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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03/12/2010MAYOR: William F. Koch, Jr. VICE MAYOR: Joan K. Orthwein COMMISSIONER: Muriel J. Anderson Fred B. Devitt III Chris D. Wheeler OREGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING BEING HELD BY THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010 IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL, 100 FLORIDA. r :Le10N .: March 4, 2010 THE TOWN COMMISSION OF @ 9:00 A.M., SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, I. Call to Order. II. Pledge of Allegiance. III. Roll Call. IV. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 12, 2010. V. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items. VI. Announcements. A. Mayor's Proclamation -April 2010, "Water Conservation Month" B. Regular Meetings and Public Hearings 1. April 9, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 2. May 14, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 3. June 11, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 4. July 9, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 5. August 13, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 6. September 10, 2010 @ 9 A.M. VII. Reports. A. Town Manager 1. Proposed Sales Tax for Fire- Rescue Services 2. Proposed Amendment to PB County /Boynton Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement 3. Overhead Utilities Undergrounding Update B. Architectural Review & Planning Board O 1. Meeting Dates b. March 25, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. c. April 22, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. d. May 27, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. e. June 24, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. f. July 22, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. 2. Minutes a. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing of 2 -25 -10 b. Special Meeting & Public Hearing of 3 -3 -10 C. Finance Director 1. Financial Report for February 2010 D. Police Chief 1. Activity for February 2010 VIII. Correspondence. A. Resolution No. R -5 -10; Resolution of the Town of Palm Beach Shores, Florida, establishing a policy for the annual affirmation of ethical considerations by the mayor and each commissioner of Palm Beach Shores; specifically providing for affirmation of State Law mandates relative to "Government In The Sunshine" laws, conflict of interest laws, voting requirements, gift disclosures and prohibitions against doing business with the Town; and affirmation of the general prohibition against misuses of public office for private gain; providing that the mayor and each commissioner shall individually reaffirm their promise to uphold and honor said ethical mandates each year during the town commission's annual reorganization meeting; providing an effective date; and for other purposes. AGENDA CONTINUED IX. Items for Commission Action. A. ARPB Appointments 1. One Regular Member -Term to end March 2012 2. One Alternate Member -Term to end March 2013 B. Items by Mayor & Commissioners OX. Public. XI. Adjournment. SHOULD ANY INTERESTED PARTY SEEK TO APPEAL ANY DECISION MADE BY THE TOWN COMMISSION WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTER CONSIDERED AT THIS MEETING, SAID PARTY WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS, AND FOR SUCH PURPOSE, MAY NEED TO INSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED. F.S.S. 286.0105 N 0 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010 @ 9:00 A.M., IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL, 100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA. I. Call to Order. Mayor Koch called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. II. Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by the Mayor. III. Roll Call. Present and Participating Also Present and Participating William F. Koch, Jr. Joan K. Orthwein Fred B. Devitt, III Muriel J. Anderson Chris D. Wheeler William H. Thrasher Rita L. Taylor Garrett J. Ward John Randolph Danny Brannon, P.E. of Brannon & Gillespie LLC Robert Ganger, President Joe Santarella Lolly Prince Serge de Laville Mayor Vice -Mayor Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Town Manager Town Clerk Police Chief Town Attorney Undergrounding Consultant G.S. Civic Assoc. G.S. Resident L'Hermitage Resident G.S. Resident IV. