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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. F 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 3 Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 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. El Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing 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 5 Town Commission Regular Meeting & Public Hearing February 13, 2015 @ 9 A.M. 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. 2 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 7 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. 8 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. P 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 10