Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout05 13 15 Special Workshop MeetingWORKSHOP MEETING HELD BY THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015 FROM 5:30 P.M. TO 7:00 P.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 5:30 P.M. II. Pledge of Allegiance. The Mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance. III. Roll Call. Present and Scott W. Morgan Mayor Participating Robert W. Ganger Vice Mayor Joan K. Orthwein Commissioner Thomas M. Stanley Commissioner Donna S. White Commissioner Also Present & William Thrasher Town Manager Participating: Rita Taylor Town Clerk Garrett Ward Police Chief Patsy Randolph Resident Alan Larsen Resident Robert Dockerty Resident Richard Veines Resident Shelia Scott Resident Julio Martinez Resident Miguel Neumann Resident Nancy Wibbelsman Resident IV. Long Term Planning/Concepts Mayor Morgan welcomed everyone and expressed how pleased he was to see the number in attendance for the workshop. He felt that, before a discussion of needs and/or projects takes place, the financial status of the town must be made clear. The Mayor said that the Town Manager has put together a summary of potential projects, those that are discretionary and those that are of a greater need and also some budgetary information. He reported the General Fund Reserves are about $750,000, which is low for a town of this size. They should be around 1.5 to 2 million dollar range he said. He attributed this to the litigation expense and said that this year the town will be budgeting $800,000 for legal fees. He pointed out that the manager has proposed a millage rate of 4.5 and that Gulf Stream is still below other agencies in Palm Beach County. He welcomed opinions on this from the public. He then turned to the Utility Fund Reserves, also at approximately $750,000. He said they should be higher but are on solid footing in that we have taken in house much of our water utility maintenance, having saved a large amount of money which has contributed to these reserves about $50,000 per year. Town Commission Workshop 5 -13 -15 Turning to some of the projects, he called attention to the summary of projects Mr. Thrasher put together. He said that the age and condition of the water lines and consideration of a barrier island fire and EMS Special District are at the top. He said that currently the Town receives great service at a good price from the City of Delray Beach but Delray has considered joining the County for that service. The Mayor said that if that happened and the Town had to go with the County, the millage would increase about 3.5 percent. Mayor Morgan reported that 3 years previously the Town had budgeted $80,000 for a feasibility study to be done in conjunction with other municipalities to explore the possibility of several joining together to provide our own service. He said that has never been done and he felt the Town Manager should be directed to contact other Town Managers to see if there is an interest in joining with us to do the study. He pointed out that we won't know if this is feasible until a study is done and we will not do the study unless others contribute and join with us which will not be known until Mr. Thrasher speaks with other Town Managers. Vice Mayor Ganger said that at the last Delray meeting it was reported that they will once again explore turning over their Fire /EMS department to Palm Beach County. He said that there are people who are for that and there are people who are very much against it. He went on to say this would be a profound shift, pointing out that some towns have turned over their police to the Sheriff and then it could be argued that you could turn over the libraries to the county, then parks and recreation. He advised that there is a fire station on the island at Delray Beach but not another until you reach Manalapan and that that station also serves South Palm Beach. He said they pay 3.46 mills for that service which would bring Gulf Stream millage to 7.96 mills if we went with the County. As a point of information, he said the Supreme Court has just ruled that it is possible to establish a fire assessment district which is something like the assessment district Gulf Stream established for undergrounding the overhead wiring. In closing, Commissioner Ganger pointed out that Ocean Ridge has a fire station that is not being used which is located approximately the same distance from Gulf Stream as the station in Delray Beach. Mayor Morgan asked Mr. Thrasher to provide some detail with regard to condition of water lines and repairs. A. Items from the Town Manager Town Manager Thrasher advised that we have an inventory of the water lines in town and they are between the ages of 50 and 80 years old. He said that these can begin leaking at any time as was the case several years ago. He said the Town replaced a long section along AIA that cost about 1.5 million dollars. He also said that we have an estimate of 8 million dollars to cover the rest of the lines but that not all of those are of an age that we would expect replacement to be necessary in the near future. He believed about 4.8 million dollars worth of piping will need to be replaced within the next 10 years. The Town Manager said he has recommended that the reserves in this fund be kept at 1.5 million dollars which most likely take care of these emergencies as they arise. 