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 12, 2010. Vice -Mayor Orthwein moved and Commissioner Devitt seconded to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 12, 2010. There was no discussion. All voted AYE. V. Additions, withdrawals, deferrals, arrangement of agenda items. Town Manager Thrasher requested moving Agenda Item VII.A.3., the Overhead Utilities Undergrounding Update, to VII.A.1. There were no other changes to the Agenda. VI. Announcements. A. Mayor's Proclamation -April 2010, "Water Conservation Month" Clerk Rita Taylor read the Mayor's Proclamation and explained that this proclamation assists in fulfilling part of the Town's Comprehensive Plan and no motion is necessary. B. Regular Meetings and Public Hearings 1. April 9, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 2. May 14, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 3. June 11, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 4. July 9, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 5. August 13, 2010 @ 9 A.M. 6. September 10, 2010 @ 9 A.M. Clerk Taylor asked if there were any conflicts with the scheduled meetings. Both Commissioner Devitt and John Randolf had a conflict with the April 9th meeting. Mayor Koch asked the Commissioners if they wished Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 2 to cancel or reschedule the meeting in order to have everyone present. Commissioner Anderson felt if it was not necessary, she would prefer not to cancel or reschedule any meetings. Vice -Mayor Orthwein agreed that meetings should be changed only in the event of a lack of quorum and since a quorum will exist, it was the consensus of the Commissioners that the meeting will take place as scheduled. VII. Reports. A. Town Manager 1. Overhead Utilities Undergrounding Update Mr. Thrasher explained that a little over two months ago, the Town asked a consultant to assist in determining the feasibility and estimated cost of the construction for undergrounding all utilities. He said the consultant, Danny Brannon, was present to give an update on the study he conducted for the Town. Mr. Danny Brannon of Brannon & Gillespie, LLC introduced himself and stated that on December 22nd, the Town of Gulf Stream retained his firm to do a study on undergrounding overhead utilities east of the Intracoastal, north to south. He said the Overhead Utility Undergrounding Feasibility Study & Opinion of Project Cost which was provided to the Town gives a synopsis of the feasibility of the project and an opinion of the cost involved and believes the report will be useful to the Commission in their consideration to move forward with the project. Mr. Brannon said the Executive Summary of the Report indicates that the project can be accomplished for a cost of 4.6 million dollars, and as a project progresses they typically find opportunities to save money. Az an example, he said the last project they completed went with a $15,000,000 referendum, but during the process they found significant savings and the project ended up costing the municipality $8.4 million. With regard to existing facilities, Mr. Brannon said the Town has 29,500 feet (pole line feet) of overhead utility lines that need to be replaced, which includes 115 FPL overhead transformer locations. He said there are limited underground facilities in some areas of Town, such as portions of Middle Road, Hidden Harbor Drive, the north end of the golf course, the east side of AlA, Little Club Road and North County Road, and the radial installations would be replaced with loop circuits ^ where possible. Mr. Brannon said there is extensive Bell South and ATT .J1 telephone aerial cable to be undergrounded which will be a cost factor. Commissioner Wheeler said that FPL will contribute some money to the cost of burying their cables and asked Mr. Brannon if the telephone companies would do the same and he replied that the telephone companies do not have such a program at this time. Mr. Brannon said they went from one end of Town to the other and saw quite a few overhead service laterals to be replaced which usually involves some repair during the conversion and could bring the conversion cost to $4,000 - $5,000 per residence. He brought attention to pages 9 & 10 of the Report which are maps of the proposed routes for underground facilities and said that some of the existing underground Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 3 facilities may need to be replaced with the loop system which allows faster restoration in the event of power loss. He said the lines along AlA are the main feeder lines to the lateral neighborhood lines and will be replaced with FPL feeder circuits and seven (7) switching cabinets that extend the lateral lines into the neighborhoods. Mr. Brannon said that among Florida coastal communities, there is a preference to use Vista switches rather than the standard FPL switches because Vista O switches, which are sealed and can be submerged, will continue to operate as opposed to the FPL switches that are exposed. He said there is a $30,000 premium for Vista switches which is included in his estimate. Commissioner Devitt asked how many switches would be necessary and Mr. Brannon said he estimated seven (7) which are planned for each end of the system. Commissioner Wheeler figured that the Town would save about $200,000 if they used the standard FPL switches. Vice -Mayor Orthwein asked if they will bore most of the lines and how far could they directional bore. Mr. Brannon said directional boring is better for the community, that in established neighborhoods with paver driveways, the lines are in the landscaping and they can push about 400 feet. Commissioner Wheeler asked which part of this estimate has the biggest risk of error. Mr. Brannon said it was probably the Bell