Board of Commissioners Workshop Meeting

MINUTES BOARD OF COMMI SS IONERS REG ULAR WORKSHOP MEETING MAY 26, 2021 6:00 p.m. /\ regular workshop meeting o f th e City of Madeira Beach Boa rd of Commissioners was held at 6:00 p.m. on May 26, 202 1. in the Patric ia 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, Commi ssioner District 2 Doug And rews. Commiss ioner District 3 Dave Hutson, Commissioner District 4 MEMBERS ABSENT: C ITY STAFF PRESENT: Robert Daniels, C ity Manager Clara VanBlargan. City Clerk Attorney Rob Eschenfe ldcr. Trask Daigneau lt. L.L.P. I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hendricks called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.111. 2. ROLL CALL City C lerk Clara VanBlargan ca lled the roll. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Hendricks opened to pub lic comment. Ray Kerr. 583 Jo hns Pass A venue. said the proposed impact fee is probably the most important iss ue for the Board to vote on. The item should be tabled until enough research has been done on it. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bayshore Dri ve. said the new grass at Lillian Park put out by the contractor has not been watered and suggested someone check the contract on that. He stressed concern about the rented j et sk is and pontoon boats racing in the cana l behind his home. The rules should be given to them when renting. includi ng letting them know canals are off limits. May 26. 202 1. BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 1 of 17 City Manager Robert Daniels read emailed public comments: • Cathy Nelson, 152 129th Avenue W, urged the Board not to approve a parking meter increase in Johns Pass. The increase could cause tourists not to return and discourage the locals from visiting the Pass. • Thomas Barganier, 90 144th Avenue, said the building height for the Schooner was proposed at 5-story and is now 7-story, and now the garage height is 50 feet. It is a misrepresentation and change from the original proposal made at the neighborhood meeting and does not meet the theme and intent of the area. 4. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENT A TIO NS A. National Safe Boating Week; May 22 - May 28, 2021, and a presentation by a representative from the Coast Guard Auxiliary Brenda Burger with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary gave the statistics of boating accidents and fatalities for the past year. They have resumed their safety boating classes, with the first one on Saturday, June 5. City Manager Robert Daniels read a proclamation proclaiming May 22 - May 28, 2021, as National Safe Boating Week. Ms. Burger accepted the proclamation. B. Check presentation - proceeds from 2021 Grunt Hunt - Brian Rau, Mllrina Manager Marina Manager Brian Rau thanked everyone that participated in the Grunt Hunt event and said $500 is the most ever collected at one time. He presented checks from the monies raised from the event to the two supported charities: The Police Unity Tour and the 9/11 Memorial. A representative from the organizations made comment and thanked the City for its donation. 5. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION A. Revocation of Resolution 2020-09, for the use of City right-of-way for restaurants/bar parking - Robert Daniels, City Mtmager City Manager Robert Daniels said the resolution was discussed last month, and he needed direction from the Board. Mayor Hendricks said it was time to rescind the resolution because everything was pretty much back to normal. Vice Mayor Price agreed. The Mayor asked the City Manager to place the item on the June 9, 2021, BOC Regular Meeting agenda. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 2 of 17  B. Gulf Beaches Public Library Budget- Vice Mayor Price Vice Mayor Price gave an overview of the Gulf Beaches Public Library Budget for FY 2021. The Library Board Director came up with a budget that the Library Board discussed. The amount is lower than last year, it includes a 10% discount, and none of the money from the five cities is going toward capital improvements. That will be paid for with their reserves. The Library was saving for a new building or a new addition but learned that it was probably not in the works from the City and because ofFEMA regulations. She said the memo in the packet from the Library Director says the Trustees from the five municipalities voted to locally contribute a total of $285,361, which includes a 10% discount. For the record, they all agreed to present it to their Commission. She did not vote to okay the amount. She expected the Commission to give input on the budget, up or down, or what the money should be used for. Mayor Hendricks asked if the Library go out to bid on their capital improvement items. Vice Mayor Price said yes. Mayor Hendricks said some of the items listed in the budget shown on p. 12 of the packet he brought up last year. He asked if the Library was spending $45,000 a year on books, $5,500 on audiobooks, $8,500 on DVDs & music CDs, and if people still checked out DVDs. Vice Mayor Price said the audit received on February 28 showed 40% of the $45,000 spent already on books, 37% of the $5,500 spent on audiobooks, and 38% of the $8500 spent on DVDs and Music CDs. According to the statistics given before, more and more people are downloading books and using electronic means. Mayor Hendricks said the focus might need to be more on electronic means, additional computers, and computer stations, but that is not for them to decide. The Vice Mayor said she would ask the rationale for the numbers on the books, DVDs, and music CDs, and bring back those answers. Vice Mayor Price said during a Treasure Island Board of Commissioners Workshop on May 18 one of the Library Board trustees mentioned she had reached out to Pinellas County Library Cooperative and asked for additional funds. The library budget is proposed numbers that each Commission will review before going back to the Library Board. Mayor Hendricks said the Library Interlocal Agreement had been passed by four of the five cities