Board of Commissioners Workshop Meeting

THE CITY OF MADEIRA BEACH, FLORIDA PUBLIC NOTICE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORKSHOP MEETING The Board of Commissioners of the City of Madeira Beach, Florida will meet at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, Florida to discuss the agenda items of City Business listed at the time indicated below. 2:00 PM FEBRUARY 24TH, 2015 AUDITORIUM A. CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. B. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Travis Palladeno, Mayor Nancy Hodges, Vice-Mayor Terry Lister, Commissioner District 1 Elaine Poe, Commissioner District 3 Pat Shontz, Commissioner District 4 STAFF PRESENT: Shane B. Crawford, City Manager (CM) Thomas Trask, City Attorney (CA) Aimee Servedio, City Clerk (CC) Vince Tenaglia, Assistant City Manager/Finance Director (ACM/FD) Dave Marsicano, Public Works/Marina Director (PW/MD) Doug Andrews, Parks & Recreation Director (PRD) C. TOPICS 1. PRESENTATION ON FY2014 BUDGET CLOSURE AND EVALUATION Vince Tenaglia, Assistant City Manager/Finance Director ACM/FD: According to the City Charter, he serves as the City Treasurer and is required to report back to the City Manager and the Board of Commissioners. The outside auditors will make their presentation to the BOC at the March meeting. He requests a consensus to build a more sophisticated financial structure. The audit is nearing completion; the City did receive the GFOA Award for financial statements. We were able to get through the year-end process without hiring extra help. This year, it was handled internally which resulted in a $15,000 budget savings. IT issues were added to the financial audit, this created about 20 different options that were addressed. It was a good time to address these concerns with the City Centre completion and pending move to the new facility. He then turned the topic to the budget. The funds ended up as expected, but he wanted to point out that the Marina fund will most likely be the best it's ever been. The general fund requires attention - there have been a lot of changes in the last few years: a new building department, an expanded Parks & Recreation Department, etc. General fund revenues exceeded the budgetary estimates and expenditures were under. Parking enforcement and building permitting has helped increase revenues. BOC Workshop Meeting - 02/24/2015 We have experiences a spike because of parking rate increases and the expansion of the Building Department. Over the next few years, this will flatten. Despite the good news, we are running at a $5.5 million deficit due to all of the projects, which was expected. Essentially the City is using its financial resources and putting it to good use. There is a concept of structural balance in the General Fund. You want your revenue to match your revenue sources. To manage, he opines that the best way address this is to define operating revenue and operating expenses. This needs to come in at a rate that allows for debt service. The difference between revenue and expenses would be applied to debt service. We adopted a budget this year that allowed the City to cover the $300,000 debt service but there is not a little wiggle room. The City has been addressing major capital projects from the new City Centre to the stormwater projects. All of this leads to his recommendation to move forward. The auditors will also have a recommendation for the Board of Commissioners. The first is to establish a clear cut policy for the financial structure. Rating agencies, GFOA, and best practices all recommend this. Another set of policies he recommends is a budget amendment policy and reserve policy. Establishing clear policies for financial structure will strengthen the City's financial capabilities. The City repealed the investment policy in 2004, and we default to state statute. He recommends that the Board consider re-establishing an investment policy. The City is doing enough with its cash reserves to warrant this. A rate policy would also be useful to help with the issuance of debt. Regarding revenue policies, the Board may want to restrict that cash for future capital improvements - these are the types of things we should consider. These are policies that should guide the City in the upcoming years with the increase of projects and improvements. Finally, the City has had a fixed asset policy in place that creates a lot of work for staff. At the time this was implemented, it made sense, but with changing technologies and pricing, it may be necessary to adjust the current $1,000 threshold. This is not intended to restrict what the City Manager and Board is trying to accomplish. We do have long term visions to consider and setting these policies will help to accomplish what the City needs now while still planning for the future. The City would be able to better manage its debt and future projects. Mayor Palladeno: Commended the ACM/FD