South portion which is about 10% of the estimate. Mr. Brannon said when they put contracts out for a project, they hire contractors to do all of the installation of utilities that the project will allow. He said the contracts are very detailed with good dimensions and contractors say that having very clean, clear plans provides a tight price and removes risk from the project. Commissioner Wheeler asked about the benefits from using a private contractor as opposed to FPL. Mr. Brannon said there are several benefits, scheduling being the biggest. He said the routes must be clean and clear for at least six (6) weeks prior to beginning a project and scheduling workers to accomplish that is easier with private contractors. Mr. Brannon said the second benefit is cost savings, stating that in the last project they were able to get contracted facilities installed for half the cost of FPL's estimate. He explained that FPL pads their estimate to cover themselves bringing their estimates up almost 200% higher. As an example, Mr. Brannon said FPL estimated the first phase of the Jupiter Island project at about $2 million, but they were able to get it done for $1.1 million using private contractors. He said the third benefit to using private contractors is site restoration because when FPL does construction work in a town, the town is responsible for the restoration and repair of driveways, landscaping and water lines, but when they use private contractors, his firm will prepare the transformer pads and clear areas with a landscaper and then the contractors are given instructions as to where the equipment goes. He said his firm informs the contractors that they are responsible for site restoration. Mayor Koch asked how many contractors are capable of handling this type of project. Mr. Brannon said there are about 4 to 6 FPL approved contractors that carry the proper insurance, are properly trained and are financially sound. He said in addition to having control of scheduling and getting the job done quicker, cleaner and more Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 9 harmoniously, using FPL approved contractors will not impact sovereign immunity issues because they have agreements with FPL and are properly insured and they will be required to extend their insurance to cover the Town as well as FPL, therefore carrying the liability. He said their contract documents include provisions that talk about behaviors, hours of operation, cleanup at the end of each day, using foul language in neighborhoods and other issues that impact harmony in the community. OMr. Brannon mentioned that the maps on pages 9 and 10 of his report depict only the general routes they are looking at, but they do not depict all of routes included in the project. He said there a lot of people involved in executing such a project and they will use outside resources such as surveyors, project management and design engineering firms, and construction, electrical and landscape contractors. In addition, he said both Town Staff and the Police Department will provide assistance throughout the project, and his firm will utilize legal and professional assistance for the purpose of doing title searches and reviewing contracts and other legal documents. Mr. Brannon summarized the type of work these outside resources will perform, as outlined in his report. Mr. Brannon said that environmental issues are always a concern, but are expected to be minimal for this project. However, there may be a few low areas that will require further review to ensure they are following proper procedure. Mayor Koch asked about the procedure for power shut -off. Mr. Brannon said the cut -overs are short in duration and for those residents that have underground out to the street, it is a matter of reconnecting it which could take 2 hours. It could take a little longer for residents requiring a total service replacement, but there will be a construction worker at the residence working with an electrician to change out the service. Mayor Koch asked if residents need to hire an electrician for this service or is it included in the contract. Mr. Brannon said it is usually included in the contract. He said if there are only a few in need of an electrical change -out it makes sense to include it in the contract because it speeds up the project, but if it is 50/50, then it becomes a management decision as to how to proceed. Mr. Brannon explained that they try to get conversions done early in the project and if residents hire an electrician it sometimes delays the contactor. He .. said when power is going to be interrupted, construction workers will Jknock on doors to let residents know they are working in their area and there may be 1 to 2 hours of downtime. Mayor Koch asked Mr. Randolph if there were any complaints from residents during or after the Jupiter Island project. Mr. Randolph said there were none and he has never seen an operation run as smoothly as that project. Mr. Brannon said they had no complaints from residents during that project because if a resident talked to construction