Board of Commissioners Workshop Meeting

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 1 ofB A workshop meeting of the City of Madeira Beach Board of Commissioners was held at 2:00 p.m. on April 27, 2018 in the Patricia Shontz Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, Florida. Mayor Black called the meeting to order. MEMBERS PRESENT: Maggi Black, Mayor Terry Lister, Commissioner District 1 Nancy Hodges, Commissioner District 2 Nancy Oakley, Commissioner District 3 John Douthirt, Vice-Mayor/Commissioner District 4 CITY STAFF PRESENT: Jonathan Evans, City Manager Ralf Brookes, City Attorney Clara VanBlargan, City Clerk Walter Pierce, Finance Director Dave Marsicano, Public Works/Marina Director 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Black called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. 2. ROLLCALL City Clerk Clara VanBlargan called the roll and all Commission members were present. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Black opened public comment. Linda Hein, 401 150th Avenue, suggested City employees be trained to stop at crosswalks for pedestrians. There is a lot ofliability. She offered to help with training. Amy Powell, 15320 Harbor Drive, said she would like to talk about the Mad Beach Fish House parking. She will lose 22 parking spaces in the City lot. They employ 30 people and 25% of them are residents of Madeira Beach. The parking will be for Mad Beach Fish House and they will use a valet service. Keeping her business going is reliant on the parking. 4. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION Mr. Evans requested that the Commission discuss Agenda Item F first. Mayor Black stated that they can do this. F. Proposed Ordinance Amending Fees - Linda Porta, Planning Director BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 2 of8 Mr. Evans reviewed the item and stated that this ordinance is for amending fees. Staff has done an overall analysis and reached out to peer agencies to ensure that fees are consistent. The cities that were surveyed are in close proximity to Madeira Beach. Ms. Portal has managed this process. The fees have gone before the budget committee and their recommendations have been incorporated. They wanted to memorialize their fees in an ordinance format. If the fees were to change they would need to be amended through ordinance. Staff will analyze fees on an annual basis. He indicated that each department head will present their fees. The Department Heads reviewed their portion of the document and answered questions by the Commission. Mr. Evans commented that they would like to build the reserve fund to strengthen the City against down turns in the economy or weather conditions which would affect tourism. Vice-Mayor Douthirt asked if they are planning on looking at this on an annual basis. Mr. Evans said they will look at fees annually. The fee schedule will be posted online for public consumption. He commented that the Fire Department's only modification was for EMS response per call fee of $97.00. Staff will make appropriate modifications to the document and will bring it back to the Board in April. Mayor Black thanked the department heads, staff and the budget committee for all their work on the fee schedule. She then opened public comment. Robert Preston, 425 South Bayshore Drive, said not everyone lives in a condo and has access to the City. People working 8-5 do not have access to the City. Some people do not know they need to have a permit for work and for these people to be penalized five times of the cost of the permit . . 1s excessive. Deby Weinstein, 441 109th A venue, asked if she could hand her questions to the City Manager regarding the fees and then provided the questions to him. A. City of Madeira Beach Community Values Survey - City Administration Mr. Evans indicated that they would like to increase civic engagement in Madeira Beach and staff has prepped a series of 30 questions for the purposes of serving the community. This survey will be available online, the website and social media platforms. Hard copies will also be made available to the public. The questions will allow them to do some trend analysis. This is not a scientific survey but will ascertain public opinion. They do have mechanisms in place to ensure that people are not taking the survey multiple times. This is an important tool that can feed into the budget process. There is also an opportunity to volunteer in the city and sign up for department updates. The survey takes 7-10 minutes to complete. He recommended that if they add questions they try to keep the full survey under 40 questions. Mayor Black asked how they would they keep people from filling out multiple surveys. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 3 of8 Mr. Evans stated that there are tools in the module that lets you randomize the questions and lock down for individual IP accounts. This would not allow two individuals in the same IP address to take the survey, so he would not recommend this. People taking the survey really fast is a good indication that they are taking it multiple times. They can find anomalies. Mayor Black stated that privacy needs to be part of the survey, so income should be kept private. Mr. Evans stated that they do not have information for addresses or names on the survey. Email addresses are optional information that people can provide. Commissioner Oakley asked if there is a place in the survey that allows people to place comments on something that was not asked. Mr. Evans responded that he has done this before in the past and it turns into a place where people write personal attacks. He then began overviewing each of the questions. 1. What kind of a resident are you? 2. Do you own a business in Madeira Beach? 3. Do you own property or a home in Madeira Beach? 4. How long have you lived in Madeira Beach? 5. Best describe your primary residence in Madeira Beach. 6. What is your sex? 7. To which age group do you belong? 8. What is your approximate pre-tax income? 9. What is your highest education attained? 10. What type of residence to you think Madeira Beach needs more of? 11. Why did you choose to live in Madeira Beach? 12. Is the City of Madeira Beach an affordable community? 13. Is Madeira Beach a safe community? 14. Is the government of Madeira Beach a transparent organization? 15. Does Madeira Beach communicate well and engage with the public's input? 16. How would you rate the overall appearance of Madeira Beach? 17. Please rank what Madeira Beach should focus on to improve over the next three to five years. 18. Which do you value the most? 19. How do you receive your information about city affairs? 20. What type of volunteer opportunities with the City of Madeira Beach would you be interested in? 21. Should user fees fund programs where the program participants directly benefit? 22. Did you know that only 11. 7% of your property tax in Madeira Beach goes to fund government? 23. Did you know that the average tax bill in Madeira Beach is $5,375.14 and only $638.98 is remitted back to the City of Madeira Beach? 24. Would you agree to pay higher user fees to support the recreation department? BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 4of8 25. Rank which service you value the most. 26. Is the City of Madeira Beach business friendly? 27. Where do you see the City of Madeira Beach in the next five years? 28. Are you proud to say you enjoy working, living and playing in the City of Madeira Beach? 29. Email address is requested - If you are interested in receiving information from the city manager's report. 30. Email address is requested for those interested in volunteer opportunities. Mr. Evans stated that staff will look to put this survey out no later than April 5th and keep it out for 45 days. This information will be put into a power point presentation and communicated to the public. Ms. Hodges asked how often they would conduct this survey. Mr. Evans responded that it will be completed once a year. He stated that there is another tool available to survey the residents on a multitude of things. Mayor Black stated that number 11 has squares instead of circles. She suggested that the document be consistent. She requested that an option for "front desk" be added for volunteering. Mr. Evans stated that they can add it. Mayor Black asked what the citizen's academy is about. Mr. Evans stated that every week a department will highlight everything they do and what services they provide. It's a way to provide factual information of what departments do. Once a citizen has gone through the academy they graduate. In the city of Largo, they will not appoint a citizen to an advisory board until they have gone through their citizen academy. Commissioner Oakley commented that the city used to have this in 2007. Mr. Evans stated that he will make modifications and get the survey out to the public. Mayor Black opened public comment. Robert Preston at 425 South Bayshore Drive commented that he had a hard time bringing his wife to the city because she does not want to live around old people. He indicated that meetings are held during the day and younger people do not have the opportunity to speak. As a community they need to hear from all ages. B. John's Pass Kiosk - City Administration Mr. Evans commented that he has done some research and found that the contract terminated on April 30, 2017. The statute does allow the contract to remain in place until either party provides notice. Currently the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce occupies the kiosk at Johns Pass. They BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 5 ofB pay one dollar a month to occupy this space. They have operational hours from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday and from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Saturday through Sunday. This is a benefit to the area because it informs visitors of what is happening in the community. The board asked in the past for options regarding the kiosk. Staff has put together recommendation for the boards consideration. The building official has also put together information regarding the kiosk and ADA compliance. Mr. Evans reviewed the