Special City Commission Meeting

City of Deltona 2345 Providence Blvd. Deltona, FL 32725 Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Tuesday, February 27, 2018 5:30 PM Deltona Commission Chambers 1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Masiarczyk. 2. ROLL CALL – CITY CLERK: Present: 7 - Commissioner Honaker Commissioner Nabicht Commissioner Ramos Vice Mayor Herzberg Mayor Masiarczyk City Manager Shang City Attorney Absent: 2 - Commissioner Alcantara Commissioner Bradford 3. PLEDGE TO THE FLAG: Mayor Masiarczyk led everyone in the pledge to the flag. 4. BUSINESS: A. Public Hearing - Request for approval of Ordinance No. 02-2018, at second and final reading. - City Attorney (386) 878-8873. Strategic Goal: Strengthen Code Enforcement and focus on the City’s Beautification Program. Motion by Commissioner Honaker, seconded by Vice Mayor Herzberg, to approve Ordinance No. 02-2018, at second and final reading. Mayor Masiarczyk opened the public hearing. Doug MacDonald, 1494 Surry Run Court, Deltona, spoke about this ordinance being a long time coming, being in favor of the ordinance, a former Commissioner who believed Code Enforcement was not necessary, some residents will oppose the ordinance, he agrees with the cost being applied to the tax roll when it reaches $1,500, repeat violators, and the City City of Deltona Page 1 Printed on 7/15/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes February 27, 2018 recouping its cost. Robert Marchant, 1709 Twin Oaks Street, Deltona, spoke about loving Deltona when it was under Volusia County and not a City, the justification for liens, beautification violations, invasion of a resident's right to use of property, and he is not in favor of liens on properties where the justification is beautification, but he is in favor of liens due to hazards such as rats or trash. Brandy White, 2926 Chalmer Street, Deltona, spoke about not having enough information, not having answers to questions both by the Commission and residents, to be very careful on overstepping, costs and attorney fees, wording is everything and to look at the wording that is proposed, she agrees the City should get its money back for repeat violators, but there are other ways to do that, Deltona should not participate in this as a City, the City should take its own legal routes to get these fees, and she suggest to wait one year to see how it goes with Volusia County before Deltona implements this. Commissioner Nabicht asked if the ordinance followed State Statute and Assistant City Attorney replied yes. Jim Pescha, 1120 N. Old Mill drive, Deltona, spoke about the speed of which this has come up and is being pushed through, he is not comfortable turning control over to the county, the residents not having enough time to review the ordinance, he agrees some of the issues need to be addressed and the City should get its money back, but he is not sure going through the county is the right way to do it. Troy Shimkus, 1397 Winterville Street, Deltona, spoke about his concerns with the speed of which the ordinance is being pushed through, he is concerned it is based on ordinances that can be passed in under two weeks, what is to stop other Commissions from passing ordinances that can be placed on tax rolls, there being a lot of potential for bad things to happen, the severity of attaching fees to a person's home is alarming, and the other viable options to collect this money. He asked several questions such as how many homes have not paid money that is owed to the City? The total amount that is owed to the City, citywide? What is the limit (dollar amount) to be placed on the tax roll? Mayor Masiarczyk closed the public hearing. Assistant City Attorney Segal-George stated the reason the ordinance is being pushed through is because at the end of January the Volusia County Property Appraiser (VCPA) said he would allow this type of procedure which is allowed in Flagler County and a number of other counties. The process in the Code of Ordinances has not changed, the City puts City of Deltona Page 2 Printed on 7/15/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes February 27, 2018 liens on properties and if the property is not homesteaded the City can foreclose and take that person's property because of non-payment of a lien. What this does is allows a situation where the City has an abatement of a nuisance where the City has paid a significant amount of money, more than $1,500, to go through a process, hold a public hearing, and the property owner has to be notified and has the right at any time to pay the cost of the abatement. If the property owner does not then the Commission has to certify on the roll a non-ad valorem roll to the property appraiser for that particular property for the cost to be placed on their taxes. If the person does not pay then they would be delinquent with their taxes. This has existed for a long period of time and the $ 1,500 has to do with the cost of the abatement. This only deals with abatements and does not deal with all code enforcement issues. Mayor Masiarczyk stated residents have received liens on their property, they have refused to pay them so they keep accruing upwards of thousands of dollars and the homes are abandoned and it is part of beautification because some have to be condemned and torn down. It usually comes up after a person dies or when someone wants to sell the house and then they come before the Commission requesting a huge reduction in the liens, but all the while neighbors had to put up with the property not being kept up. Commissioner Nabicht stated several times it has come before the Commission where the house is for sale, but it has a huge lien on it and the violators have either passed away or walked away from the property. Now there is a potential buyer who wants to fix the property up, but the buyer cannot pay fair market value for the house plus the liens. The buyer asks the Commission for a reduction in the liens which the Commission does and then the City never recoups the money it put into it so this method will work much better. Commissioner Honaker stated this is for the chronic violators that are refusing to pay, it is not for the fines, but to recoup the City's cost of what it put into it. It is for nuisances and imminent threats on property, public health and safety. The City is in control of it, that is why it does not go for the elderly and the City decides who gets submitted for it not the property appraiser. He stated based on the comments tonight he can tell this is going to work. If a property has a lien on it, the people move out and the bank