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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1984-11-27 MeetingOn motion of Mr. Laikin, seconded by Mrs. Antiles and voted the meeting was adjourned at 5:10 P.M. Attest: 217 Village Clerk October 30, 1984 COUNCIL MINUTES November 27, 1984 The Council of Bal Harbour Village met Tuesday, November 27, 1984 at 9:30 A.M. in the Village Hall. Present: Mrs. Antiles and Messrs. Laikin, McKeehan and Sherman Absent: Mr. Taplin Also present were Fred Maley, Village Manager; Mary Wetterer, Village Clerk; and Alan Gold, Village Attorney. On motion of Mrs. Antiles, seconded by Mr. McKeehan and voted the minutes of October 30, 1984 were approved as submitted. Mayor Sherman said that the Council, as the Retirement Plan Committee had instructed our acturaries, Kruse, O'Connor and Ling to prepare guide- lines for lump sum payments in the future. Mr. Rizzo said they still rec- ommend some limitations on lump sum distributions. One method would be to refund the employee's contribution, plus interest. Mr. Maley asked why his firm opposes the lump sum benefits as the employee has five options under the plan, all of which are equal. Mr Rizzo said that Mr. Gold's legal opinion has outside parameters, that the plan provides a pension for life and that lump sums could change the nature of the plan. He stated that for the Council to decide who could have a lump sum would put them in an awkward position. Mr. Sherman said that our counsel recommends thatthe actuarial consultant prepare guidelines for the Manager and employee's to discuss. Mr. Gold said that we also need the opinion of the Trustees. Also mentioned was limit- ing lump sums paid in one year and possibly staggering payments. Sgt. Baquero, speaking for the members of the PBA said their contract does not permit the council to take away any benefits, and that the lumps sum benefit has always been one of the reasons officers stay in Bal Harbour. Mr. Gold stated that he looked into the lump sum question and that the council is not ob- ligated. He is concerned about documentation distributed in the past. The annual certificates give the impression that the employee has a right to a lump sum. He mentioned that the council has a responsibility to protect the corpus of the trust and also has a responsibility to the participants. It would not be inconsistant to allow what has been, to be put in the plan. He said no action should be taken until the principals have been outlined November 27, 1984 and discussed by those affected. Mr. Frank Crippen, (a resident) said he believed that the council has a moral obligation to those presently in the plan. If changes are to be made, do it for the new people. Mr. Rizzo was asked to work with the Northern Trust Bank and prepare some suggested guide- lines. Mr. Sherman introduced the Beautification Committee, being Doris Hastings, William May, Charlene Reynolds, Vincent Santucci, Astrid Shiel, William Whitman, Ignacio Gonzales, Ralph Cades, and Edna May Davidson. He said they had a meeting at which time their duties were explained. One would be to recognize those property owners who improve their property and also to have input on the master landscape plan for the Village. Mr. Maley advised that Mr. William O'Leary, the village's landscape consultant, was here to discuss improvement of the landscaping on Collins Avenue and 96th Street; new village entrance signs; and driveway signs for the hotels and apartments on Collins Avenue, which would be paid by the Resort Tax funds. Mr. O'Leary said he had looked at the areas in order to unify the village with types of planting, street furniture, etc. At present there is no unity between the east and west sides of Collins Avenue and 96th Street. He recommended that all australian pine hedges be removed and replaced with silver buttonwoods; that new pidgeon plum trees be planted between the sidewalk and the street and that hedges be placed around the bus shelters. On the west side of Collins Avenue this might need the approval of property owners. Where the sapodilla trees block the pedestrian lights they should be removed. It was moved by Mrs. Antiles, seconded by Mr. McKeehanr4md voted that Mr. O'Leary go ahead with his designs with the help of the beautification committee. Mr. Maley said that there would not be a hedge on the west side of Collins Avenue, only pidgeon plum trees. The work would be paid from General Fund money at an estimate of $55,000. Mr. Maley said that for the balance of all the work we will have to work out the costs between Village's funds. Mr. Maley said the second part of the project is the signage under the direction of Gart Urban Associates. He showed Mr. Urban's designs for the entrance signs at the bank, facing the Baker's Haulover bridge, and the jointsign for Surfside and Bal Harbour on 96th Street. Also two different de- signs for the hotel and apartment entrances and exits were shown. Mr. Urban had also suggested painting the street light poles and arms a beige color. Al- terations to the bus shelters, including putting flower boxes on them were pre- sented. It was suggested that the word "newspapers" be removed from the shelters. Mr. Maley said that the village attorney recommended that the words appear on the shelters. Estimate costs were: bank sign, $25,000-$30,000; bridge signs, $8,000-10,000 each; decorate bus shelters, $6,000 each; painting the light poles, $250 each; driveway entrance signs, $1,600-$3,000 each. Mr. Maley said the present signs cost about $1,000. It was moved by Mrs. Antiles, seconded by Mr. McKeehan and voted to go ahead with the hotel and apartment entrance signs, using modified Gart Urban designs. Mr. Maley said the lettering styles for the apartments on the west side of Collins have all been choosen by the owners. It was agreed that the matter of placing the bus shelter in front of the Admiralty Apartments would be held until January meeting when the apartment's board of directors could be present. Mr. Maley reported that the bus shelter at the Sheraton Hotel is not large enough and that he now would like to convert the small shelter into a large one by adding additional pieces and a new roof. It was moved by Mr. McKeehan, seconded by Mrs. Antiles and voted that the Manager contact the company to de- termine the price for alterations. Mr. Gold read the proposed ordinance raising the Resort Tax to 3% from 2% by title only. On motion of