on the parking revenues. He inquired about the 2004 Investment Policy and the Fixed Asset Policy. ACM/FD: Clarified that these would be updates Commissioner Lister: Requested to prioritize with first addressing the Investment Policy. He feels with all of the current projects, it makes most sense to start here. Mayor Palladeno: Asked that the ACM/FD prioritize the policies that need to be addressed. CM: The City has become a sophisticated organization; it is time to put these things in place. Staff does need to put these things in place. He requests time to spend with the ACM/FD to go over some policies, most importantly, the Investment Policy and Fund Balance Policy. The CA confirmed that without a set Investment Policy, the City defaults to what is required by state statute. Commissioner Lister: Inquired about grants and debt issuance and how they relate to each other. ACM/FD: He doesn't want to link grants into this at the moment, he will look at all options for grants and debt service to give a better recommendation on the Commissioner's inquiry. He also made the announcement that the Finance Department has a new staff member, Karen Paulsen, who has been working with the City for about a month now. BOC Workshop Meeting - 02/24/2015 Consensus was for the CM and ACM/FD to prioritize the financial policies and start presenting them at future BOC meetings. 2. DISCUSSION ON TEMPORARY SIGN EXEMPTION ORDINANCE Shane B. Crawford, City Manager and Thomas Trask, City Attorney CM: The CA has a way to remove the red tape and allow for certain signage without the requirement of a certain unemployment threshold. CA: About 7 or 8 years ago, this was put in place to deter billboards from littering cities. A lawsuit was filed when cities tried to ban these billboards and the effects reverberated throughout the state. The recommendation was to allow certain signage during times of high unemployment - which is the current sign code. This is the background for why the code exists as it does. The two types of signs, flutter sign and A-frame sandwich signs, would be taken out of the prohibited section and regulated in a new section. The City wants to attract customers but does not want signs to be overdone and become too cluttered. With consensus from the Board, he can bring back an ordinance that allows signs but does not link the allowance to unemployment rates. If these changes are made, there is a risk that billboards may apply through building permits and if they are denied, could end in a lawsuit. He opined that the risk, however, is the lowest it has been in years. Consensus was to move forward and present an ordinance at the next BOC meeting. 3. DISCUSSION ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS Elaine Poe, Commissioner District 3 Commissioner Poe: The short-term rental issue in this small town is out of control. Insurance companies are not covering damages. Condos are also getting out of control - extra security is being hired due to the disruption caused by over-renting. The City has an ordinance and we cannot control it. Right now, she is addressing all the Mom & Pop Rental agencies. Flagler County is having a problem of people buying multiple houses and renting them all out as short- term rentals. Central Florida has the state attorney involved with theft and scams relating to these rentals. Key West, Vero Beach, and cities all over Florida are dealing with crime surrounding these types of rental properties. Flagler County has passed a new ordinance that they are sending to the Commissioner. Palm Beach is dealing with a plethora of scams. She wants to Board to look at this information to better understand what a problem this has become. If you ride up and down North Bayshore Drive, you will not see any Florida tags, nearly everything is rented. We need to get information out there for people to see. Mayor Palladeno: If the City creates an ordinance, could we implement it or would we have to default to the state? Commissioner Poe: Everyday, she gets ordinances on Short Term Rentals. This is not changing zoning or previous ordinances; this would be a new ordinance. This will not hurt the legitimate business owners who rent out to families and bring tourism here. She wants to prevent neighborhoods turning into short-term motels. Commissioner Lister: This is already on the books. He understands that Commissioner is not changing the ordinance, but will the state see it that way? It is going to cost the City to enforce. BOC Workshop Meeting - 02/24/2015 Mayor Palladeno: Apologizes for interrupting but needs to be excused. His opinion is to have Commissioner Poe to put something together. CM: He requested that the Mayor give Commissioner Poe permission to work directly with the City Attorney to ensure that she is the main contact on this issue so it is easier for staff to follow the direction the Board would like to proceed. The Mayor turned the gavel over to the Vice-Mayor. CM: For clarification, she wants "teeth" or better enforcement of what we currently have on the books. This could be through an escalated fee schedule or whatever the Board pleases. Commissioner Poe: Requested to work with Deputy Krager on this as well. CM: He would rather the Commissioner draft a policy how she would like it since staff is not constant. The deputy will be available for input and the CM can facilitate that meeting, but the policy itself needs to be set independent of individuals that may come and go. The CM requested to skip to Item 6 since he has a meeting he needs to attend. 