Board of Commissioners Workshop Meeting

MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORKSHOP MEETING MARCH 24, 2021 6:00 P.M. A regular workshop meeting of the City or Madeira Beach Board or Commissioners was held at 6:00 p.m. on March 24, 2021 in the Patricia Shontz Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive. Madeira Beach, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: .John B. Hendricks. Mayor Helen "Happy" Price, Vice Mayor/Commissioner District I Nancy Hodges, Commissioner District 2 Doug Andrews, Commissioner District 3 Dave Hutson. Commissioner District 4 MEMBERS ABSENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Robert Daniels, City Manager Clara VanBlargan, City Clerk Thomas Trask, City Attorney 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hendricks called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL City Clerk Clara VanBlargan called the roll. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Marilyn Haflin, 806 Bay Point Drive, stressed concern about parking on both sides of the road on Bayshore. There are no sidewalks on either side. An easy resolution would be to allow parking only on one side. The same for 140111, there has been a lot of parking on the streets in the past two weeks. .John Lee, 5 I 9 Lillian Drive. said his house is at the gate where everybody pulls into construction on that road, and his lawn takes the brunt of everything from construction debris and equipment. As he mentioned, when the industrial road was put in, the road is different widths. The City had an opportunity to make the park the same size as the rest of the roads in the City. Both .Johns Pass and Crystal Island are 26 feet, asphalt to asphalt. and Teardrop Park is only 20 feet. He and the March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 1 of 10 neighbors request that the no parking signs to not be put back up because the road is very narrow and people going to the park, park partly on the grass obstructing the road. When the sign went up at the park, the police department gave tickets to people parked on the grass three inches. It is a very narrow road, making it impossible not to park on some of the grass without obstructing the road. Chuck Dillon, 529 Lillian Drive, complained about the congested parking in the area near Caddy's Restaurant. The alcohol permit recently approved for Caddy's by the Board of Commissioners stated 36 parking spaces for 217 people. That is not enough parking for the restaurant. People are parking all over the neighborhood. He added that something needed to be done more about dogs on the beach. The City Manager read an emailed public comment from Dexter Boone, 571 Johns Pass Avenue, asking for an update on the speed zone regulations for the ICW that are within the City's jurisdiction. There seemed to be no regard for safety or damage caused by wakes created by boats especially close to docks on Johns Pass Avenue. Commissioner Price said outside the channel a minimum wake zone sign was to be posted and permits required. The City cannot regulate on the intercoastal waterways because it is not inside the City's jurisdiction. The City Manager said they could not do anything until the speed zone gets approved in Tallahassee. 4. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION A. Beach Tractor Purchase-Megan Wepfer, Interim Public Works Director The City Manager said the item is budgeted. The plan was to discuss it at the workshop and then have the Board approve it at a regular meeting. Due to a severe mechanical problem that occurred, he needs to make an emergency purchase. The beach has not been raked in a week. Interim Public Works Director Megan Wepfer added a comment. Commissioner Andrews said anything approved in the budget had already been discussed and did not need to come back to the Board. It's a done deal. A budgeted item should just get purchased. The Board agreed with Commissioner Andrews. Mayor Hendricks asked if the tractor could be repaired or needed to be auctioned if beyond repair. The City Manager said he did not know; it had not yet been evaluated. The repair costs could be a minimum of $5,000. B. Seawall Assessment-Megan Wepfer, Interim Public Works Director Interim Public Works Director Megan Wepfer said she provided pictures and information in the packet and is awaiting the Board's direction on how to proceed. Commissioner Andrews asked to put the brakes on it until a Public Works Director is hired. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 2 of 10 Commissioner Hodges asked about some of the seawalls. Vice Mayor Price said she thought Cardno would be assessing from down in the water. She would like to wait on the Public Works Director to be hired to see what is needed. Mayor Hendricks agreed they should hold off for now. He was not a fan of spending $30,000 on an assessment. The assessment can be done on an individual basis. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bayshore Avenue, asked if the contract had already been signed, and the City Manager said it was on hold for now. C. Update on Fireworks - Jay Hatcll, Recreation Director Recreation Director Jay Hatch gave an update on the upcoming Fourth of July fireworks. Eight companies were contacted in hopes of getting a barge. Two quotes were received, one for $66,000 and the other for $24,000; both are unrealistic. He planned to have the event again at the school. Not having to pay for a barge means more fireworks. The Board consented to moving forward and having the event again at the school. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. D. Contract with Saltwater Destination LLC - Commissio11er Andrews Commissioner Andrews said he was glad to see a little movement on the issues and the letters that went out to vendors. He questioned the original contract approved by a previous Commission. He appreciated the documents Saltwater Destinations provided to them. The diagrams and maps gave a better idea of who owns what on the beach and what point. Mr. Tyler, the owner of Saltwater Destination, said they have been on the beach about four years. Concern was expressed a while back to the previous Commission, Director Hatch, and the City Manager. They want to follow the terms of the contract and the City's ordinances as they have done for the last four years. The purpose of the packet put together was to help understand where the property lines are. The City Manager said he had not heard from the county administrator, so he planned to talk to the assistant administrator. Commissioner Andrews said he was uncomfortable no one had gotten back to him since it was their mistake. It is not fair to anybody for one group to pay and not the others. The City Manager said the RFP intended to have one vendor service the beach and not have chairs everywhere along the beach. He apologized for not including a copy ofthe RFP in the packet. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 3 oflO Vice Mayor Price said there is nothing in the agreement giving exclusive rights to Saltwater Destination. It mentions the concession locations: Archibald Park, South Beach, also known as Johns Pass Beach, and at the end of seven streets. They cannot kick people off the county park. The statement made in the letter sent to Mr. Simmons and to Mr. McNamara that the City of Madeira Beach has an exclusive contract with Saltwater Destination is not true, and the statement made in those letters that the franchise gave them the rights to operate their business on all City of Madeira Beach beaches is not true. Vice Mayor Price asked Mr. Tyler if he had given notice to the City Manager stating a breach in the agreement. It says in the agreement if there is a breach, they must notify the City Manager of that and the issue by certified mail or hand-delivered, and the City Manager will have 30 days to cure it. Mr. Tyler said he could send the letter tomorrow. They never asked for a break on the rent or ever disputed it. They intend to give the City more if they can operate in areas they are already paying for. Vice Mayor Price said the letter does not mean the City breached anything because they have not. She did not see an obligation in the agreement that the City had to chase off the competitors. They do have an obligation to tell the Sheriff to make them move to where they belong. Commissioner Andrews said a conversation needs to be made with the county to determine what is going on. The City needs to honor the contract and enforce the rules. He never said kick anybody off the beach. Mayor Hendricks said Saltwater Destination has the right to use the beach accesses in their areas stated in the contract, which will be enforced. He suggested charging the condominium associations a fee per linear foot per month, for example, to put their chairs out on the City's part of the beach. The City will get revenue, and the people contracted with the condominium association can keep their chairs there. That might be a solution and alleviate some squabbling. Nick Simons, Beach Service West, said he has been doing business in the City putting chairs out for the last 40 years. They are not doing anything differently than they have over the last 40 years. No one had told them where the property line is and that they cannot put their chairs out beyond that line. He only heard about it a couple of weeks. If he is being told they can no longer put their chairs where they have been for the past 40 years, there will be consequences. Mayor Hendricks said the City has been emptying the trash and raking the City's part of the beach in front of the condo five times a week. That can be resolved by having the condo association pay a fee per linear foot for their property's width on the City's beach. The City will continue picking up the trash and raking there five days a week. It is not an unreasonable request because the City is not being paid to do that. If the condo association does not want to pay that, there will be a problem. Mr. Simmons said the idea is worth approaching. Commissioner Hutson was concerned the City had not been enforcing its contract. Commissioner Andrews was in favor of charging the fee. The issue would be, how to introduce it. It should be simplified and eliminate the problems. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 4 of 10 The City Manager said there are two sets of rules, rules allowing individuals to put chairs out in certain areas of the beach and rules not allowing that in other places requiring them to rent the chairs from Saltwater Destination. They would need to decide how to introduce the fees, monitor, and enforce it. Vice Mayor Price said at a minimum; they need to get the county park situation addressed. The county is violating the City's laws. The City Manager said they have a contract for three more years. Sending a letter never hurts. Recreation Director Jay Hatch said the contract with Saltwater Destination is followed. There is a county beach contract for the county park, and they have rights to the county park. They currently have chairs at seven locations, and in the contract, it states they cannot operate outside their contracted area, and they are. As good stewards of the contract, the City is trying to clean it up. The City Manager said he would like to come up with options and explore the Mayor's suggestion and discuss them at a workshop meeting to get direction. Knowing there could be civil litigation on what action they take, he wanted the City Attorney to guide them as they go through it. Mayor Hendricks said he understood the vendors did not need a separate license for each location they service. The City Attorney said they do need a license for every location. The Board asked the City Manager to schedule the workshop meeting. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bayshore Drive, suggested the City Manager speaking to Kathleen Peters, who represents the City if the county administrator is not getting back to him. He recalled the issue brought up with the previous administration and previous Commission, and nothing was done about it. Hopefully, now something will be done, and the Sheriffs Department is told to enforce it. E. Election Campaign Bank Accounts- Clara VanB/argan, City Clerk/Elections Official City Clerk Clara VanBlargan said her assistant contacted nearby cities to see if their candidates had problems opening a campaign bank account. Those they heard back from, only one candidate was required to obtain an EIN before they could open a campaign account. They received the EIN about three minutes after submitting the online application. The new information will be included in next year's candidate packet, and she will make the candidates aware. She is happy to do whatever necessary to make it easy on the candidates and help them qualify for office timely. Commissioner Andrews said he was glad Commissioner Hutson had brought it up and added it to the agenda. It was an interesting experience; they only had a certain amount of time to open the campaign bank account. A bank told him to leave, and he had three bank accounts with them. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 5 of 10 Commissioner Hutson thanked the City Clerk for checking into it. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. F. Requirements for new Public Works Director -Board of Commissioners Mayor Hendricks added, search and obtain grants and to be able to think outside the box. Commissioner Andrews stressed that it was important to hire executive directors with the proper skillsets and not be on the job training paying them an executive director's salary as done in the past. Preferring a master's degree in engineering is not necessary. They are hiring a public works director and not an engineer. It defiles logic to hire someone just because they are an engineer to do something completely different. Some public works projects require an engineering consultant of some type regardless of whether the public works director has a master's degree in engineering. The director hired needs to have local and practical experience and be an approving manager of people. Contacting the county, state, and FDOT is extremely important to get some projects done. The position should not be politically influenced. The best person should be hired for the job. Mayor Hendricks said they had an engineer in place and still had to get a study for everything. They are a City of 4,400 and cannot afford the luxuries as a big city. They need people that hit the floor running and not be afraid to get their hands dirty. They need a hands-on Public Works Director. They need to be out in the City and know what is going on. It is necessary to have working experience and not necessarily a master's degree in engineering. Vice Mayor Price added to Role and Responsibility, someone who can take stock of the City's assets and have a systematic plan to keep the City's assets protected and maintained. Having a master's degree or engineering experience preferred is not problematic for her. Commissioner Hutson said the purpose behind an engineering degree is to teach them the way to think. Part of that is a long-term view instead of fixing the problem instantly. It would be nice to have someone who comes up with the long-term plan because they will have complications with things like sea level rise and fixing roads without flooding people's homes. Commissioner Hodges said they had some good Public Works Directors within the last ten years, and it is the City Manager's job to find them. The City Manager said the due date for applications is April 1 st• To put out the new information, they might need to extend the deadline by at least a week. Mayor Hendricks said the job description did not necessarily have to be revised at the time. The questions could be asked during the interviews to ensure the candidates meet them. The Board agreed. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 6 of 10 Chuck Dillon, 529 Lillian Drive, received clarification that an engineering degree was not required. G. Land Acquisitions - Robert Daniels, City Manager • Old Madeira Beach Garage Property • Palm Street Property City Manager Robert Daniels reported the old Madeira Beach garage property had a contract and deposit. He met with the property appraiser on site that morning, and the appraisal should be done on the Palm Street property next week. If there is action the Commission would like to take on it, once they have the true market value of that property by a certified appraiser, he will put it on the April 14th meeting agenda for action by the Board. Commissioner Hutson said if the City needs a garage for public works, they will need the garage size. If a site cannot be located inside the City, perhaps one can be located outside the City. They had an opportunity inside the City but missed it. When discussing the next budget, perhaps they could include that as a future expenditure. The City Manager said when he came on Board, there were plans to relocate public works to their original location, the Marina site. That plan conflicts with the high and dry project they want to do. The City Manager said when entering an agreement to purchase property, depending on the cost value, they may need two appraisals. Everyone knew the City was interested in the old Madeira Beach garage property because they must discuss things at a public meeting. It would have been better if they called a special meeting to approve getting an appraisal. Vice Mayor Price said she asked a month ago to get the appraisal. The City Manager said it takes time. Commissioner Hodges asked why Caddy's was not using their corner lot next to them for parking. When driving by, the lot is empty with a no parking sign posted. The City Manager said that the lot, at the corner of GulfBlvd. was part ofthe original project in their development agreement and that is for their valet parking. Caddy's is using the Palm Street lot being looked at for a parking lot. They have four parking spaces and own the property where the convenience store is but have it under lease for the next seven years. The Mayor said people park everywhere. Perhaps, on I 40 th • the City should make it one-sided parking only on some narrower streets. He had spoken to the owner of Caddy's, and they are talking to Church by the Sea about using the church parking lot to shuttle people to and from the restaurant. The City Manager said he heard the Church decided against it. The Mayor wondered if the Church would consider letting the City put metered parking there for people to park when there are no church services, and the City split the revenue with them. The City Manager said he could contact them directly. It would also help with beach parking. Caddy's could ask their neighbors to the west and see ifthey can enter into some type ofagreement or lease option on their property for them to park. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 7 oflO Mayor Hendricks said he did not like the appearance of the City buying the Palm Street property. If they are going to spend money, they should buy a piece of land even if it is not in Madeira Beach. They might need to rethink where to put the public works building. Every square foot they save at the Marina is more space to expand the high and dry facility to store more boats to bring in more revenue. The extra revenue could help pay toward a public works building off the island. The City Manager said he would see what properties might be available. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Mary [last name?], Palm street, said parking is a big revenue source for the City. According to financial information on the City's website, the money generated from the ten parking spaces on the Palm Street property would take 71 years to pay off. That is about $6,000 generated a year. The City is considering spending $430,000 for ten parking spaces, $43,000 per space in an area zoned residential. The parking lot should not be about the new restaurant across the street from the lot. Unfortunately, for the City, the restaurant's limited parking requirement was approved by a previous administration and previous Commission. She hoped the current administration does not continue on that same path and finance ten parking spaces at taxpayer's expense. Commissioner Andrews said he was not promoting the purchase of the Palm Street property, but it is a great idea for the City from a business standpoint. He disagreed that it would take 71 years to pay the property off, although it will take a little time to pay it of[ Once paid off, it will belong to the City. Chuck Dillon, 529 Lillian Drive, asked if they start changing a residential property into parking areas where would it stop. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bayshore Drive, found it strange the valet parks cars in the dirt parking lot on Palm Street, and the valet parking lot is relatively empty. He has seen the City's parking vehicle parked in the lot sometimes, and it is wrong since it is not supposed to be used for parking. Because the valet parking lot is never full, the City should not purchase the Palm Street property for a parking lot. The City Manager read the following emailed public comments: • Lori Rosenberger, 14001 Gulf Blvd., #20 I, questioned the City needing another parcel to be a residential zoned parking lot. The residential zoned lot located directly on Gulf Blvd. was used to build a restaurant. To pay $430,000 for a parcel to make only ten parking spots would take a long time for the Madeira Beach taxpayers to pay of[ • Wendy Bouchard, 540 Marlyn Way, was opposed to purchasing the residential lot on Palm Street to be used as a parking lot. Based on revenue data from other City parking lots, it would take over 70 years to recoup the parking lot's cost. Traffic would increase in an already congested residential area. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 8 of 10  • Tom Greene, 14049 Palm Street, was opposed to purchasing the Palm Street property. Their community has become overwhelmed with automobile traffic. H. Amendment to BOC Policy Handbook - Board of Commissioners Vice Mayor Price said to add a paragraph explaining what a quasi-judicial hearing is and how it differs from the other public hearings. The City Attorney said he would draft the paragraph. It will be located under Types of Meetings on p. 14 of 19 (p. 136 of 141in the packet). Vice Mayor Price said they are not doing some of what is written in the handbook like under Official Correspondence on p. 2 of 19 (p. 124 of 141 in the packet). She receive(tlarification that_ the underline and strikeout language in red shown in the draft are proposecf�hanges and the - underlined language in black is for special emphasis. Mayor Hendricks asked if in the last sentence of the first bullet point on p. 4 of 19, (p. 126 of 141 in the packet) that reads," ...as long as the request is through the City Manager" would restrict an employee from wanting to speak to a Commissioner about something. The City Attorney said the language does not address that. If an employee is coming to a Commissioner and bypassing the City Manager, they are not stopped from doing that. It is not recommended because the Charter specifically deals with interference with the activities of the City Manager. Mayor Hendricks asked if the second bullet point on p. 4 of 19 (p. 126 of 141 of the packet) that reads, "The Board of Commissioners may make investigations into the affairs of the City by appointing a Charter Officer to investigate internal affairs of the City and report their findings to the Board of Commissioners.", language could be added to include the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office. Vice Mayor Price said that is Charter language. It would require a charter amendment to change it. The City Manager said the Sheriff gets involved only if it becomes a criminal issue, not a policy violation. Mayor Hendricks said through COVID they have been allowing emailed comments. He asked if, at some point, they could eliminate the requirement. The City Attorney advised against stopping emailed comments from coming in. There is no legal requirement to read them out loud, so long as they are provided to the Commission, and they could read them on their own. Someone could also report information from emails to the Commission at the meeting. If it gets to a point where there is no longer a local state of emergency or no CDC guidelines, they can direct the City Manager to no longer read them out loud. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. 7. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hendricks adjourned the meeting at 8: 10 p.m. March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 9 of 10 ATTEST: • I March 24, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 10 or 10