options with the board. Option one includes extending the lease with the current occupant. Option two would be for the issuance of a request for proposals to allow for an open or closed solicitation. Option three would be to have the kiosk serves as a security substation. The city receives approximately $300-$400 per month from the ATM. This revenue goes to the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. Staff is looking for direction from the BOC on how to proceed. Mr. DeSantis commented that they have the slide show in their packets. He showed the basic assessors information for the property and then a picture of the kiosk. He indicated that there is a 2.6 % grade on the front of the kiosk on the pavers which meets code. The ADA parking spaces are code compliant as well. The back side of the building under the bus shelter has a noncompliant walkway. It needs to be widened. The main walkway has protruding objects that makes it noncompliant. The area around the A TM is not complaint because it needs a minimum of 48 inches distance for a wheel chair. The pressure tested on the main door is 14 pounds. Code requires a pressure of 8.5 lbs. for exterior doors. The buttons on the ATM are 53 inches in height. Code requires that they be no more than 48 inches in height for wheel chairs. The four-quad receptacle is not code compliant and needs to be a GFI and have a weather proof cover. The inside of the kiosk is very cluttered. The width behind the office counter is only 28 inches and is not ADA compliant. Code requires a minimum of 30 inches. Mr. Desantis stated that he looked at what it would take to bring the building into ADA compliance. Most of the changes are easy but the total cost will be around $12,000. They will need to remove the two front windows and installing three larger windows with one window placed at a lower level for ADA compliance. The ATM will need to be moved and there will be some remodeling on the interior of the building. Commissioner Hodges asked if they can expand the building to make the interior larger and to reduce the area around the coin changer and ATM machines. Mr. DeSantis commented that the coin changer needs to be recessed into the wall and they can create a partition between it and the ATM. When people pass through they are looking for information, so it is being proposed that they make the front entrance more inviting. Commissioner Hodges asked ifhe is proposing to leave the building size the same. Mr. DeSantis confirmed that he is but that he would recess both machines into the wall. All that is being kept in the building is information for visitors. This information could be kept on the front entrance and it would not require people to go into the building. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 6 of 8 Mr. Douthirt asked if these changes are required no matter what. Mr. Desantis stated that they are required no matter what is done with the building. Mayor Black asked if the current occupants remain in the building do they still need to make the changes. Mr. DeSantis stated that they will need to complete the upgrades. Mayor Black stated that she would like to go with option two. Commissioner Hodges asked if they have issued an RFP in the past. Commissioner Oakley stated that they spoke about it but it never happened. She stated that she likes option one because they provide a good service. Mayor Black commented that she it would be fair to give others an opportunity. Commissioner Douthirt stated that if they put a chamber in the building he would prefer the Treasure Island, Madeira Beach Chamber because they will keep people in the city. He indicated that he would be okay with putting out an RFP. The ATMs will pay for the repairs. Commissioner Oakley indicated that the chamber owns the ATM. Robin Sollie Tampa Beach Chamber of Commerce stated that they do own the ATM and collect revenue from it. She indicated that they have been there longer than six years. Members have been trained to keep people in Madeira Beach but there are times when things occur outside of the city as well. She also stated that there are no restrooms in the facility. Commissioner Hodges stated that they should bring the facility up to ADA compliance and open it up to either chamber. She believes that it is good to have a chamber presence in the city. Mr. Evans stated that they can restrict the RFP to an agency similar to that of the chamber. They will then get the proposals to the board. Each agency will be given 20 minutes to present to the board. He indicated that he will work with the building official to get the improvements to the building completed. Commissioner Hodges asked if while construction occurs to the building is there any possibility to have anything available for the chambers to sit temporarily. Mr. Evans commented that he will get with the current occupant to get a space they can occupy in the interim while the building is being upgraded. Commissioner Hodges asked what the time frame would be for the construction. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 7 of8 Mr. DeSantis responded that it would talce about two months. Deby Weinstein at 441 129th Avenue commented that they own the building where the Fantasy Planet occupies. She suggested that the deck area attached to the building be utilized for the chamber. The existing building could then be converted to open space. Commissioner Oalcley stated that this is a good idea. Guy Critelli at 13025 Pelican Lane stated that old people do not have places to sit in John's Pass except on those benches. He suggested that the benches not be removed. He indicated that he used to be the chamber president for 12 years and they used to charge people for putting their brochures in the facility. C. Citywide Parking - City Administration, Planning Zoning, Finance, Parking Enforcement Mr. Evans indicated that he is requesting direction on parking policy for the city. Parking is a major revenue stream from the city. He asked the finance director, parking enforcement, and planning and zoning to look at parking holistically and determine what issues that need to be addressed moving forward are. He provided the board handouts of parking spaces available city wide. Ms. Portal stated that the map shows were put together by public works statt· to identify the locations of parking and to identify who is responsible for that parking. There is also a table that lists how many spaces are in city lots. They do not have a number of parking spaces in the private lots as many are not striped. There are planning and zoning issues with the current parking lots. The dirt lot in Johns Pass which charges $5.00 an hour or $20.00 per day does not meet parking standards. Parking is allowed as a stand-alone use in that district, but it should have met all parking standards. The lot should be paved and contain ADA parking spaces. The code was never administered properly for this lot. The parking lot on the comer of Pelican is a parking business being conducted on city property. The city does have liability associated with this lot. The zoning is residential and does not allow for stand-alone parking. There is another lot on Pelican as well which also does not meet the use standards of the residential zoning district. These should never have been permitted. They do have a proposal that will be coming forth soon for a development on the John's Pass parking lot. This will create a sudden drop in parking for the area. They also need to consider what to do with the parking lots not allowed in the zoning district. She suggested that they amend the code to allow parking as a temporary use if they need to keep these parking lots. Ms. Portal commented that in the past they had issued business licenses without checking zoning. There have been businesses that have changed from one use to another. Some of the new businesses have generated more parking than the previous business. Now they require a zoning compliance check with all business licenses. Over the course of several years the business BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2018 Page 8 of 8 combination has changed resulting in parking issues. Now they need to go back and figure out what the impacts are. Commissioner Oakley stated that the city lot had the parking stops removed and now they do not meet code. They need to put the stops back in. Ms. Portal stated that John's Pass has had a lot of changes and the code was not enforced. She would like to get together with the chamber to discuss what to expect. They will start getting an inventory and provide businesses the chance to get in compliance. The city's own lots need to be brought into compliance. Mr. Evans commented that they want to bring options to the city to discuss structured parking to accommodate what demand will be at John's Pass in the future. Pelican Lane abuts residential and there are grease trap issues and street parking problems. Future developments will provide opportunities for more opportunities for increased parking. The parking app is now operational. Signage will be installed soon. This is a large issue and provisions are lacking in the code. It is not clear on who is allowed to waive fees. The manager should not have the authority to waive fees. Any concessions should be provided by the board. They also need to find out how to deal with construction parking, so businesses are not impacted. They will bring back more details to the board in the future. Commissioner Hodges stated that they do not have room to spread out for parking and asked if their areas in town that could accommodate vertical parking. Mr. Evans stated that they are looking at the area across the street from John's Pass near the Sunset area. There are only certain places that a parking structure will aesthetically blend in with the surrounding area. He then asked that the remaining items be moved to another date. D. "Jim Black Volunteer of the Year Award" - Volunteer of the Year - City Manager E. Board of Commissioners Policy Handbook - City Commission 5. CONFIRMATION OF DIRECTION 6. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Black adjourned the meeting at 3 :53 PM. Mayor: _fr\~-~- - - -- Maggi Bla~ cf .