4. DISCUSSION ON OUTSTANDING LIEN AND DEBT COLLECTION PRICE THRESHOLD Thomas Trask, City Attorney CA: Explained that the City has some outstanding liens that are within the correct parameters upon which to collect. He has worked with on similar resolutions with the City of Oldsmar and has provided a copy of said resolution in the agenda packet. He explained that the City needs to ensure that they set a price threshold for liens that would be cost effective - meaning the return on the lien would exceed the attorney's fees to pursue it. Consensus was to set the price threshold at $5,000 and have the City Attorney draft a resolution to be presented at the next BOC meeting. 5. DISCUSSION ON WEDDING PERMIT FEES Doug Andrews, Parks & Recreation Director PRD: Gave a short recap on the success from the EMU Tournament this weekend. Staff in City Hall volunteered and the Park & Recreation Staff really helped pull this off. He specifically pointed out Chris Mako and Jay Hatch for their hard work over the last four days. As of now, pavilions are rented at a first come, first serve basis. Over the weekend, a wedding was held at John's Pass Pavilion and they made their own fake parking passes for the event - parking enforcement and the deputies had to respond to this. He doesn't want to fully regulate what goes on at the beaches, but for these small private events, he recommends to schedule these events if areas would like to be reserved. It helps with enforcement and scheduling. Commissioner Lister: Would this also apply to people having events on the beach itself? For example, will this apply to a wedding event in which chairs, an altar, etc. are set up for a group of people? PRD: Yes, this would. It just helps to have the City know such events are taking place and they can be better scheduled, enforced, etc. The Commission commended the Parks & Recreation Department on all of their hard work on the tournament over the weekend. BOC Workshop Meeting - 02/24/2015 Consensus was to move forward and have staff present the new fee schedule at the next BOC meeting for final approval. CM: Came back to the memo that the PRD included in the packet. He recommends that in relation to the first item, charging employees a 50% discount for child care, and instead offering this to staff for free. He asked the City Attorney if this was allowable and it is. Commissioner Shontz: Thinks that this would be fine and good for the City's hardworking employees. CM: This also helps employees attend and make meetings. For example, there is a meeting a 5:00 this afternoon, if the childcare is provided, department heads and employees don't have to worry about their children. Consensus was to allow free childcare services for employees. 6. DISCUSSION ON FIREWORKS BID FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY Shane B. Crawford, City Manager CM: The PRD has put together a great fireworks show. This year, he has a program that utilizes the new complex and fields. The bids opened last week and the vendor with which we have worked was able to make the lowest bid but gave us the "most bang for our buck". He thinks the days of fighting with the barge on the Gulf are over. Staff is still finalizing the bids, but direction is still needed. The PRD will present the options available. PRD: He has teamed with a group called Full Throttle. The idea is to have bands perform all day, food trucks, etc . . Everything will be coordinated electronically. Commissioner Shontz: She thinks that people coming out to the fields will be very popular with residents and visitors. If we could get half as many that hang out at the parks, it would be great. She stresses that we have to start advertising early. CM: He thinks that the problem won't be attracting people, it will be limiting how many can safely fit in the area. The budget currently has $25,000 reserved for the fireworks show. This will probably be the first major event at the City Centre. PRD: There are many sponsors that will put on the event. Full Throttle will split the revenue. The CM excused himself and turned the meeting over to the Assistant City Manager to lead the discussion on Item #5. D. ADJOURNMENT-The meeting was adjourned at 3:37 p.m. Date approved: 01> I\ 0 12..o \S Travis Palladeno, Mayor Submitted by Aimee Servedio, City Clerk sl BOC Workshop Meeting - 02/24/2015