workers, they would report the contact and his firm would talk to the resident to ensure they were satisfied with the process and the information they received. He said they provided information for newsletters, attended Commission Meetings, communicated with Public Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 5 Safety providing detailed information concerning possible traffic issues and communicated with residents letting them know what was going on. Commissioner Wheeler asked how much higher the cost is now compared to what it would have cost if priced in 2006 or 2007, or how much higher would it be 2 or 3 years from now when the economy returns to some sense of normalcy. Mr. Brannon said about 30% to 50% higher. Commissioner Wheeler and Vice -Mayor Orthwein agreed that, from a financial standpoint, now is the time to do this. Mayor Koch asked for an approximate time schedule. Mr. Brannon said the preliminary design could be completed within 6 months and with a 6 -month window to complete construction, they may have one contractor work the north end and another the south. He said they will do preliminary contracts with the utilities to begin their designs and they will get surveyors out to the sites. Mr. Brannon said for the Jupiter Island project in 2008 they had a 2 -year schedule which consisted of 5 phases and they were able to complete the project in that time frame. He explained that there are 6 to 8 major steps per phase, including surveying, landscaping, engineering design, bid procurement, contractor and utility construction, follow -up and landscape restoration. Mayor Koch asked how Jupiter Island paid for the project. Mr. Brannon said they did a referendum, they borrowed the money and determined that the benefit to property owners is essentially the same and, therefore, the recovery of those costs would be through ad valorem tax. Mr. Randolph said the referendum was a bond issue. Mayor Koch said the Town of Gulf Stream would have to do this with a bond issue. He asked Mr. Brannon and Mr. Thrasher to work out a time frame, including each step and the time involved for each step, and the cost. Mr. Brannon said he and Mr. Thrasher have had some discussion concerning the matter, including how to fund the project and then recover the cost. He said they would do a complete analysis if the Town wants go forward. Commissioner Devitt asked Mr. Brannon if they looked at the right -of -way currently in place. Mr. Brannon said they looked at the streets and do not see an issue getting through. He said one issue is that FPL now utilizes a document called an ROW, which he calls a Right -Of -Way Agreement. Mr. Brannon called it a pseudo- easement wherein the Town, or the authority having control over the road, is responsible for the ^ cost when they request FPL to install cable in rights -of -way. If the Jrequest comes from a third party, such as a utility or a developer, the third party is responsible for the cost. The ROW Agreement allows you to run underground cable in the right -of -way without getting a private easement. Mayor Koch said there are still questions to be answered and in his opinion the Town should move ahead and allow Mr. Brannon's firm to look at the total picture and provide the Town with the information they need to make a decision concerning this project. He asked Mr. Brannon to meet with Mr. Thrasher and draft the steps, timing and costs involved to proceed. Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 6 Mr. Ganger stepped to the podium to make a comment on behalf of the public. He said, with respect to public awareness, at the next Civic Association Meeting he would like to give the public a posting. Mr. Ganger said there has been a lot of discussion concerning this matter within the community. He said the assessed value of the entire town is $700 million plus, and most people are sensible enough to realize if the project cost was $12 million, they will get their money back in terms of quality of life and public safety, and we will have the benefit of not having our trees cut down. He said the community is very much in favor of this project and people are asking for details. Mr. Ganger said the Civic Association can be very helpful with the communication process and they stand by their offer to do so. The Commission thanked Mr. Ganger. 