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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1989-04-18 Regular Meeting0 COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 18, 1989 - REGULAR MEETING The regular monthly meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Tuesday, April 18, 1989 in the Village Hall. The meeting was called to order at 9:30 A.M. by Mayor Estelle Stern and the roll was called. Those present were: Mayor Estelle Stern Asst. Mayor Matthew B. Blank Councilman Sol M. Taplin Councilman James E. Boggess Councilman Andrew R. Hirschl Also Present: Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney Carole S. Morris, Village Manager Marilyn P. Kreger, Village Clerk Having a quorum present, Mayor Stern Called the first item. 2. Approval of Minutes: March 21, 1989 Regular Meeting C/M Taplin moved and C/M Boggess seconded a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Lou Brandt, Regency Spa, and Mr. Laikin, former Councilman, were welcomed by Mayor Stern. There being no formal vote and no objection to the motion, the minutes stand as approved. 3. Presentations: Officer of the Month - Kenneth Klingman Police Chief Baquero presented the reasons for recommending Officer Klingman as the Officer of the Month for March. He was presented with a Certificate from the Police Department and a check from the Village. 7. Resolutions: A Resolution Providing Requirements and Procedures for Resolution of Disputes involving bids for State of Florida Sewage Treatment Revolving Loan Fund. The Village Clerk read the Resolution by title. Mrs. Morris, Village Manager, presented this item by saying that the purpose of this Resolution is to have an established procedure to mediate any disputes that might arise as a result of the State loan being sought by the Village as required by the State. Richard Weiss, Village Attorney, added that the Resolution covers two types of disputes: 1. bidding out work and 2. resolve disputes among contractors after award of bid. The first appeal step is to the Manager and then the Council for final resolution. E There being no comment, C/M Boggess moved and C/M Hirschl seconded a motion to adopt the Resolution. Vote Taken: All Voted Aye Resolution No. 386 Passed 8. Reports and Recommendations A. Mayor and Council 1. Architectural Review Board - Member Appointments Mayor Stern stated that she felt this item is premature and would like it deferred to a later date. Asst. Mayor Blank moved that the item be tabled to a future meeting. The motion died for lack of a second. C/M Boggess stated that ,he would like to discuss it. He stated that the question is not so much who is appointed to the committee, but more important what role the board will play. They play an important role, but yet seem to pose a problem fitting them into the review procedure which he feels sihould be resolved. Mayor Stern stated that the board has existed for at least the two years she and C/M Boggess have been on Council, but have been called upon only one time. They should be used for each case, not just once - that is unfair. C/M Boggess said the committee was used quite effectively prior to 1987, and have not been used more as a result of problems in the Village Manager's Office than anything else. C/M Taplin stated that the purpose of the committee should be clarified. The Village Manager stated that their purpose is described in the Code of Ordinances. She suggested that the Architectural Review Board.'should be kept involved. Their input is important. Their duties and responsibilities could be more clearly defined in the Code as part of the recodification. Mrs. Morris also suggested redefining the Beautification Committee in the Code as far as landscaping standards throughout the village. C/M Hirschl feels the Beautification Committee serves a useful purpose. He would like to see the boards remain but to have their roles redefined. Mayor Stern agreed with C/M Hirschl; it was the appointment of members that she wanted to defer. C/M Taplin stated that the Council needs to take care in who it would appoint. The members should have a background in landscaping, architecture, planning or related fields. The Village Manager stated that the Council may wish to consider changing the composition of the board. She and the Building _a Official could be ex-officio members, but not voting members of 0 either board. Richard Weiss, Attorney, recommended that language be changed to provide that the Architectural Review Board shall be called upon to review variances, rather than at the option of the Village Manager. Mayor Stern asked if it advisable that Council members consider who they would like to see appointed to the Committee. C/M Boggess suggested that the Manager, Attorney and Building Official recommend how the boards should be structured with respect to the duties and qualifications. The Village Manager recommended that a story could appear in the upcoming newsletter requesting volunteers come forward who have the needed background. Richard Weiss stated that the current ordinance gives the Architectural Review Board the authority to hold public hearings and he asked Council if they want to keep that provision in the Code or only give Council the authority to hold public hearings. The staff is instructed to prepare a report for the next available meeting. No action taken. B. Village Attorney Richard Weiss asked Council if it wants to maintain the practical difficulty standard or go back to the hardship standard to consider variances. He explained that a hardship is a situation such as a lot is of such an unusual shape that a structure could not be built on it without violating the setbacks (non -self imposed). The hardship standard was changed to practical difficulty some time ago. If Council wants to have a very strict standard, they should go back to hardship. If they want more flexibility, leave the Code the way it is. The Council agreed to keep the practical difficulty language. C. Village Manager Mrs. Morris first thanked Chief Baquero for the lovely evening sponsored by the Dade County Police Chief's Association that Village officials attended the previous night at Danilo's Restaurant. She also complimented the Village Clerk on an excellent job in managing the election. 