Loading...
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. Z24 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 4-17-90 Reg. Council Mtg. 2. 225 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. 4-17-90 Reg. Council Mtg. 3. 226 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. 4-17-90 Reg. Council Mtg. 4. 'I,27 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 4-17-90 Reg. Council Mtg. 5. 128 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 4-17-90 Reg. Council Mtg. 6. 229 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: / * /; a Cyl Vill ge erk 4-17-90 Reg. Council Mtg. 7.