2. Proposed Sales Tax for Fire - Rescue Services Mr. Thrasher said this item is an FYI and explained that the proposed sales tax for fire rescue services went to the Legislature in November 2009 and Palm Beach County will vote via referendum in November 2010 on whether or not to increase our sales tax 1% to fund fire rescue. He said, in theory, it will offset the millage rate with revenue generated from the 1% sales tax and people have commented that the cost will spread to those who do not own property or who are visiting the area. Mr. Thrasher said that questions are being gathered throughout the municipalities and there have been various discussions with fire rescue representatives and the Palm Beach County League of Cities. He said this will be on the ballot, the residents will make the decision and there may be a majority of residents that will be in favor of it. Commissioner Anderson asked if the Town would see any of the Q & As being gathered from the municipalities. Mr. Thrasher said yes. Mayor Koch believes if this is approved and a 1% sales tax is imposed (they say they will lower property tax) another issue will arise and the 1% will be used for that issue. Joseph Santarella, a Gulf Stream resident, said he took part in a study group that was adamantly opposed to this tax. He said the study consisted of two groups, male and female, and this question came up in both groups. The male group was 100% against the 1% increase, seeing it as the beginning of a new cycle where the school board will want to do the same and so on. Mr. Santarella said the women were divided and Commissioner Wheeler was interested in the gender difference in opinion, asking if it was attributed to a different group leader. Mr. Santarella said when the question was raised to his group they were split until they were given details and then they were 100% opposed. 3. Proposed Amendment to PB County /Boynton Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement Mr. Thrasher said this item is another FYI to the Commission. He said it is a new terminology which is unfamiliar to him and the Town may soon be in the position to decide whether or not they want to be included in these discussions. Mr. Thrasher said that Palm Beach County and Boynton Beach entered into an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) which is isolated to pocket areas or enclaves under Palm Beach County's jurisdiction. He said Palm Beach County created a map of areas primarily west of the Intracoastal where they would like to have Boynton provide services such as fire, police, water, sewer, etc. Commissioner Wheeler asked how this Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 7 impacts the Town. Mr. Thrasher said the Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement (ISBA) may or may not be a pre- cursor to annexation, but his information indicates its purpose is for long -range annexation and it has already been used by a few municipalities in Palm Beach County. He said Boynton Beach and Palm Beach County originally had an agreement, or they have discussed the boundaries on the west side of the Intracoastal, and now Boynton Beach wants to include the barrier island pockets and enclaves into that same scenario. If a municipality would like to be included in discussions of these matters, their Commission must adopt a resolution to be included. He said it must be prepared in a certain time period, 60 days. It only provides for the right to be included in the discussions and, therefore, the matter will be brought back to the Commission for action when it materializes to that point. Mr. Thrasher said it is not certain that the barrier island will be included in the ISBA, but Boynton Beach Staff is in favor of it and their consultant is not. Commissioner Wheeler said he assumes Palm Beach County will pay Boynton Beach for providing services that the County is currently providing to those areas and Mr. Thrasher confirmed that. Commissioner Wheeler asked about the possibility of Gulf Stream providing such services and maybe splitting with Ocean Ridge. He asked if the Town could make money doing it and if the Police Department would even be interested. Mayor Koch pointed out that the Town cannot supply water or sewer since Boynton Beach is currently providing that. Vice - Mayor Orthwein pointed out that the Town cannot supply fire rescue since Delray provides that service for the Town. Commissioner Wheeler said it may make no sense to spend time or resources on this, but he does not want to totally dismiss the possibilities. Mr. Ganger spoke again on behalf of the public saying that the question raised by Mr. Thrasher is whether or not there will be a resolution to participate in the study and the question asked by the Commission is whether the Town needs to participate. He said if the Town does not participate in the study the Town has no voice and when the discussions are over the Town will have no say. He said it is a long -term project and this is the time to get in on it. B. Architectural Review & Planning Board 1. Meeting Dates a. March 25, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. b. April 22, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. c. May 27, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. d. June 24, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. e. July 22, 2010 @ 8:30 A.M. Clerk Taylor said there have been no submissions for the March ARPB meeting and that the March meeting may be canceled. 