2 Town Commission Workshop 5 -13 -15 Vice Mayor Ganger commented that with the rising sea level the aquifers are becoming more saline and eventually the water will be coming from farther inland. He believed that in future budgets it will be necessary that we plan for the future use of grey water for our irrigation. Commissioner Orthwein reminded that in order to use grey water, a separate set of pipes would be necessary as the grey water and the potable water cannot be mixed. Mr. Thrasher explained that Gulf Stream does not produce water, we purchase water from the City of Delray Beach through a contractual arrangement. B. Items from the Mayor and Commissioners Mayor Morgan called attention to Mr. Thrasher's report on the need to add space to the town hall building and the replacement of the garage /maintenance building. He noted the building is very old and in disrepair and much too small since we have brought the water department in house. Vice Mayor Ganger was in agreement as to the need to increase space in the town facilities. The Mayor pointed out that the Town Hall expansion was studied in 2012 and it is currently estimated to be a $200,000 cost. He said the Town Manager had suggested that we have a building permitting/ inspection office as well as code enforcement department and derive income from that. He asked if that would be sufficient over a relative short time to pay for the expansion. Mr. Thrasher said he believed it would within 4 years but you would also need allocation to provide for extra employees. He further said that in a very busy year Delray Beach took in over $500,000 and in less busy year it was about $200,000. With regard to the efficiency, the turn- around time for permitting would be much less and having code enforcement working with permitting would be an advantage. He estimated the labor cost per person to be 60 to 75 thousand on the high end and at the low end, 45 to 50 thousand. Mayor Morgan asked about the "barn" at the rear of the property. Mr. Thrasher said this plan also includes providing for a fire station but this plan also provides space for the police department. He said the police department has several vehicles back there such as a golf cart, 4 wheeler for the beach, all types of individual equipment, files, plus confiscated goods that must be isolated and protected. The cost for this is estimated at $800,000. This would also take care of the utility department, tools, supplies and everything that would be needed in the field. He said this would also provide room during hurricanes. During these times the entire police department and the Town Manager stay here, cook here, shower and sleep here, in this area. He further said this is referred to as a fire station only because in his opinion it would be wise to potentially provide that space for a fire station whether that materializes or not, thru economies of scale you would build it all because it is space that could be utilized in some form or fashion that would cost less to build now than later. He praised the police Town Commission Workshop 5 -13 -15 department for being so patient and cooperative under difficult circumstances and complimented the maintenance department on being so precise and organized with such a small space available. Vice Mayor Ganger said he agreed with Mr. Thrasher and pointed out that the town is worth about one billion dollars, just using the property values, and it just isn't right to have a barn that chickens wouldn't live in. Mayor Morgan stated that this seemed to be the proper time to ask for comments from the public. He asked for a show of hands from those who wished to speak and there were 6. Patsy Randolph was recognized and expressed her concern about the destruction of the dunes and deterioration of the seawalls. She thought there should be some type of public, private partnership to deal with the dunes. She understood the town does not own the dunes but if there is a major storm everyone is impacted if the dunes and/or seawalls are weak, making it the town's responsibility to monitor their condition. She recalled a recent major incident in Manalapan when an ocean front seawall collapsed. Commissioner Orthwein said she believed the individual property owner along the Intracoastal would notice the seawall failing and address the problem. Mayor Morgan agreed and did not feel the town would be responsible in these matters. Ms. Randolph was concerned about the water coming onto the property on each side of a failing seawall. She thought there should be a public awareness of the intrusions on the dunes. Vice Mayor Ganger said something will be done in this regard as persons are becoming aware of the importance of the dunes. The Town Manager reminded that public money cannot be spent on private property. Commissioner Ganger said he realized this to be true and added that he thought it could be something as simple as having someone walk the 2.5 miles doing an inventory and marking off those properties that are vulnerable. He believed there will be none due to the ridge protecting the town from anything other than a catastrophic storm surge. Alan Larsen, Old School Road, said he was a new resident and was pleased with the appearance of Gulf Stream. However, he is in favor of doing something with the road as the negative in town is seeing the ditches on the sides tom up. He believed it would be helpful if the roads were widened a foot or two and he would be willing to contribute financially to do the area near his home. Robert Dockerty said he did not believe that the 4.5 mills planned for the budget will be adequate and it should be raised. He said he also supported Mr. Larsen regarding the widening of the streets and felt the millage should be increased to cover some of these projects that he