HomeMy Public PortalAbout1990-04-17 Regular Meeting223
COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 17, 1990 - REGULAR MEETING
The regular monthly meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council
was held on Tuesday, April 17, 1990 at 9:30 a.m. in Village Hall.
The meeting was called to order 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: Carole S. Morris, Village Manager
Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney
Marilyn P. Kreger, Village Clerk
Having a quorum present, Mayor Stern called the first item.
Item #2. Approval of Minutes: March 20, 1990.
C/M Taplin moved and C/M Boggess seconded a motion to approve the
minutes as presented.
Vote Taken: All Voted Aye
Item #5. Ordinances - Second Reading - An Ordinance Amending
Code Section 12-23 prohibiting overnight parking on streets in
the residential district without a permit.
Mayor Stern opened the public hearing on this second reading of
this ordinance.
Village Manager introduced this item by saying this is the
overnight parking ordinance which was passed on first reading
last month. The intent of the ordinance is to prohibit overnight
parking on the street in the residential district. The ordinance
was prepared in response to a request from the Civic Association.
Mrs. Morris said that when the ordinance is publicized between
first and second reading, such notice now includes a mailing of
the title of the ordinance to every person in the area that will
be affected. In the course of the mailing for this ordinance,
certain concerns of residents in the apartment buildings were
brought to light. The parking for those buildings is very
limited, so for them, this ordinance presents a problem. Only
one parking space is alloted per apartment with, in many cases,
two vehicle owners living in an apartment. It is for that reason
an alternate ordinance has been submitted which provides for no
overnight parking on the street in the single family district and
exempts the multifamily buildings.
The Village Clerk read this ordinance by title.
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Mr. Bruno, resident, stated that he is not against the ordinance.
However, he questioned what provision is made for those people
who have unplanned overnight guests. He suggested that anytime a
resident has overnight guests, the resident call the Police
Station and give the information on the address, vehicle type,
etc. Mrs. Morris stated that there is a provision in the
ordinance for overnight guests to request and receive a permit.
If a permit is not requested in advance, they would be subject to
a citation.
C/M Boggess questioned at what point the individual would be
subject to a citation. He feels this is an unenforceable rule,
or one that will cause much hard feelings in the Village.
C/M Hirschl indicated that the intent is to give the Village
muscle when certain homeowners repeat the same act on a regular
basis to limit the vehicles parked on the roadways overnight.
C/M Boggess suggested that this ordinance would be similar to
condominium rules in that if it is not enforced on a regular
basis then, it would become unenforceable. He feels that this
ordinance would open a can of worms. Many homeowners have
expressed extreme displeasure with the ordinance because it
becomes an infringement on their rights.
Mayor Stern stated that Mr. Bruno's suggestion would be workable.
Karen Trypan, resident, asked for clarification of the intent of
the ordinance. Attorney Richard Weiss stated that there was a
problem with respect to parking vehicles on the very narrow and
curvy streets at night. The intent of the ordinance is to not
have cars parked on the streets overnight. A11 cars would have
to be parked in the garages, carports and driveways overnight at
the request of the Civic Association.
Mr. Bruno stated that a time certain should be stated in the
ordinance as to when the prohibition would begin. C/M Hirschl in
questioning Acting Police Chief Treppeda regarding department
shift changes, stated that since the night shift goes on at 11
p.m. and works until 7 a.m., the patrol would know what cars stay
overnight.
Attorney Weiss stated that the ordinance originally contemplated
that one knows, in advance, that plans are made to have overnight
guests. However, the situation of having unplanned over night
guests could arise which would preclude a resident from obtaining
a permit in advance.
Asst. Mayor Blank asked Tony Riso, President of the Civic
Association, to present his point of view. Mr. Riso said the
main intent is safety, rather than aesthetics. It is to protect
walkers, joggers and bicyclers from speeders who may swerve
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into them to avoid a parked car. Mr. Riso said the hours of
concern are up to 11 and 12:00 at night, not 2 or 3:00 a.m. He
agrees with Mr. Bruno's suggestion of notification to the Police
Department.
Ms. Trypan asked why the Security Guards couldn't issue permits
in the same way large condominium complexes do. Mr. Riso stated
that Security Guards do not have the authority to do that.
C/M Boggess stated that he doesn't believe the ordinance will
solve the problem as described by Mr. Riso. The problem seems to
be before midnight, not after and the cars wouldn't be ticketed
before midnight. He said for that reason he would vote against
the ordinance.