2. Minutes a. Regular Meeting & Public Hearing of 2 -25 -10 b. Special Meeting & Public Hearing of 3 -3 -10 Clerk Taylor said the minutes of the February Regular Meeting and the March Special Meeting of the ARPB are included in the Commissioners packets for their information. C. Finance Director 1. Financial Report for February 2010 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 8 Mr. Thrasher requested that the Financial Report for February 2010 be approved as submitted and said that presently the Town is under budget with Brannon and Gillespie at this time. Mayor Koch asked if the Town was experiencing problems with water mains and fire hydrants and questioned $38,000 worth of payments to Harvel Utilities noted on pages 6 and 9. Mr. Thrasher clarified by stating that $18,000 went to Harvel Utilities and $10,000 is water. Mayor Koch asked if there were any O leaks in the system and Mr. Thrasher said yes, but the Town is in their target percentage. Commissioner Devitt asked how the Town determines a leak needs repair. Mr. Thrasher said the Police or a resident will report it and the Town will send Harvel Utilities to the site for inspection and there is a charge for that. Commissioner Anderson moved and Vice -Mayor Orthwein seconded to approve the Financial Report for February 2010. There was no further discussion. All voted AYE. D. Police Chief 1. Activity for February 2010 Chief Ward requested that the Activity Report for February 2010 be accepted as submitted. Commissioner Anderson inquired about the trespassing incident and asked if trespassers are always cited. Chief Ward said it depends on the circumstances, but the police always inform a trespasser that they are in violation. He said if a trespasser continues to violate the law, it can lead to arrest. Commissioner Wheeler asked if there have been any changes since the Town passed the Golf Cart Ordinance. Chief Ward said yes and, in fact, the trespassing incident involved a golf cart. He said it has been better since the police have more control in the matter. VIII. Correspondence. A. Resolution No. R -5 -10; Resolution of the Town of Palm Beach Shores, Florida, establishing a policy for the annual affirmation of ethical considerations by the mayor and each commissioner of Palm Beach Shores; specifically providing for affirmation of State Law mandates relative to "Government In The Sunshine" laws, conflict of interest laws, voting requirements, gift disclosures and prohibitions against doing business with the Town; and affirmation of the general prohibition against misuses of public office for private gain; providing that the mayor and each commissioner shall individually reaffirm their promise to uphold and honor said ethical mandates each year during the town commission's annual reorganization meeting; providing an effective date; and for other purposes. Clerk Taylor read the Resolution by title. Mr. Randolph said the purpose of the Resolution is to state that Palm Beach Shores is abiding by the law. Mr. Thrasher said there is an issue behind it and explained that Palm Beach County has created an Inspector General system and in November the people will vote on a referendum where each municipality will determine whether they want to be a part of this new regime of ethics. He said this Commission cannot vote on whether or not they want to be a part of it because it will be determined by a vote of the people. Mr. Thrasher said this will create another layer government and local government will be responsible to help pay for the costs Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 9 associated with this system. He said this Resolution is Palm Beach Shores' method of proclaiming they are doing what the law expects and they do not need an additional layer of bureaucracy. Commissioner Wheeler wanted to know what the Inspector General's function will be. Mr. Thrasher said there have been three Palm Beach County Commissioners who have been placed in Federal detention and because of what has happened in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami -Dade Counties, there has been a drive to control ethics in government. He said Palm Beach County is moving ahead and an ordinance is being established, they are accepting resumes to select an Inspector General and if residents vote in favor of this, the municipalities will pay a percentage of each contract. Mr. Thrasher said the Town must be careful in the way we educate the residents in this matter. He said we cannot tell them how to vote, but we can give them the facts about what they will be voting on and every municipality will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not they want to participate in the County ordinance. Mayor Koch said if we join the ordinance we will be under the Inspector General and we will be paying taxes to cover the Inspector General and his staff. He said what Palm Beach Shores is saying with their Resolution is that they are covered under state law and they are obeying the law. Commissioner Wheeler said the Town should do the same thing. Mr. Thrasher said the cost being discussed now is a percentage of every contract in the municipality. That percentage reflects on their estimated budget and as the budget goes up the cost goes up and, therefore, the cost to each municipality will go up. This is Palm Beach Shores' response to the initiative which will be on the ballot in November. Mayor Koch said the County