that AT &T has
union contracts that prohibit anyone except AT &T employees from doing
the work.
Commissioner Stanley recalled that at the last meeting there was an
expressed concern that Phase I may run over budget but now it seems that
may not happen.
Mr. Brannon explained that they have gone over the budget line by line
and made some adjustments in the landscaping and had not previously
allowed for resale of the copper wire, etc.
Vice Mayor Ganger said that we must be relentless with AT &T especially
since they have already been paid for this work and they, over the
years, have advertised as being dependable and dedicated to service.
B. Town Manager
1. Preliminary Comments Re: 2015/2016 Budget
Mr. Thrasher reminded that recently the Town adopted a compliance policy
and included therein is the Managers responsibility to report compliance
to the Commission. The information in this report does affect the
budget and extends over many months of record keeping. He said he has
looked at the number of Public Records Requests that have been received
since July 2013 (approximately 1,787), some of which require a
considerable amount of time to complete, at a cost of $503,506.27. This
includes the purchase of hardware, software, IT Support, outsource
scanning, compliance assistance, legal cost, regular and overtime labor,
all of which is related only to public records requests. Mr. Thrasher
then read some examples of the volume of requests per requestor, some of
the anonymous names in the email accounts, examples of the frequency of
the requests and then an actual public record request asking for the
inventory of all parks within one mile of Gulf Stream and explained that
while this seems like a simple request it becomes complicated. The first
challenge is to define what the word inventory means when used in this
request. He pointed out that all records will be checked for any mention
of these parks, the Town's contractor for preparation of the
Comprehensive Plan will be contacted for any information he used to
complete the recreational section of the plan and the police records
will be reviewed for any park information.
He said that he sees no break or decrease of workloads related to PRRs
and that the town hall staff and police department should expect more of
the same at least for the next year. He reminded that all of the detail
in these matters is located on the Town's Website.
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Town Commission Regular
Meeting & Public Hearing
February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
Commissioner Stanley asked if the Town Manager expects any reduction in
the next budget with regard to the hardware and software and Mr.
Thrasher said yes, there will be some also in the compliance costs since
we are prepared with the knowledge as to how to address these requests.
Commissioner White asked if there are many other small towns
experiencing this problem to which Mr. Thrasher replied that he knew of
none that have experienced the volume.
Vice Mayor Ganger stated that there are a number of smaller ones that
have just become aware of this problem this past year.
Mayor Morgan recognized Mr. O'Hare.
Mr. O'Hare said that Mr. Thrasher was reading his public records request
and was making it sound like it was some evil burden on the town to
respond to. He wanted everyone to know he is doing an essay on open
recreation land in Gulf Stream. He reminded that in the Comprehensive
Plan the town agrees to have an inventory of parks within a mile. He
said all he did was to take the same language and ask for that record
which has nothing to do with all of the other things Mr. Thrasher has
insisted are part of that request and it's misleading.
He said $503,000 was not spent to respond to these records and
apparently no one ever ask for these records in the past so there was no
need to create a records department. He said the State does not require
all of this, just to make them available. The Town chose to hire
scanning to be done and was not a part of the actual cost for this. He
thought the cost would be more like $8.00 each since the Town estimates
the cost so high that he doesn't pay for them. In closing he questioned
why Mr. Thrasher didn't hire extra help when he was able to find four
million dollars for a RICO suit.
Mayor Morgan asked Mr. Thrasher to continue with his reports.
Mr. Thrasher pointed out that in this fiscal year approximately $481,000
was appropriated for street lights which will not be utilized this
fiscal year due to the delay in the project and that the Commission
could authorize them to be used for some necessary purpose such as legal
fees. Those funds would then have to be added back into the 2015/2016
budget as a line item. If this should happen, he said the millage rate
for 2015/2016 would remain the same as it is at this time with adequate
funding for these special needs that the Town is experiencing.
Town Manager, in closing his report, advised that he had received
certification that Mayor Morgan has completed his mandatory ethics
training for this year and reminded that this training is mandated for
all to complete before the end of the year.
C. Architectural Review & Planning Board
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Town Commission Regular
Meeting & Public Hearing
February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
1. Meeting Dates
a. February 26, 2015 @ 6:30 A.M.
b. March 26, 2015 @ 8:30 A.M.
c. April 23, 2015 @ 8:30 A.M.
d. May 28, 2015 @ 8:30 A.M.
e. June 25, 2015 @ 8:30 A.M.
f. July 23, 2015 @ 8:30 A.M.
D. Finance Director
1. Financial Report for January 2015
2. Water Usage as of January 31, 2015
At the request of the Town Manager, Mayor Morgan declared the
Report and the Water Usage Report accepted as presented.
E. Police Chief
1. Activity for January 2015
Chief Ward requested that his report be accepted as submitted.
Morgan asked if there were any questions and there being none,
the report accepted as submitted.
Financial
Mayor
declared
X. Items for Commission Action.
A. Agreement For Vote Processing Equipment Use & Election
Services -Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections
The Town Clerk explained that this is an agreement for the Town to pay
the amounts listed herein for the use of the voting equipment and
certain services provided by the Supervisor of Elections Office for
municipal elections. She said that she had assumed that an agreement
would not be necessary this year since Gulf Stream is not holding an
election but was recently advised that the Supervisor has asked that one
be adopted to have on file in the event that a special election might be
called before the end of the year.