involved. They are awaiting the response from Treasure Island. The City Manager recommended waiving permitting fees for the Library since it is a City building that might come back to the City one day. If the Commission has no objection, he will allow them to get the permits at no charge and put it on the June 9 agenda for the Board to solidify. The library budget agreement will also be on that agenda for approval. He will ask the Library Director to attend that meeting and address questions by the Board. Attorney Rob Eschenfelder read an email that he received from the City Attorney of Treasure Island saying that a majority of the Commissioners at their May 18 workshop meeting expressed a desire for the Interlocal Agreement to be amended before considering it for approval. They felt May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 3 of 17 some language in the Interlocal Agreement did not work for them. They were also concerned about a list of issues circulated that stemmed from the folks previously on the Library Board and maybe the Library Executive Director. Mayor Hendricks said he and Attorney Trask already met with the Mayor and the City Attorney from Treasure Island. The concerns were addressed, and changes were made. Four of the five cities voted on that. Vice Mayor Price said the primary concern at the meeting seemed to be about deadlines put in the lnterlocal Agreement on when the Library had to present the budget, etc. There were no deadlines as to when the cities had to agree. If the Library presents its budget by the deadline, they do not want to wait six months later for all five cities to agree to the amounts. Mayor Hendricks said they could put the deadlines in their Bylaws. Attorney Eschenfelder said they could put it in their bylaws when they need an answer, but they cannot compel any member government to act. Vice Mayor Price said the impression she had gotten was that they had no intention of voting on the Interlocal Agreement. If they do not, there may not be a library because Treasure Island is the biggest contributor. They cannot pass a budget without knowing what the contributions will be. Attorney Eschenfelder said the Commission could adopt the contribution they felt appropriate for the City of Madeira Beach. If a member government drops out, as allowed by the Interlocal Agreement, it would be the Library's responsibility as an independent entity to redo their budget or come back to the other four member governments and ask for more money. It will be up to the member governments if they want to contribute more funds. Vice Mayor Price said they have another Library Board meeting coming up in the next week or two, and she will get the Mayor's questions answered. They will have Vince come to the meeting. Commissioner Hodges said the document Vince presented to them several months ago was not as detailed as the one they have now. It makes a difference. She is concerned about the $3,000 contingency item listed in the budget shown on p. 12 of the packet. Vice Mayor Price said she would find out about it. The City Manager said he would place the item on the June 9 meeting and invite Vince to attend the meeting. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Steve Kochick, 15301 2 nd Street E, said the issue with the Library had been going on for years. The Library offers many programs that benefit people. Sometimes they must fight for society. The more they lose, the less they become a community. Vice Mayor Price said if they put on the consent agenda that the City will be absorbing the cost of building permits, it will make them very happy. The Board consented. C. Marina revenues and expenses -Andrew Laflin, Financial Consultant Financial Consultant Andrew Laflin said he wanted the Board's thoughts on budgeting differently for the Marina and presenting financial information for budgetary purposes and year-end audited May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 4 of 17 financial statements specific to the Marina. A significant amount of the Marina's operating budget is based on what he calls the cost of goods sold: fuel and store purchases. The entire Marina operating expense budget for FY 2020 was $1.8 million, and almost $300,000 of that amount was personnel. The remaining operating was$ I .5 million, and nearly $1.3 million of that was for fuel and store purchases. Budgeting that way is a gross distortion of the true operational expenses of the Marina. It significantly dilutes the overall operating budget because each department's level of budgetary authority is at the gross expense level. If they budget$ I .8 million and only spend $1.2 million, the department might feel they have $600,000 to play with for other personnel and operating adjustments. He proposes to move that into revenues to arrive at net operating revenues for fuel and store sales. He will leave it in revenues and budget at one net operating revenue number for each account to promote much greater transparency and accountability within the Marina department for their operating budget. He intends to address it that way for the FY 2022 budget. Mayor Hendricks said it sounded like a good plan and thanked Commissioner Andrews for saving them on the budget the past year. They would have had a millage rate increase had they gone by the figures given to them. Marina Manager Brian Rau said it allows him to focus on what he can control. He cannot control the price of gas and store items. Separating will allow him to keep a good handle on his budget. Commissioner Andrews thanked Mr. Laflin. He said they had given everybody the ability to take any number that came out of the Marina and create their narrative for it. The cost of goods sold should not be a part of the equation. As mentioned in the staff memo on p. 13 of the packet, the words "distort" and "significantly dilutes" should never be in any financial document given to them. They need hard numbers that make sense. Tightening the level of budgetary control within the Marina Department is a good idea because they almost had to raise the millage rate. They have only asked for an apples-to-apples comparison on how they are doing compared to last year. He looked forward to seeing more reports like that. The Board gave Mr. Laflin consent to go forward with the new format. Mayor Hendricks said they discussed fuel pumps for the Marina and the ability to pay at the pump. They got an affirmative on that from the Marina Manager. He later learned when buying fuel at the Marina that was not the case. The Marina Manager told him it was not the best use for that type of pump. He understands if that is the case, but be upfront and transparent about it and explain why instead of making them think they were getting something different. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. D. Plethora of Dogs on the Beach- Vice Mayor Price Vice Mayor Price read an email from a neighbor stressing concern about more and more people bringing their dog to the beach as if it were a dog beach, especially between the hours of 6:00 p.m. to sunset. There are people with dogs on and off leashes regularly at 133 rd Avenue public access. He wanted to know what the City could do about it since there are rules against dogs on the beach May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 5 of 17 for sanitary and safety reasons, and there is signage stating the rules at every public access. The Vice Mayor said dogs are also prohibited for turtle nesting, birds nesting, and ecology reasons. It is an age-old problem of enforcement. Perhaps they should budget for another code compliance person in the new budget. She does not know what to do. There are a lot of things slipping through the cracks. Mayor Hendricks said there is no sense in having ordinances if they are not being enforced. They must talk to the Sheriffs Department about enforcing all the ordinances on the books. They passed a littering ordinance last September, and not one citation has been written since. The City Manager said he spoke to both the City's deputies, and they altered their schedule and planned to periodically do that so they could be out there later in the evening. They are hoping the word gets out between the residents. It is mostly a daytime thing with the tourists. The hotels and other places people stay welcome people to the beaches but do not tell them about the City's laws. The deputies have given out warnings regarding the dogs. Service dogs are allowed on the beach, and dogs being trained to be a service dog. Most of the time, the people out there are not authorized to be there with their dogs. This month, in his City Manager's Report, he is letting all the residents know they are enforcing dogs on the beach code even at sunset. He is a dog lover, but the City's beaches are not the place for dogs. Vice Mayor Price said it is up to a $500 fine. The Mayor said that was the reason for having two dog parks. Commissioner Hodges said about two months ago she had gotten an emai I about the dogs on the beach that she forwarded to the City Manager. He, Megan, and the Sheriffs Department responded to the email. The person contacted her again, saying he was very appreciative of that. The Sheriff had told her people that come in with their dogs do not live in the City. She said there is only one beach in the City for the dogs. Mayor Hendricks said one day last week in the late afternoon the deputies were out on the beach specifically looking for dogs and doing some corrective action. He does not know the results of that, but they are actively looking for them now. Vice Mayor Price suggested making a nice notice that the hotels and condos can put in their rental units that explain the City's ordinance regarding leaving no trace, anti-littering, and no dogs on the beach unless they are a service dog properly marked as such and on a leash. Commissioner Hodges said they have signs out on the beach making people aware of it. Vice Mayor Price said they do not see the signs when coming out of the condo. Mayor Hendricks said there are two big new signs on South Beach at Johns Pass, but located where people cannot see them, and the print on them is relatively small. They could have put them at the parking machines since people have to pay to park. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bayshore Drive, said he walks his dogs and picks up after them. Many residents do not pick up after their dogs. The fine is up to $500. Perhaps it should be $100 the first May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 6 of 17 time and then increase it. People can purchase a service dog vest almost anywhere, and their dog might not be a service dog. Showing proof should be required. It is something that comes from the state and not the City. A deputy had told him proof is not required. Vice Mayor Price said the police officers should not take people's word for it. The City Manager said he spoke to a gentleman on the beach that was training a dog. The dog was wearing a vest the same as service dogs. He was told by one deputy they look for other signs to tell if the dog is a service dog. If not found in compliance, they take action. Vice Mayor Price said it says in the City's code they can impound a dog or cat. There would be hoopla if they tried doing that. Attorney Rob Eschenfelder said the section in the code about impoundment is likely unconstitutional. There are a few other things in there that have been preempted because the code dates to 1985. He suggested sticking to what fines are allowed and not taking somebody's rights away. Guy Critelli, 13025 Pelican Lane, stressed concern about the many people he sees out on the boardwalk walking their dogs, riding bicycles, and fishing. They need a deputy sheriff to make their round from the beach to the boardwalk for the safety of the people out walking. E. City Manager's contract renewal- Commissioner Andrews Commissioner Andrews said the City Manager's contract is up in three months, and it needed to be discussed at some point. He felt a change should be made. Bob has done a great job in lowering the temperature in the room, some of which