Ms. Trypan suggested installing speed bumps in strategic
locations in the village.
C/M Boggess described an event he attended in the village at
which there were many more cars than space available. If there
is no room in the driveway and parking on the lawns is
prohibited, he pointed out, where else could one park but on the
street. He suggested a re-evaluation of the ordinance.
C/M Hirschl suggested not doing anything with the ordinance at
this point, but to send a letter to all residents either by the
Civic Association or the Village Manager requesting the residents
to not park on the streets overnight.
Attorney Weiss suggested deferring this ordinance until the June
meeting to determine whether the letter method would work.
Mayor Stern closed the public hearing.
C/M Boggess moved to defer this item to the June meeting,
seconded by Asst. Mayor Blank.
Vote Taken: A11 Voted Aye
Item #6. Ordinances - First Reading - An ordinance amending Code
Section 12-21 specifying time restrictions for certain noises.
The Village Clerk read this ordinance by title only.
Carole Morris, Village Manager, explained that the Council
recently amended the noise ordinance which resulted in a more
complicated situation than intended. This ordinance provides for
one set of working hours throughout the entire community
throughout the entire year. The working hours are 8:30 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. including the Shops.
Discussion was held with Mr. Bruno with regard to enforcement of
noise restrictions at the Bal Harbour Shops.
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C/M Hirschl moved and C/M Taplin seconded a motion to approve
this ordinance on first reading.
Vote Taken: A11 Voted Aye
Item #8. Reports
A. Mayor and Council -
Asst. Mayor Blank discussed the subject of the Newsletter which
is published six times a year, every other month. He recommended
that the summer Newsletter (May/June and July/August) be
discontinued. About seventy percent of the population is not
here during that period with the Newsletters being discarded
without reading. This would save about $4,000 per issue and
there seems to be a shortage of information to include in the
Newsletter.
C/M Hirschl said that the two issues mentioned are published at
the beginning of the hurricane season. The Newsletter has
included a packet of information on what to do in the event of a
hurricane. That packet should be continued.
Carole Morris, Village Manager, in response to a question by C/M
Taplin, stated that the total cost for issuing a Newsletter is
about $3-4,000 per issue. She added that while she doesn't
believe there would be any complaints about stopping the
Newsletter for a period of time, the hurricane edition is very
important and residents do call when it is not received on time.
Mrs. Morris stated that, in the past, separate, special editions
have been published just for hurricane information. She also
stated that she does not receive much comment from residents
regarding the Newsletter.
Mr. Bob Maute commented that he would like to see more news in
the Newsletter. Other Villages have more news such as the
Council agendas and results of the meetings. Mrs. Morris stated
that in the last Newsletter a summary of Council action was
published, the new Code Enforcement Ordinance and the search for
a special master, and the beach renourishment project. She
commented that it is hard to fill the four pages sometimes.
Mayor Stern suggested changing the publication to a quarterly
report. Mrs. Morris added that a quarterly could be published
with a special hurricane edition. She commented that Bay Harbor
Islands and Surfside have more to report because of their
recreation programs and they use larger print.
The consensus of Council opinion is to publish a quarterly
Newsletter with dates to coincide with the fiscal year quarters.
Mr. Bruno said that the Bal Harbour Club members do receive the
Newsletter and are interested in it even though they are not
vocal about it.
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B. Village Attorney -
1. Mr. Weiss introduced Stuart Kapp, an attorney with his office
who is doing work with the Village.
2. Concurrency Management System - Mr. Weiss said that as part
of the Comprehensive Master Plan, when a building permit is
issued, a review must be done to ensure that there are
appropriate public facilities such as water & sewer, streets,
etc. The state law mandates a Concurrency Management system has
to be implemented which his office is working on along with the
Village Manager to submit to the State for approval.
3. Forfeiture of Vehicles - Mr. Weiss advised Council that there
is a state law that allows vehicles used in the commission of a
crime to be forfeited to the Village. The Village is allowed to
confiscate and sell them and keep the money for a forfeiture
fund.
C. Village Manager -
1. Florida Princess - Mr. Weiss explained that it was thought
that this agreement was complete and ready for signing two months
ago. However, the representatives from the Florida Princess did
not agree with some the insurance provisions inserted by the
Village, so they would not sign. During the past two months, the
parties have been working to renegotiate the agreement with a
change from the indemnity provisions to insurance to protect the
Village. As a result of the changes in this agreement, a new
administrative policy has been established that no agreements
will be brought to Council before the other party has signed the
agreement.