1. Quarterly Financial Report - 1/1/89 thru 3/31/89 Asst. Mayor Blank indicated that it appears the Village is in excellent financial condition based on the statement. C/M Taplin asked the Finance Director about the overexpenditure of the capital outlays. Mrs. Morris responded that one of the items is replacement of the police radar gun and other operating equipment 161 which are one time purchases. 2. Approval of Expenditures a. Building Department Computer - The cost is $3,317.00 from Caber Systems representing a savings of over $600 versus direct purchase from IBM. This equipment is provided for in the current budget and is purpose is to streamline the work of the department. C/M Boggess moved and Asst Mayor Blank seconded a motion to approve this purchase. Vote Taken: All Voted Aye b. Light Fixtures - Sun Bank Median c. Installation of Light Fixtures/Electrical Service at Sun 'Bank Park - Mrs. Morris suggested discussing items 2 and 3 simultaneously because they*are related. She reported that the DOT permit has been secured and. work will begin shortly. George Winterling, who designed the lighting for the medians, was asked to design the lighting for this project as well in order for it to be consistent with the Collins Avenue median lighting. Mercedes Lighting, the County bid recipient and local vendor for this material, has the fixtures available that would be needed at a cost of $20,876.94 which cost is within the budgetary guidelines for the project. The Village Manager continued that proposals have been received for the installation and start up of electrical service of the median lighting. The three bids were submitted by Angle Electric in the amount of $10,400; J. M. Carter & Sons in the amount of $10,600 and Moody Electric in the amount of $11,200. After review of the bids by the Village electrical engineer, it is recommended that the bid be awarded to J.M. Carter & Sons, Inc. in the amount of $10,600.00. While this was not the low bid, this company has done extensive work in the Village and is used frequently on an emergency basis. Asst. Mayor Blank moved that the recommendation of the Manager be accepted on both the light fixtures and installation. C/M Taplin seconded the motion. Vote Taken: All Voted Aye d. Garbage Truck - Award of Bid - This procurement is provided in the current budget. The vehicle depreciation account was funded, so the cost has been set aside over the life of the vehicle that is being replaced. Five bids have been received. The low bid is $56,620.00; however, staff is not recommending that bid be awarded. The .bid being recommended for award is from Ray Pace Equipment Sales in the amount of $56,973.00. The reason for recommending this bidder is that the equipment he is offering is compatible with the equipment already on hand, so the public works department would not have to '_ maintain an additional stock of parts. This will replace an existing piece of equipment. The old equipment will be sold on the open market to the highest bidder. Asst Mayor Blank moved that the garbage truck recommended by the Village Manager be approved for purchase. C/M Taplin seconded the motion. Vote Taken: All Voted Aye 4. Report and recommendation regarding pools in setback areas - Mrs. Morris, Village Manager said this item is a result of a request of C/M Boggess at the last meeting. She, the Building Official, Engineers and Attorney have reached the opinion that allowing pools up to 20 feet from the seawall is not necessarily a bad thing. What needs to be done is tighten up the ordinance -with specific guidelines to protect the seawall. They are proposing that an ordinance be,prepared for the next meeting that would incorporate those safeguards. Richard Weiss added that the engineers felt that this procedure can be done, if done properly, and will protect the seawall. Their recommendations with regard to inspection of tie backs and plans approval would be included in the ordinance as well as a Hold Harmless Agreement, so any damage to the seawall would protect the Village from liability. Mrs. Morris stated that if a the resident's engineer wanted to use a specific technique not provided for in the Code, that engineer would have to certify to the Village engineer and receive approval that the new system would provide adequate support and reimburse the Village for the engineering services. Asst. Mayor Blank pointed out, in reading the minutes from the last meeting, that there are several inconsistencies in people's comments. On the one hand, Mr. Santucci was told if he did certain things with respect to his variance request there wouldn't be a problem which he did, then he came to the meeting and was told the variance would not be approved. The Village should have rules and regulations which should be adhered to. C/M Boggess clarified his comments read from the minutes that he did not say the ordinance was detrimental, but rather because of all the questions raised, he was beginning to question his own judgment in recommending this. Mrs. Morris said that while the