was based on what the voters did. They are now a much sounder Commission making better decisions, at least talking through decisions, although they may not all agree every time. He does not want anyone leaving on bad terms or with any humiliation at all. They should honor the rest of the contract, announce the last day of Bob's contract, and start a search, locally first. Local knowledge of the area is very important because they are unique in some things they do. Having someone that has been here and understands the system and the quirkiness of the residents and the like is very important to having good leadership and bringing back some solid morale to the City. Elections have consequences, and because of what the old Commission did in 2017 when getting started, they lost good people and continuity. The only way to bring that back is to get good leadership and keep going. Mayor Hendricks said he had worked very well with Bob in the past year since being in office. Each Commissioner has their feeling about it, and if it goes to the regular meeting, they will have a vote on it. It is up to each individual Commissioner as to where it will go. Vice Mayor Price said it must be at the next meeting if they do it. The City Manager said he would place it on the agenda. Attorney Eschenfelder said he read the City Manager's contract prepared by the previous City Attorney who did not know anything about employment law. There is one thing in it that is not May 26, 202 I, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 7 of 17 legal under Florida Law. It would be a business decision on whether to keep the City Manager or advertise the position. The vote would not be just to renew it as written but to redo it. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Steve Kochick, 15301 Second Street E, asked if they were getting rid of the City Manager and getting another one or deciding whether to renew the contract. The Mayor said they do not know. It has not been voted on. All it is to take it to a regular meeting. Commissioner Hutson asked if they voted to renew the contract could they make changes to the contract at the same time. The Mayor said if they deem it necessary to make changes, it will take effect September 1. Attorney Eschenfelder said if a majority of the Commission wants to retain Mr. Daniels, the motion would be to authorize the Mayor to negotiate a new contract. Then he and Mr. Trask will help with the legalities and so forth. The contract then comes back to the Board for approval before the current one expires, so there is a seamless continuity. The Mayor asked for additional public comment, and there were none. F. Procedure for interviewing director positions - Commissioner Andrews Commissioner Andrews said the Commission is not supposed to be involved in any of the administrative functions. They cannot give directions but can voice their opinions and give advice on how things are going. There has not been a great track record getting directors, and it may be because of the way they are doing it. The goal is to find the best possible candidate for the position. How he understands the process is that each candidate is asked ten identical questions in a group setting, and afterward, people are eliminated. It is basically a 20-minute interview on questions they do not talk about much. For the Public Works Director position, not one question was about stormwater or sanitation. People that have worked here before or currently working here were asked what they found out when researching the City of Madeira Beach. The next part of the interview process was to write an essay and send it in. Following, they were required to answer a series of questions on a computer at city hall without any human interaction. During the initial interviews, four people were in the room: the City Manager, the H.R. person, Linda Portal, and Jay Hatch, and neither of which have a background in public works. Linda Portal is the busiest person on the planet and should not have been involved in the interviews. If looking for a director, it should be a much more personal interview because it is the City Manager's legacy on the line with it. The way done, he does not see it as the best possible way to find the right candidate. The results have shown that from the candidates hired. Jaimie left in February, and no one has been hired. Vice Mayor Price said she did not see it as a 20-minute interview process. She understood there to be a lot of applicants, so presumably they have resumes on everyone and knew their public works background from that. It does not give her too much heartburn to ask those kinds of questions about their management style and things like that. May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 8 of 17 The City Manager said the Human Resources Director vetted the questions and the process, although he did submit certain questions he thought were pertinent. They looked at management style, and things managers should do to engage their staff. They got good answers and some good dialogue. They had the applicant's information sitting in front of them when going through it. It was an independent process and scored. Everything was done independently and was the fairest process they could do. As to the writing assignments, department heads are required to do a lot of writing, including writing staff memos to the Commission. Commissioner Andrews said writing a memo to the Commission is different from having to write an essay. He wants a hands-on person to do the job. Vice Mayor Price and Commissioner Hutson had asked for some engineering background, and he saw no questions based on that. The citizens deserve more. They have crumbling roads and a road project that came in three or four million dollars over budget. They spent money in engineering but had an engineer on staff. He wants a public works person that understands public works. Steve Kochick, 15301 2nd Street E, said they had a terrible track record in the recent years keeping people. The ones that do take a chance are gone after the next