had not been previously aware of Mayor Morgan said he has heard others voice the same and they would take it under consideration. Town Commission Workshop 5 -13 -15 Richard Veines was recognized and said he supported the roads being extended, especially Lakeview. He was hopeful that the town would continue to try to upgrade cell phone reception. The third thing he mentioned was the lack of sidewalks in Gulf Stream. He said he is a runner and finds it very dangerous through the town. Mayor Morgan stated the town has contacted a number of cell phone providers and has found that this cannot be done as we do not have the land to accommodate what is needed. He said the only two places would be the Little Club golf course and the maintenance area behind the town hall and it does not make good sense to tie up a long term lease for a cell tower. Commissioner Ganger said that a few years ago FDOT wanted to widen A I A which would have required taking down a number of Australian pine trees. He said this would have gone right thru his cottage and that Mayor Koch fought the widening to save the trees. Town Manager Thrasher said FDOT ended up by reducing the lane width from 12 ft. to 11 ft. and used the one foot to add to the shoulder of the road. Vice Mayor Ganger said he realizes there are competing uses for A I A but felt choices must be made to maintain the character of the town. Shelia Scott was recognized and said she has lived in town since 1986. Mrs. Scott believed that Lakeview Dr. should be made a one -way street eastbound. She said that service trucks coming off AlA forces eastbound traffic over on the property on the south west corner of the intersection. Her next comment was a desire to see projects completed, especially the undergrounding of the overhead utilities and the sewer connections from the Golf Club that has resulted in pipes being left sticking out of the ground in her neighborhood. She said she was all in favor of the things the town wants to do but she never hears what progress is being made with those that are in progress. Mrs. Scott remarked that everyone has money and would be willing to pay for these things if they would be kept informed and if the projects move forward and get completed in a timely fashion. She closed her remarks with praise for the police department. Julio Marinez was next recognized and complemented the Mayor and Commissioners, the Town staff and the police department on the job they are all doing. He said he knew of no better town and encouraged all to keep up the good work. Miguel Neumann was the next speaker and stated he had two issues to talk about, neither of which is costly. He was concerned about pollution, especially noise pollution that will come from the railroad. He believed this could be greatly reduced by improving the barriers at the crossings and he urged the Commission to contact the representatives and senators to bring this about. He said that train noise has been controlled in Germany by improving the barriers. He said drivers must turn off their engines when waiting at a crossing which reduces pollution as well. Mr. Neumann pointed out that this problem would greatly increase if All Aboard Florida becomes operational and the widening of the Panama Canal is expected to greatly increase the flow of freight into Florida ports that will end up being distributed by rail. Mr. Neumann's second request was to have a stop sign in Place Au Soleil removed that he feels is unnecessary. Chief Ward said this sign is across from Cardinal at Ave. Au Soleil and was placed there because it is a blind intersection. 5 Town Commission Workshop 5 -13 -15 Town Manager Thrasher said that this is a safety matter that should be investigated and determined by the police department which is not something to be handled by the commission. Vice Mayor Ganger, addressing the matter of All Aboard Florida, stated that the town has submitted a resolution addressing these problems and that Delray Beach has also submitted a similar resolution detailing their special conditions (11 crossings in Delray). He further advised that the money for the quiet zones comes from a different source, it comes from the gas tax and this money is in place and almost all crossings will become quiet zones. Nancy Wibbelsman was recognized and she first wanted to thank the Commission for the job they are doing, and doing so well. She said, living in California for one half the year, she is most interested in water issues. She requested that another one half mill be added to the water reserve for repair /replacement of the water pipes. She also believed a percentage should be put aside for the fire /rescue issue to at least get it underway. She agreed with Ms. Randolph that the town should have someone walk the beach and seawall to assess the situation. Mrs. Wibbelsman suggested that the town look into assessing some penalty to the owner if their seawall is in disrepair. She said she realizes that AT &T has been one of the reasons the undergrounding is being delayed but is asking that another attempt be made to get fiber optics included in this project. In closing she encouraged the town to influence property owners along the beach to do whatever possible to maintain and protect the dunes and asked that helpful suggestions with regard to this issue be included on the website. Mayor Morgan announced that it is 7:00 P.M. and he thanked everyone for coming and hoped to see them at the next Commission meeting. V. Adjournment. The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 7:00 P.M. Rita L. Taylor Town Clerk M