Vice Mayor Ganger moved to approve the Agreement for Vote Processing
Equipment and Election Services with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of
Elections and Commissioner Stanley seconded the motion with all voting
AYE at roll call.
B. Items by Mayor & Commissioners
Vice Mayor Ganger reported that legislation related to the existing
public records law has been filed in the House and the Senate and is
moving through the Committee process which is very complex. He advised
that changes to the public records act that have been proposed are being
passed unanimously in the sub - committees. He said this does not
guarantee that the proposed language will remain or that it will even
get to the Governor's desk. However, he pointed out that it is at least
getting the attention of and acknowledgement from the legislators that
the existing public records act is flawed and needs their attention.
He thanked Christine for
Florida project and felt
read at the next meeting
would be the best way to
many more towns will be
presenting the facts regarding the All Aboard
that this Commission should have something to
and that proposed language for a Resolution
have something to deal with. He believed that
Dpposing this project as the facts are revealed.
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Town Commission Regular
Meeting & Public Hearing
February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
Commissioner White believed the barrier islands will be greatly affected
by this project.
Mayor Morgan reminded that it's been almost a year since the current
Commission was elected for the purpose of representing the best
interests of this town, in particular charged with the responsibility of
defending it and what Mr. Thrasher went into great detail to explain in
regards to the personnel and financial cost of the abuse of the public
records act, and the dozens, and dozens, and dozens of law suits with
which we have had to wrestle. He said that our lawyers yesterday filed
in Federal Court Docket Number 9:15 -cv -80182 on behalf of the Town of
Gulf Stream and other municipalities similarly situated, and the Wantman
Group Inc. which is a domestic private company and other similarly
situated, an action for class certification against the defendants
Martin O'Boyle, Christopher O'Hare, William Ring, Esq., Jonathan R.
O'Boyle, Esq., Denise Demartini, Giovani Mesa, Esq., Nicklaus Taylor,
Esq., Ryan Witmer, Esq., Airline Highway, LLC, Commerce GP, Inc., CG
Acquisition Co, Inc., CRO Aviation, Inc. Asset Enhancement, Inc.,
Commerce Realty Group, Inc., Public Awareness Institute, Inc. Citizens
Awareness Foundation Inc., Our Public Records, LLC, Stopdirtygovernment
LLC, Commerce Group, Inc, and The O'Boyle Law Firm, P.C. Inc.
Mayor Morgan stated in furtherance of that, he didn't believe further
authorization needed to be given to him to further defend the town and
advance its interests in conjunction with the town's lawyers. But, out
of an abundance of caution, he again asked for the Commissions voice
support to allow him to work with the Town's Attorneys in these matters
in turning that information over to the State Attorney of Palm Beach
County, the Statewide Prosecutor and the Attorney General of the 15th
Judicial Circuit to handle all civil and criminal implications thereof.
Commissioner Orthwein stated that she would like to see Mayor Morgan
appointed to take care of the matters he had addressed, adding that he
has the respect of the Commission and they are behind him in these
matters.
Vice Mayor Ganger said he would amend Commissioner Orthwein's comment to
say that the Commission has been behind Mayor Morgan from the day he
joined the Commission to the present and will continue to be so in the
future. He further pointed out that the Commission has full confidence
in the Mayor and as a practical matter, someone has to take this
responsibility and the Mayor is well versed in these areas. The Vice
Mayor stated he is so proud of this town for doing what it is doing and
Commissioner Orthwein added "and of the Mayor for taking over the
position ".
Attorney Randolph asked Mayor Morgan if he was asking for a motion to
authorize him to do this on behalf of the Commission.
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Town Commission Regular
Meeting & Public Hearing
February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M.
Mayor Morgan replied he was looking for a voice confirmation but if
Attorney Randolph felt it should be done by motion than that's what will
be seen.
Attorney Randolph said as he understands, the Mayor is just being asked
to get authorization to work with the attorneys to turn these matters
over to the appropriate authorities as mentioned.
The Mayor replied that was correct. He believed that it has been
explicit and implicit in these Commission Meetings but it has been
brought up a number of times by people that this needs to be made
express so therefore, at an abundance of caution he is seeking express
authorization today to turn over whatever information is deemed
significant to the authorities previously mentioned.
Town Manager Thrasher asked if this is reaffirmation to which the Mayor
replied that he thought it was but, just having been served yesterday
with an ethics complaint on this issue, he thought it should be brought
up again and reiterated by this Commission.
Commissioner Stanley reminded that the filing of the suit had already
been approved so the motion would be as stated by the Counsel and by the
Mayor to further approve the Mayor to turn over any matters and
information with regard to the case that's been filed and any collateral
matters as stated by Town Counsel. Vice Mayor Ganger seconded the
motion and all voted AYE at roll call.
Mayor Morgan asked for additional comments and there were none.
XI. Adjournment.
The Mayor adjourned the meeting at approximately 10:45 A.M.
Rita L. Taylor
Town Clerk
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