election. It is difficult to get people because they are a small City and do not pay much as other cities. They will lose people to other cities after a couple of years if things do not change. It is difficult for the City Manager because he is the person that must deal with it, so a little trust must go into him. G. The City's current engineering firm being used - Mayor Hendricks Mayor Hendricks said he put the item on the workshop because he was not happy with how Deuel and Associates treat the City. The bills in the packet show that in FY 2020, Deuel and Associates was paid $572,537. This year to date $113,105. Many of the bills are for Crystal Island. Deuel and Associates did the engineering on Normandy Road, and about every 100 feet, they had to re- engineer for one reason or another. Although the City was paying $200,000 to have them as the consultants on the Crystal Island project, the City was charged anywhere from $125 to $250 for answering emails and making phone calls to the representative and other people. That same thing was going on throughout the bills. He consulted with a friend who is an engineer and showed him the bills. After looking at them, he was told there was a lot of conflict of interest in doing the design work and then overseeing the project. The City can hire an engineer for $100,000 a year to work in-house and not get a halfa million dollar bill a year. If contracting out engineering services, it is time to look at putting it out for an RFP again. The contract is up in about a year, but there is a 30-day out clause in it. From the contract, one of their expertise is seawall repairs and reconstruction and marina facilities. They were going to get a seawall study, but the City's own engineering firm was not going to be used to do that. It was Cardno instead. They need to address the issue because the City may not be getting value for the amount of money it is paying. Vice Mayor Price suggested budgeting to hire somebody. On page 149 of 340, she said the invoice shows they were charged $700 for general office duties, return calls, reply to emails, and sorting invoices. Apparently, they have an engineer sorting invoices and paid at his hourly rate. They charged $800 to talk to Chuck Dillon, the City's citizen who volunteered to help with the Crystal May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 9 of 17 Island project, and $125 to attend Breakfast with Bob. She had ran out of tabs going through the invoices. The Mayor said the City Manager asked if he would like to have a representative from Deuel and Associates at the meeting, and he said no because he did not want them billing the City for it. It is time to seriously look to do something different within the next two months, probably before starting the next road project, because they are not doing the City right. Commissioner Hutson asked if there was a way to get Public Works involved in it a little more because they are the ones that deal with the people. Do they like them? Is there a better choice out there? The Mayor said a lot of it is building, and planning and zoning. The City Manager said Linda would be the one to ask questions to because she works closely with Al. Vice Mayor Price said they should not have them supervising their own work. Commissioner Andrews said Al is in the office a couple of days a week and is the highest paid employee by far. It is worth discussing because $570,000 plus dollars, not going out to bid or getting another opinion, is a lot of money paid to one person that is not an employee. Mayor Hendricks said they are being billed at will, and he would like to carry it forward. Attorney Eschenfelder said he has done a lot of public procurement and can help the City Manager with an RFP. They must comply with the CCNA, the Consultant Competitive Negotiation Act because it is an engineering service. If the Board chooses to go forward, they need a scope of services the City Manager feels appropriate. They could put in the contract that there will be an invoice review process, and the City will not get "at will" billing, which is unusual. A government usually has somebody that is on the inside signing off on every invoice. If they do not see something that is under the contract or was authorized, it gets rejected. That needs to be in the contract. Mayor Hendricks said they needed to get a handle on it because it is out of control. The City Manager said he heard two things: hiring an engineer and having an RFP. The Mayor said they should workshop the item. The City Manager said in all fairness to Al, he would be invited to the workshop meeting to explain the rationale behind some of it. The Mayor said if the City is not being charged for it. Vice Mayor Price said they have a lot more projects and buildings coming up. The Mayor said Al is in the thick of it all. It might be a hard transition right now. Commissioner Andrews said they would not take him off the projects he is already working on. They just go out to bid and entertain any new projects that come in or get some answers on his billing procedures. They should be approving every project that he is assigned to. He should not be just sitting in the office and getting all the projects that come down the road. May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 10 of 17 Attorney Eschenfelder said the focus at the workshop should be what the City needs to have done and not on the person. A good engineer does not always make a good project manager. The person chosen should have experience in managing projects because that is usually not the function of an engineer with a PE Iicense. Vice Mayor Price said they need to ask Planning and Zoning for their wish list, what do they need and want? They can easily pass a project from one engineer to another. If the new engineer wants to work, they will review the file on their own time, the same as lawyers do. Mayor Hendricks said they need to decide whether to go out for an RFP or do it in-house. They need to get someone with the skill set of an in-house engineer. The City Manager suggested venting the different thoughts at the workshop and decide which direction to go. He will research what City engineers are paid in various jurisdictions. A lot gets outsourced because of the need to have somebody with the skills, not just having an engineer. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 South Bayshore Drive, said he has talked about it for a couple of years. They have a fox watching the hen house. It is possible, they could have something better and not pay as much. In-house engineers take care of everything, but it may be better to contract with someone when it comes to specialty projects. It has been a red flag for a long time, and he is glad the Board is looking at it. H. New installed gas pumps - 'Pay at the Pump' -Mayor Hendricks Mayor Hendricks asked why they ended up not having pay-at-the-pump, pumps at the Marina. Marina Manager Brian Rau said they researched it, contacted five or six different marinas and some vendors. The consensus was not to have it unless doing a commercial area. The pumps they have were highly recommended. Pay-at-the-pump, pumps cannot do all the discounts. They give 50-gallon discounts and BoatUS discounts. They also need control at the Marina because people constantly mess up by putting the wrong fuel in their boat or jet ski. Mayor Hendricks said the Commission deserved to be told they were not getting what was told to them they were getting and not have to find out for themselves. The Commission authorized a $35,000 check for those pumps. Director Rau said he apologizes if he had implied in some way they were going down that road because he does not believe he did. Mayor Hendricks said it was implied that way and asked Director Rau to look at the December 9 meeting video. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Robert Preston, 425 South Bayshore Drive, said the concern is with the environment and not the pumps. Some marinas pump the fuel to avoid the boaters filling their boats with the wrong fuel May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 11 of 17 and causing a fuel spill. The City could be liable for their spills, although a spill could happen regardless. It must be prevented. I. Evaluation of Enterprise Vehicle Lease Agreement - Antlrew Llljlin, Finllncia/ Consultant Financial Consultant Andrew Laflin said there were concerns and issues voiced by Commissioners and the two departments driving the leased vehicles. It is not understood why the City entered into the vehicle lease agreement because it is not financially and operationally in the City's best interest. The City is 3.3 square miles total, and one mile of that is drivable land. There is not much wear and tear on the City's vehicles, and not many miles driven. They have eight vehicles in a five-year lease. The interest rate is almost 6%, and the logistics surrounding the maintenance program are concerning. The City has a very qualified mechanic in-house capable of maintaining the vehicles, which only require the basic needs like a periodic oil change and fluid change. More effort involved finding a jiffy lube to service the vehicles under the lease program and having to wait a while to get the authorization from Enterprise to pay for the maintenance, all of which is embedded in the lease cost. A less expensive option would be for the City to purchase the vehicles outright. The directors can sell their vehicle if not satisfied and purchase one they would rather drive. The City Manager suggested looking at fuel-efficient vehicles like hybrids and electric vehicles to be good stewards of the environment. The hybrid trucks may not be as affordable to municipalities, but it would be a purchase they would be proud of. They are looking at grants for charging stations and so forth so they can expand upon that. They have discussed changing the building code to require a certain type of building to have parking stations. Vice Mayor Price said it is costly to get out of a lease before the lease runs out. The trucks they are driving are rather big for a little island. Interim Public Works Director Megan Wepfer said she has the most vehicles on the lease program. Five F250s have hoppers on the back for picking up the three-yard dumpsters in the village. They have bigger trucks used for something different. Their vehicles arrived with damage, either surface rust, dents, or scratches. The water pump was not working on one of them. It was a minimum cost to the City to do the repairs instead of taking the vehicles off the road and waiting two weeks for the repairs to be done under the lease program. They have not been a fan of the leasing program from the beginning. Mr. Laflin explained that the delivered price is $246,915.75 plus the interest paid each month on a11 eight vehicles should the City pay over the life of the five-year lease. If purchasing the vehicles today and ending the lease, it would cost $190,028.92. Vice Mayor Price suggested budging the money to get out of the lease. Commissioner Andrews said they needed to be fiscally responsible and get out of the lease and go back to purchasing vehicles. They had them 20 or more years before replacing them. May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 12 ofl7 Commissioner Hutson said they could do a split plan. Those that want to keep their vehicle could continue in the lease program, and the others could purchase the vehicle and keep it or sell it and purchase a different vehicle. Mr. Laflin said they could discuss it more during the budget process and then decide what to do. The City Manager said he would check with the individual department heads on what they would like to do. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. J. Proposed public works building - Commissioner Hutson Commissioner Hutson said the topic came about when looking at the property on 150th to put public works. They have been preparing for a public works building since 2009 and have plans for what they want to build. The plans will let them know if the existing property is too small or too big for what they want to do. If it comes to buying a piece of property and building something, they already have the plans. Interim Public Works Director Megan Wepfer said those are not the only plans they have for a public works building. The building was torn down because the former Commission did not want to pay $40,000 to repair the roof. It would be nice to have a building somewhere to store the equipment and vehicles rather than in a shed. The City Manager said they needed to get some of the equipment undercover to prevent them from rusting. Mayor Hendricks said he looked at property on the Island, and it is too expensive to buy. The City Manager said he would continue looking for property off the Island. Vice Mayor Price said someone mentioned the tall warehouse located just outside the City going into Seminole from I 50 th • That area looks kind of depressing. The City Manager said he was told the owners were not interested in selling the property. Vice Mayor Price asked where the trucks and garbage trucks being parked. Director Wepfer said in the blue barn. The claw truck, the mechanic, and the sanitation crew are also there. They will never bring the garbage trucks back on the Island even when they build a building because of the unsightliness and the smell. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Steve Kochick, 1530 I 2nd Street E, said they have been planning for a new public works building since 2009. They had the Madeira Beach Town Center special area plan, and they started coming up with all those things. He said he had the plans with him showing the layout of the high and dry and the Public Works Department on the same property. Bays were included for washing the sanitation trucks, and the engineers had guaranteed there would be no smell, and no one would ever know a garbage truck was in that area. They need to move forward, for there will always be May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 13 of 17 opposition, but most people want it. He also commented on the vehicle leasing program and suggested purchasing the vehicles like they did in the past. Mayor Hendricks said he ran on building the high and dry and had the support. They will build a high and dry in Madeira Beach. K. Sanitation fee update - Robert Daniels, City Mam,ger Financial Consultant Andrew Laflin said the intention is not to dictate what the revision in the fee should be but to present his methodology to determine through the budgeting process and the adoption of the budget what the fee revision should be beginning October 1, 2021. Over the last two years there has been a deficiency in the sanitation fund; $47,000 in 2020 and $62,000 in 2019. The City has not increased sanitation fees since 2015. The fees have gone stagnant but certain variable costs have increased over time. It needs to be evaluated and looked at more closely through the budgeting process. The analysis spreadsheet indirectly determines what the fee increase should be for sanitation customers. The component of the recycling fee for just a single- family home is $2.83. The total fee billed to a single-fami·ly home customer for refuse is $43.66 every two months. This consists of $19 for the cost of refuse, plus recycling for $2.83 for a total of$21.83, and multiplied by two it is $43.66. The total monthly sanitation fee is $21.83, which is what the customer sees. In FY 2017, Waste Connections charged $2.86, in FY 2018 charged $2.93, and then increased that amount to $6.33 in FY 2020 and now the charge for FY 2021 is $6.44. Although the charge from Waste Connections has increased each year, the City is still charging an average single-family residence $2.83 and, in turn, paying $6.44 to Waste Connections. The City is losing money on that. What is being charged by Waste Connections is the exact charge that should be passed on to the customers, which is called a net break-even on recycling. The City should not be making money and should not be losing $4 a customer. That is the methodology, and if the Board is supportive of that, it will be the approach taken going into the budget season to determine what the revenue should be. That will dictate the percentage increase they can start implementing on October I, 2021. Mayor Hendricks said there is no market for recyclables, and they were told that by the representative of Waste Connections. It is a touchy subject, but he would like to see a mailer or a card going out to the residents, letting them know what the increase would be and asking them to let the City know whether they would like to continue recycling. The City cannot keep subsidizing everybody. Budgets are tight, and they are talking about revenue streams. They need feedback from the community because recyclables are going to the landfill and the incinerator. Commissioner Hutson asked if they could add something to the card giving people the option to cut back on recyclables or let them know where to take them. Director Wepfer said they no longer have dumpsters for recyclables because people were putting everything in them. The Mayor said once mixed up, it is dirty recyclables and goes to the incinerator or the landfill. It is a noble cause, but it does not work. Vice Mayor Price agreed with Mr. Laflin on what he worked out and said they also need to get their overtime under control. She is not sure if the overtime is due to so many special events. It May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 14 of 17 does not make sense to hire two employees. Mayor Hendricks said part of that might have been the beach last year when opening it up. It was getting trashed. Director Wepfer said Sanitation works every holiday except for Thanksgiving and Christmas and earns overtime. They also pick up seven days a week on commercial routes. The fee is double for Sunday pickups if they have a dumpster. She is currently working on an audit to come up with better ways to track the dumpsters and pickups. Vice Mayor Price said she never understood why they pick up on Labor Day and Memorial Day and on all the Mondays that are holidays. She does not