has the State Attorney's Office and the County Attorney in place and that is who went after the County Commissioners and others who broke the law, so there are laws on the books. Mr. Randolph said the County also has the Ethics Commission and all of the laws cited in this Resolution are laws governments must abide by and, if not, you can be reported to the State Attorney's Office and the Ethics Commission. Vice -Mayor Orthwein asked why the County is doing this now. Mr. Randolph said it is because of the recent experiences they have had on the County level and they decided to show the public they are serious about this and are doing something about it. Commissioner Wheeler felt the County should use money from their budget to support this initiative. Vice -Mayor Orthwein asked how much this will cost. Clerk Taylor said over $300,000 has already been provided to establish and furnish this office and it is not yet on a referendum. Mayor Koch asked if the Commission supports this Resolution and would they like to do their own. Vice -Mayor Orthwein said the Commission should do a resolution and everyone should do their job and we should not have an additional tax. Mr. Thrasher said honesty is the criteria and we are obligated to be honest under the present laws. Mr. Randolph said this item is an FYI for now. Commissioner Anderson asked if the Town should write a letter to the residents. Mr. Thrasher said there is a new law which prohibits municipalities from spending money to influence a vote and, therefore, we can only give them the facts and the Civic Association will be helpful in the communication process. Commissioner Wheeler said that the Town can inform their constituents Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 10 through their newsletter. Mr. Ganger said that the Civic Association will give both sides of argument allowing the voter decide and he said the Civic Association will need Counsel's assistance to get the appropriate information out there. Mayor Koch said for now we will note that the Commission has reviewed the resolution. IX. Items for Commission Action. 0 A. ARPB Appointments 1. One Regular Member -Term to end March 2012 2. One Alternate Member -Term to end March 2013 Mayor Koch reported that Amanda Jones, who at one time was an alternate and is currently a regular member, is agreeable to returning to an alternate position in that she is away during the summer. He said if a motion to that end is adopted there will be two appointments for regular members rather than one. Mayor Koch said Mrs. Jones has done a good job as a member of the ARPB and the Town would like her to remain on the Board as an alternate. He suggested Charles Frankel, who was a previous member of the Board, has agreed to serve as a regular member. Mayor Koch said they will need one more appointment for a regular member and Commissioner Anderson said she is working on recommending someone from Place au Soleil. Vice -Mayor Othwein moved and Commissioner Anderson seconded to appoint Charles Frankel as first regular member of the ARPB. There was no further discussion. All voted AYE. Vice -Mayor Orthwein moved and Commissioner Devitt seconded to propose that Amanda Jones be reappointed as an alternate member of the ARPB. There was no further discussion. All voted AYE. Clerk Taylor stated that there will be one appointment for a regular member of the ARPB on next month's Commission Meeting agenda. Mr. Ganger pointed out that Malcolm Murphy is presently an appointed alternate member and could be moved to a regular member. Commissioner Anderson said that Mr. Murphy made it clear that he may relocate out of the area and the Board hesitates appointing him as a regular member at this time. B. Items by Mayor & Commissioners - There were none. X. Public. Lolly Prince, a resident of L'Hermitage, took the podium and stated that she and her neighbor, Lynn Wilkins, are present for the purpose of hearing the discussion on annexation. She said there is a lot going on right now with Boynton Beach and other towns who are looking for ways to streamline services and generate money and believes it is inevitable that these areas are going to be annexed. Mrs. Prince said they would much rather be a part of Gulf Stream than Boynton Beach and they wanted to hear the Town's thoughts and how they may proceed when looking into annexation. Mayor Koch said the Town is looking into the possibility of annexation and looking into what is going to be built here. He turned the discussion over to the Town's attorney for the legal aspects of annexation. Mr. Randolph said a discussion concerning annexation has not occurred and it is coming up for the first time under this Agenda item. He said Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 11 an Interlocal Agreement exists between Boynton Beach and the Town of Gulf Stream that Gulf Stream would not seek annexation of these properties in exchange for the condition that if Boynton Beach were to annex any of these properties, it could only do so if they agreed to the condition that heights of buildings not