Mr. McKeehan, seconded by Mrs. Antiles and voted the November 27, 1984 ordinance was passed on first reading. (Mr. Laikin was not present during the vote). Mayor Sherman reported that 90% of the 580 burglar alarms in 1983 were false. (Mr. Laikin returned) Mr. Gold read a proposed ordinance providing for the licensing of alarms, charges for false alarms and inspections. Chief Staubesand said there were some provisions in the ordinance that needed more study. Mr. Bobby of the Bal Harbour Shops said that they would object to the decals on the shop windows showing the name and phone number of the owner or manager. It was agreed that the parties concerned should prepare suggestions for incorporation before final passage. On motion of Mrs. Antiles, seconded by Mr. Laikin and voted the ordinance was passed on first+ reading. Mr. Maley said he would like to recarpet the downstairs of the Village Hall, place rubberized tile in the lobby and police work areas, wall paper the ladies room, and redo the wall in the council room which needs repair. He has a proposal for $20,000 from the interior decorator who did the original work after the Village Hall was remodeled. It was moved by Mr. McKeehan, seconded by Mrs. Antiles and voted that Mr. Maley get bids from two more large rug co- panies and contact the decorator for alternate types of carpeting. It was the council's decision to hold the December meeting on December 11, 1984 due to the Christmas and Chanukah Holidays. Mr. McKeehan said that the children operating golf carts in the Residential Area were doing so in a reckless manner, endangering their lives and others on the streets. Chief Staubesand said he would take care of this. (Mr. Gold left the meeting at this time) Mr. McKeehan said he wished to discuss the action of the Bal Harbour Civic Association denying ingress and egress at the 96th Street gate to anyone not paying their "imposed assessment" of $230. He said he feels this is not legal. Mr. Maley explained that after the Bal Harbour Club gave up the responsi- bility for the security guard, the Civic Association attempted to create a special taxing district to assess all property owners in the Residential Section for the additional security. This was not permitted by Dade County because of the private street dedication. Since that time, the Association has asked for contributions from the residents. Mr. Vincent Santucci, President of the Civic Association said they were trying a voluntary or contractural agreement with the residents to maintain the gate and security at the guard house. If there aren't enough donations the gate cannot be maintained. Mr. Maley said he be- lieved that the homeowners should not be denied access. Mr. McKeehan said Mr. Gold had told him that they cannot deny access to anyone living there. Mr. Bruno, a resident, said he tried to discuss the matter with the association, unsuccess- fully. Mr. Sherman suggested that Mr. Maley meet with Mr. Santucci and try to solve the problem and that we get our legal position from Mr. Gold. Mr. Maley said that, as announced at the last meeting, the village has a new health insurance carrier in addition to the IMCHMO. He said he did a survey of what other cities are doing to help defray the high cost of de- pendent coverage. Every city pays for the employee and now quite a few pay for the family in part. He reviewed his survey with the council and explained that several lower paid employees' cannot afford the family coverage premiums. It was moved by Mr. McKeehan, seconded by Mrs. Antiles and voted that the village contribute 50% of the dependent coverage cost of either policy. November 27, 1984 On motion of Mr. McKeehan, seconded by Mrs. Antiles and voted the meet- ing was adjourned at 12:20 P.M. Attest: Village Clerk COUNCIL MINUTES December 11, 1984 November 27, 1984 The Council of Bal Harbour Village Met Tuesday, December 11, 1984 at 9:30 A.M. in the Village Ha11. Present: Mrs. Antiles, and Messrs. Laikin, McKeehan, Sherman and Taplin Also present were Fred W. Maley, Village Manager; Mary T. Wetterer, Village Clerk; and Anthony O'Donnell, representing Alan S. Gold, Village Attorney. The Village Clerk reported that Budget Hearing and regular Council minutes were not ready for adoption. Mr. Sherman said that the council had authorized two studies by Long Associates. One a pay study and the other a staffing study. The Budget Committee, John Kelly, Fred Maley and the Department Heads met to discuss the staffing study. Mr. Maley reported the pay study showed the Village to be right on target for the majority of employees. In comparison with ten other cities, The Bal Harbour Shops and the Sheraton Hotel, the survey suggested that the higher paid employees' salaries are too low; the middle range are fine; and the lower paid employees are somewhat higher. The staffing study also made some specific recommendations. Mrs. Caroly Long reviewed the Pay Study and explained it was based on the level of service the village wants. Bal Harbour has a high level of service, with visable results. Mrs. Long reviewed the Village's present pay plan and compared it with their suggested plan which has all positions classified, except for the Village Manager. She explained that under their plan, raises can be given more selectively. A level of responsibility was used for the study and they found the maintenance personnel to be multi -talented. Also reviewed were new job titles and proposed salary ranges. The Village Manager's salary was not studied as this is a personal choice of the community. Merit raises and their applica- tion to the scale were explained. Mr. Sherman said that the report shows that our police department is 5th in salaries among 27 cities, and the report bears out the 5% raise offered to the police officers is fair. Mr. Maley said that at the Special Master Hearing on police wages, the PBA tried to compare our salaries to only the highest paid department, plus the county. The Master's recommendation that will come will be advisory only. Mr. McKeehan asked that adoption of the Long report be held until next meeting so he could study it longer. Mrs. Long discussed the staffing study. She said the size of the community and service levels necessary to maintain the esthetics makes com- parison with other cities difficult. In doing the study she and members of the firm interviewed personnel, visited their working places and in some instances December 11, 1984