want to see garbage out in front of houses on the holidays. That would free up three guys and have less over time. Director Wepfer said they still get twice-a-week pickup. If a holiday falls on a Monday, they pick up the garbage the following day. If the holiday is mid-week, they pick it up the day before or the day after. Vice Mayor Price said the overtime is $100,000, and that needs to be under control. It is not special event overtime but planned overtime. Director Wepfer said holidays are a significant portion of that overtime. The Broyhill truck saves them a tremendous amount of overtime because it is a one- person operation, and instead of it taking four hours, it only takes two hours max. Mayor Hendricks asked the Commission what they thought about mailing cards or letters to residents to see whether to do away with recycling. Vice Mayor Price said that is probably the best way to do it and by whatever means to get it out to everybody. Director Wepfer said Jay could send a survey out through Constant Contact to get feedback on it. Mayor Hendricks asked Mr. Laflin to let them know what the new charge would be for next year. Director Wepfer said if recycling is done away with the tipping fees will increase due to more waste disposed of. They could check that on the annual tonnage report from Waste Connections. The City Manager said Pinellas County encourages recycling due to limited space at the landfill. Mayor Hendricks said if the recycling company is taking it to the same place, they could probably haul it there for less money. Vice Mayor Price said for $8.00 added to her bill, she felt better about recycling. Mayor Hendricks said many people might feel that way, but they must be charged what it is costing the City. However, they do not want war by doubling or tripling the fees. Vice Mayor Price said they could not have the Sanitation Department losing $62,000 a year. The City Manager said they would work on getting the survey together and get some numbers. Vice Mayor Price said if found to be the same, they may as well recycle and not get the political pushback from the county. The Mayor said they still need to get out what the costs are to the City. Ray Kerr, 583 Johns Pass Avenue, said any survey put out should say what the Mayor mentioned, that it is going to the same place. Vice Mayor Price said she has been to the recycling facility, and it seemed to be working. Everything is separated at the facility. Robert Preston, 425 S. Bayshore Drive, said he recalled the same conversation when a representative of Waste Connections talked about it at a Commission meeting. He argued against doing the recycling because it was going to the landfill. As much environmentally conscious he is, May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 15 of17 it does not make sense to spend money when only a small percentage is going to recycle and the other going to the incinerator. Vice Mayor Price said she saw for herself at the facility that everything is separated. The City is very kind to the people who recycle and throw everything in a bin. Mr. Preston said that needed to be verified because he heard differently from county employees. Attorney Eschenfelder said in 2019, the Legislature passed a law, F.S. 304.706.22, requiring a local government doing recycling to develop new strategies for preventing contamination. That would add additional costs to the City if continuing with the recycling. Vice Mayor Price said that is another reason not to recycle. The Mayor said if the City is contracting with another company, they should be doing that. Vice Mayor Price asked if the City needed to change its ordinance to change the sanitation fee. The Attorney said that in Redington Beach, he did part of it in the ordinance but most of it in the franchise agreement because the franchise is the one that needs to deal with it. Mr. Laflin said they are changing the rates, which changes the fees collection manual, and that is done through an ordinance. They will do that during the budget process. L. Red Tide report - Megan Wepfer, Interim Public Works Director Interim Public Works Director Megan Wepfer reported on the most recent data from FWC. They did the water sampling, and there is currently no presence of red tide. Kelli Levy, Pinellas County Director of Public Works, had told her that red tide is coming, and they are ready. Director Wepfer responded to questions and comments by the Board. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. M. Archibald Park ADA Improvements - Megan Wepfer, Interim Public Works Director Interim Public Works Director Megan Wepfer said the improvements to the restrooms at Archibald Park and the ramp on the north side of Archibald Park have been ongoing since 2020. There is $81,850 in the budget for the improvements. That will cover all the improvements to the restrooms but not the total cost of the ramp. She said if the Board wants to proceed, she will start the RFP process to keep the costs down because of rising material costs. The Mayor said it is a bad time to be doing it anywhere because of increasing materials costs. The City Manager said when the project was initially planned, it might have been part of the continuing services agreement with CPWG. Director Wepfer said the costs a couple of weeks ago from CPWG was $179,973. They could do the restrooms now and do the ramp in October. The Board consented to that. Director Wepfer said she would start the RFP process. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. 7. ADJOURNMENT May 26, 2021, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page16of17 Vice Mayor Price said she would not be able to attend the July 28 BOC Workshop meeting and the 4:30 p.m. Li brary Board meeting on August 2 because she will be on vacation. She needs someone to attend the Library Board meeting on her behalf. Commissioner Andrews vo lunteered to attend the Library Board meeting. Mayor Hendricks adjourned the meeti ng at 9: 16 p.m . . C ity C lerk May 26. 202 1. 13OC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 17of 17