exceed 35 feet and there will not be more than 6 units per acre. He said that is the situation relating to annexation at this time. Mr. Randolph explained that there O are 3 types of annexation as follows: Voluntary Annexation, where the property owner wishing to annex into a municipality, if it is contiguous to that municipality, may do so by filing a petition to be followed up by an ordinance of the annexing municipality; Involuntary Annexation would require a vote of the electorate within the property that the municipality is seeking to be annexed and if 50% or more of those property owners vote to be annexed into that municipality, they would be annexed; and, Annexation of Enclaves which comes about through an interlocal agreement between the County and the municipality because counties do not want to serve enclaves, which are described as areas that are surrounded on at least 3 sides by a municipality, and in those instances the municipality may annex the enclave, but that applies to areas of 10 acres or less. He said Gulf Stream has the application of the interlocal agreement with Boynton Beach existing at this time and he does not know if that is a complication, but it was done years ago to protect the area from high rises and high density and the Commission at that time felt it was appropriate to have that agreement with Boynton Beach so they would have to comply with those conditions in the event they did annex. Mr. Randolph said that one issue being discussed right now is the Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement (ILSB). He said the Town will keep close tabs on it and will get involved in that that process if it comes about. Mr. Randolph said we do not know at this point if that ILSB area is going to be expanded. He said Boynton Beach is exploring expanding the Interlocal Service Boundary map to cover areas east of the Intracoastal and he does not know how far along they have come with that, but it is a lengthy process. Mr. Ganger said there is a meeting scheduled for early next week, which is the first step in the process, to determine the scope of the map and, as Mr. Thrasher said, the map originally did not include any pockets east of the Intracoastal. He said at a Commission Meeting Commissioner Abrams raised the question to the City Manager of Boynton Beach as to whether or not they should extend and threw in the question of whether to include Briny Breezes. Mr. Ganger said it is up to Boynton Beach to decide if they want to include Briny Breezes and pockets all the way south to Sea Road, but he made a clear position directly to Boynton Beach to forget it because even if they study it, nobody at this end will vote for it. Mr. Ganger stated that an ISBA is a process that was meant to make annexation more flexible and so the potential annexor has the right to set some of the rules. He said when the County wants to get rid of land that is not beneficial to them and Boynton Beach may want the land Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Town Commission - March 12, 2010 Page 12 because it is high value property, you have to assume they will be thinking about coming all the way out to sea level. Mr. Ganger said we need to protect our neighbors and provide them with a full understanding and he encouraged the Town to get involved in the study. He said the Coalition will represent the disenfranchised by getting public interest groups to participate in the study and report to the people who will be affected. Mayor Koch said the Town has always been concerned which is O why they did the Interlocal Agreement and Mr. Ganger said the Interlocal Agreement was a good move. Serge de Laville of 4225 North County Road took the podium. He said he wanted to make a comment regarding the developer who is purchasing the Sea Horse property and his plan to build a 7 -story condominium on the east side of AlA. He said his neighborhood lies directly beyond the old tennis courts and he and his neighbors are concerned that the Sea Horse design will obstruct their view and may not be compatible with the Gulf Stream style. He asked that the Commission encourage the developer to design a structure that is compatible with the Gulf Stream community rather than a high rise that is more compatible with Ft. Lauderdale. Mr. de Laville said he would like to know that he and his neighbors have the Town's support in this matter. Mayor Koch said he has met with the developer and expressed the views and concerns of the community and the developer has agreed to build only three homes on the west side of AIA, but everything is still in preliminary negotiations. Mr. de Laville asked how the residents will be informed of the progress. Vice -Mayor Orthwein said the Coalition will be helpful in the communication process. Mayor Koch said that the residents are in good shape right now. XI. Adjournment. Vice -Mayor seconded to adjourn the meeting AYE. The meeting was adjourned L- a��ao ail C. Abbale Administrative Assistant Orthwein moved and Commissioner Anderson There was no discussion. All voted at approximately 10:40 A.M.