Mr. Lambert, Chairman of Florida Princess, said they hope to
start operating as soon as Friday, April 20th.
Asst. Mayor Blank moved to approve the revised agreement with the
Florida Princess, seconded by C/M Taplin.
Vote Taken: A11 Voted Aye
2. Second Quarterly Report - John Walker, Finance Director, said
that the statement looks quite good and is relatively clean. As
of 3/31/90 the Village has received about 87% of its taxes with
the balance up to 100% having come in during this month. The
Southern Bell franchise fees and the state liquor license fees
don't come in until the end of the year, so it distorts the
percentage of the actual revenue vs the budgeted about for the
year.
Mr. Weiss pointed out that the revenue page reflects over $10,000
received from forfeited items. C/M Boggess asked what court
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fines the Village receives. Mrs. Morris responded that the
Village receives a portion of the fines levied by the courts for
traffic citations, etc.
3. Finance Department - approval to purchase new computer
hardware - Mrs. Morris stated that the existing system is old,
outdated, outmoded, etc. John Walker, Betty Schaeffer and Pam
Thompson have been actively involved in looking at hardware and
software and soliciting quotations. John Walker stated that
different organizations have been contacted that work with
packages for municipalities, as well as contacting other
municipalities for a list of vendors they deal with.
First, they wanted to select the software that could do the job
they wanted and then find the hardware that would accommodate it.
They had four different software demonstrations and then
contacted different users for recommendations. The consensus of
opinion as to the software that would do the best job for Bal
Harbour is Pentamation with the Florida distributor being Tresun
The software price came in at $35,751.00. This didn't include a
fixed asset package ($2,000), but it would be negotiable. Mr.
Walker estimates that this system would probably be workable for
five years which is about all that could be expected of any
system.
Asst. Mayor Blank moved to approve the purchase of computer
equipment as recommended by the Village Manager and Finance
Director, seconded by C/M Taplin.
Vote Taken: A11 Voted Aye
Following discussion regarding the fixed asset package, the
Council indicated that the purchase and installation of the fixed
asset package should be included in the purchase price.
C/M Boggess moved to amend the motion to require the $35,751
purchase price include the purchase and installation of the fixed
asset package, seconded by C/M Hirschl.
Vote Taken: A11 Voted Aye
4. Code Violation - 96 Bal Cross Dr. - request for authorization
to take legal action - Mrs. Morris stated that as part of a
building permit previously issued to this property owner, there
was a requirement that he construct a carport which has not been
done. The Village has notified him, by certified mail, of this
violation with no response. She is requesting Council
authorization to refer this matter to the attorney's office which
could result in litigation.
C/M Hirschl asked whether the original notification of the
requirement for construction of a carport stated a specific time
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frame for such construction, or was it left open. Mrs. Morris
didn't know if a time limit was given. The plans that were
submitted included a carport. The garage was closed in to be a
part of the house, but didn't build the carport.
C/M Hirschl moved and C/M Boggess seconded a motion to refer this
matter to the Village Attorney.
Vote Taken: A11 Voted Aye
Item #9. Other Business -
A. Beach Renourishment - Mrs. Morris reported that the Army
Corps of Engineers has set up a construction office at Bakers
Haulover. Activity will begin on the beach today. Preparatory
work will continue until about April 21st. There was discussion
in the last Newsletter relative to the beach project and what the
residents on the beach could expect. The project should be
complete by the beginning of June. The beach will be closed from
the water line to the jogging path in those areas where working
is going on.
Mayor Stern announced the arrival of a new Village resident, the
son the C/M and Mrs. Hirschl, born April llth, named Aaron Joel
Hirschl.
B. Police Chief Baquero - Retirement - Mrs. Morris announced the
retirement of Chief Baquero after about 20 years of service. Al
Treppeda is acting as Interim Police Chief. She will be setting
up a committee of law enforcement personnel and a couple of
residents to review the applications that come in. The Interim
Deputy Chief is Hernan Cardeno.
C. Mr Bruno, resident, addressed a notice received about what
items could be discarded in the temporary trash transfer station.
He questioned what should be done with bottles, cartons, etc.
Mrs. Morris stated that the Public Works Department should be
contacted to arrange disposal of these articles.
Item #10. Adjourn - There being no further business, C/M
Boggess moved and C/M Taplin seconded a motion to adjourn. The
Meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Mayor Stern
Attest:
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Vill ge erk
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