takes it over, the bank gets its money first and if there is any left it will go toward liens, but there is usually no money left over. He stated he is all for this, as law abiding citizens who are worried about this you can bet those that are violators are worried about this too and are going to pay their bill. Vice Mayor Herzberg stated it is about accountability, a lot of these homes are businesses, rentals. There was a home that for 10 years was continually being rented and continually noticed, but until the person wanted to sell the property and begged the Commission to have the liens removed, that is how long the neighbors had to deal with that situation. She City of Deltona Page 3 Printed on 7/15/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes February 27, 2018 stated so if you are someone who has a rental home in the City and you do not care who rents from you, you do not fix the property or do anything the continued abatements falls on the backs of the tax payers. She stated she personally does not think it is fair when someone is making money off a business that the rest of the tax payers should have to pay to clean up those properties that you do not care about. She asked if when a property goes up for a tax deed sale does the City ever get any money from that and Assistant City Attorney Segal-George replied "no." She stated she is in favor of the ordinance. Assistant City Attorney Segal-George read the title of Ordinance No. 02-2018 for the record. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DELTONA, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 38 -ENVIRONMENT, ARTICLE IV UNSIGHTLY, UNSANITARY OR UNSAFE CONDITIONS, SECTION 38 - NUISANCE AS TO NEW DEFINITIONS AND NEW CATEGORIES OF NUISANCE; CREATING A NEW SUB-HEADING SECTION 38-124A TO PROVIDE FOR THE USE OF A UNIFORM METHOD OF COLECTING NON-AD VALOREM SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS LEVIED WITHIN THE INCORPORATED AREA OF THE CITY IN THE DELTONA CODE OF ORDINANCES; STATING A NEED FOR SUCH LEVY; PROVIDING FOR MAILING; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS, CODIFICATION, SEVERABILITY AND FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 5 - Commissioner Honaker, Commissioner Nabicht, Commissioner Ramos, Vice Mayor Herzberg, and Mayor Masiarczyk Ordinance No. 02-2018 was adopted at 5:54 p.m. B. Resolution No. 2018-11, Electing to Use the Uniform Method of Collecting Non-Ad Valorem Special Assessments - Camille Hooper, Finance Director (386) 878-8552. Strategic Goal: Public Safety - Strengthen code enforcement, Focus on the City’s beautification program. Motion by Commissioner Nabicht, seconded by Commissioner Honaker, to approve Resolution No. 2018-11, electing to use the uniform method of collecting non-ad valorem special assessments levied within the incorporated area of the City. Mayor Masiarczyk opened and closed the public hearing as there were no public comments. City of Deltona Page 4 Printed on 7/15/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes February 27, 2018 Mayor Masiarczyk read the title of Resolution No. 2018-11 for the record. A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELTONA, FLORIDA, ELECTING TO USE THE UNIFORM METHOD OF COLLECTING NON-AD VALOREM SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS LEVIED WITHIN THE INCORPORATED AREA OF THE CITY; STATING A NEED FOR SUCH LEVY; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 5 - Commissioner Honaker, Commissioner Nabicht, Commissioner Ramos, Vice Mayor Herzberg, and Mayor Masiarczyk Resolution No. 2018-11 was adopted at 5:56 p.m. C. Request for approval of contract to impose non-ad valorem assessments with the Property Appraiser/Tax Collector pursuant to Resolution No. 2018-11. - City Attorney (386) 878-8873. Strategic Goal: Public Safety - Strengthen code enforcement, Focus on the City’s beautification program. Motion by Commissioner Honaker, seconded by Vice Mayor Herzberg, to approve the contract to impose non-ad valorem assessments with the Property Appraiser/Tax Collector pursuant to Resolution No. 2018-11. Mayor Masiarczyk opened and closed the public hearing as there were no public comments. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 5 - Commissioner Honaker, Commissioner Nabicht, Commissioner Ramos, Vice Mayor Herzberg, and Mayor Masiarczyk D. Purchase of Body Armor for the Fire Department and Enforcement Services - Chief Snyder, Fire Department (386) 575-6902. Strategic Goal: Public Safety: To provide quality high-level public safety services to the community through consistent regulations within a coordinated management plan process. Commissioner Honaker stated he had serious concerns with making the entire Fire Department wear the vests, but it is not for the entire Fire Department for the entire time City of Deltona Page 5 Printed on 7/15/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes February 27, 2018 they are on duty, but only if they respond to certain situations. Chief Snyder replied it is two folds one, is if the department responds to a shooting, stabbing or domestic violence call the vest would be worn in these types of situations and also in a situation with an active shooter or active assailant. The staff would put the vest on while going to the location, work with the vests on and when staff returned to the station they would take the vests off. Commissioner Honaker stated he thinks it is a good thing that the City is providing the vests and that they are not custom fit to each person. He asked for clarification if the vests were a one size fits all and Chief Snyder replied "yes sir, that's correct." Commissioner Honaker stated that the vests Code Enforcement would be getting are different than what the Fire Department is getting which are a lighter weight. Motion by Commissioner Nabicht, seconded by Commissioner Honaker, to approve the purchase of body armor for the Fire Department and Enforcement Services as presented, and to approve Resolution 2018-17 to amend the Replacement Equipment Fund budget accordingly to provide for this purchase. Mayor Masiarczyk opened and closed the public hearing as there were no public comments. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 5 - Commissioner Honaker, Commissioner Nabicht, Commissioner Ramos, Vice Mayor Herzberg, and Mayor Masiarczyk Resolution No. 2018-17 was adopted at 6:06 p.m. 5. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:06 p.m. ______________________________ John C. Masiarczyk, Sr., MAYOR ATTEST: _____________________________ Joyce Raftery, CMC, MMC, CITY CLERK City of Deltona Page 6 Printed on 7/15/2019