Building Official could give guidance to applicants, only the Council has the authority to grant variances. C/M Hirschl clarified that the recent variances requested vary in nature - the issue of a pool in the setback is different than a structure in the setback - while they appear to overlap, they are separate issues. Being a resident living on the water, he prefers pile driven pools as a safety matter to protect the seawall in case of hurricane or other natural disaster. E403 Discussion was held relative to specific cases of homes in the Village that installed pools and the circumstances surrounding the methods used in those installations. The Village Attorney acknowledged that he will prepare an ordinance that will reflect the desires of the Council and safety needs of the community. All the Village consultants and staff work very hard to cooperate with the residents and their consultants in complying with their wishes. In order to recoup the cost of Village consultants' time, Mrs. Morris indicated that a fee will be included that would cover Village costs for situations that do not require a variance, but can just apply for a building permit, which is not currently addressed in the Code. 3. Report on request -for proposals for Consulting Engineer - Mrs. Morris stated that because of recent difficulty with the consulting engineer, the administration advertised for proposals for consulting engineering services. Several responses were received and reviewed by herself, the Public Works Superintendent and Building Official. The three finalists were A D A Engineering, Seiler Keller and Associates and Craig A. Smith Associates. Each was interviewed and investigated. The ranking was Craig A. Smith, Seiler Keller & Associates and A D A Engineering. She and Bob Wheldon visited the Craig A. Smith facility. Mrs. Morris introduced Craig A. Smith, Bill Landis and Gene Shriner who will be handling the Village account. The agreement has been prepared, however, the attorney has not had a opportunity to review it. In response to a question of C/M Taplin regarding cost, Mrs. Morris responded that consulting and troubleshooting be performed on an hourly basis. Specific projects would be on a lump sum fee after negotiation. The costs are spread throughout the budget in the various funds depen#ng on the service performed - water fund, sewer fund etc. Discussion was held regarding the factors used in the agreement to establish fees. There is no fixed fee, but rather on an hourly basis. The capital project fixed fee would be presented to Council for approval. Their personnel costs are delineated for informational purposes with the understanding that the Village is only paying for the level of service provided. Each invoice will reflect the level of service and cost thereto. Mrs. Morris informed Council that $34,900 was spent last year on routine engineering services C/M Boggess moved that the Village an agreement with Craig A. Smith & the Village Attorney. C/M Hirschl Vote Taken: All Voted Aye 9. Other Business Manager may proceed to execute Associates after approval with seconded the motion. 0 9. Other Business a. The last item by the Village Manager is a draft memoranda of agreement between the Village and the State Department of Environmental Regulation. This relates to the grant request for the sewer pumping station rehabilitation project and subsequent loan application. This agreement represents the results of the loan request and the Village consultants believe this is the best agreement hoped for. This provides that the two agencies agree to disagree as to whether the plans and specifications were complete on September 30, 1988. However, there is agreement that they were complete on another specified date which will ensure the Village being placed on the loan list to secure the loan this year (May or June) The Village Attorney advised that this is an approval of the settlement of the administrative proceedings. He would like it to also give an assurance of funding. The loan world be in the amount of $843,000.00 with payments to start the first year after completion of the work. The interest will be approximately $60,000.00 annually for 20 years. Once the agreement is executed, the Village would be ready to go to bid. C/M Boggess moved and Asst. Mayor Blank seconded a motion for the Village Manager and Village Attorney to proceed with this agreement. Vote Taken: All Voted Aye b. Harland Bartholomew - C/M Taplin queried the Village Manager about not using Harland Bartholomew for the workshop meeting on the Oceanfront Zoning District. She thought it would be better advised to use someone from the academia. Dean Reagan, University of Miami, was contacted and he recommended Ralph Warburton who has extensive experience working with other government agencies as an engineer, planner and architect. He has been reviewing all the documents involved in order to give a presentation on April 26th. C/M Taplin asked that Mr. Warburton bring the photographs and shadow studies used previously by Dean Reagan. C. Beautification Committee - Asst Mayor Blank commented that he doesn't approve of the way the committee makes its selection for awards. He feels that an outside person in the profession should be used to make the selections. Mrs. Morris agreed that there are people in academic field or other professionals who would be available for that purpose. Mayor Stern commented that this could be reviewed at the time of review of the committees for recodification. 10. Adjourn - There being no further adjourned at 10:40 A.M. Attest: Marilyn Kreger -'Village Clerk business, the meeting was I 4ZLIA �11� - - Mayor Estell St y e