Board of Commissioners Workshop Meeting

MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR WORKSHOP MEETING JULY 20, 2022 6:00 P.M. The City of Madeira Beach Board of Commissioners held a regular workshop meeting at 6:00 p.m. on July 20, 2022, in the Patricia Shontz Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: John B. Hendricks, Mayor Doug Andrews, Vice Mayor/Commissioner District 3 David Tagliarini , Commissioner District 1 Ray Kerr, Commissioner District 2 Dave Hutson, Commissioner District 4 MEMBERS ABSENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Robin Gomez, City Manager Clara VanBlargan, City Clerk Attorney Randy Mora, Trask Daigneault, LLP 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hendricks called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLLCALL City Clerk Clara VanBlargan called the roll. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments. 4. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION A. Water Warrior Alliance Presentation The item was canceled . B. Civil Service Commission By-Laws Vice Mayor Andrews said the item was a long time coming. The Board of Commissioners appoints the members that serve on the Civil Service Commission and they play a major purpose. Problems have occurred with the grievance procedures and mistakes were made that had not been corrected . The Civil Service Commission conducts grievance hearings, and makes a recommendation to the City Manager, a charter office. In one case, the grievance was found in favor of the employee and July 20, 2022, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 1 of 6 against the city manager, and he ignored recommendation by the Civil Service Commission and the Board of Commissioners did not act upon it. The grievance hearings are time-consuming, and the Civil Service Commission felt they had spent their time for nothing. They need more teeth to do their job so that does not happen again. A city manager should not decide their own fate. If a charter officer files a complaint against an employee and the Civil Service Commission finds in favor of the employee, the complaint and recommendation should be given to the Board of Commissioners and not to the city manager. The procedures need to be changed to make that happen. He does not know if the change must be made by the voters or the Board of Commissioners could do it. That would change the dynamic and direction of it. Mayor Hendricks agreed with Vice Mayor Andrews and supported a change giving the Civil Service more teeth. He was involved in the Civil Service hearing when that happened, and he was very disappointed in how it was handled and how the employee was handled. The Civil Service . Commission is an impartial group, and if a complaint is found against the City in a grievance hearing, they need the ability to fight back when told their decision was meaningless. Mayor Hendricks read City Charter, Section 5-7, Personnel Systems, Civil Service Commission, Subparagraph A (p. 3 of 56, agenda packet): "Merit Principal. All appointments and promotions of City employees shall be made solely on the basis of merit and fitness demonstrated by examination or other evidence of competence." The Mayor said the department heads should be the ones determining whether an examination is needed, and he does not know if they give examinations to City employees. The City Manager said currently only fire employees are given examinations, written and physical. Mayor Hendricks read City Code, Section 2-126, Intent, (c ), (p. 5 of 56, agenda packet): "The civil service commission members also recommend cost of living increases and employee pay adjustments to the board of commissioners for consideration." The Mayor said that the department directors should determine the cost of living and pay adjustments for their employees, but since it is only a recommendation, he is okay with the language as is. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. Attorney Randy Mora asked the consensus on the direction. Mayor Hendricks said if a charter officer brings a complaint against an employee and the Civil Service Commission finds in favor of the employee, then that should come before the Board of Commissioners and not to the charter officer that filed the charges. Attorney Mora thanked the Mayor for the clarification and said he would follow through with his colleague to ensure the best procedural mechanism to make the change. July 20, 2022, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 2 of 6  C. Special Magistrate Lien at 734 Sunset Cove, Madeira Beach Case No. 2015.09 (Hennigan)- Settlement Offer The item was discussed and reviewed. There were five code violations. The fines were assessed in September 2015, and the total exceeded the value of the home. The current property owner requested the Commission accept a $2,000 settlement offer in exchange for releasing the Special Magistrate lien. Mayor Hendricks did not think they could justify settling on the property. Attorney Mora said the justification for the offer was the property was in compliance long ago, and the fines were accruing long beyond the non-compliant period. The property owner was interested in selling the property, and the lien was holding up the process. The City Manager said he saw evidence the repairs were completed in October 2015, but it was not communicated to the City at the time. Commissioner Hutson asked for a copy of the document showing compliance for the record. The City Manager said he would include it in the pack for the August 10th BOC Regular Meeting. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. The consensus of the Board was to address it as written at the August 10th BOC Regular Meeting. D. TCH 2022-11 Variances for Private Docks Community Development Director Linda Portal said residents have been unable to extend their docks because they could not secure approval from their neighbors. She suggested having another mechanism in place for review. Staff proposed to include Section 14-205 of the Code in Section 2-507 that regulates the Special Magistrate to allow residents to either get the sign-off from their neighbor or to petition for a variance to the Special Magistrate. Director Portal responded to questions and comments from the Board. Commissioner Tagliarini said he was in favor of it because it would be more objective. Mayor Hendricks agreed if they have safeguards in place where people can give their input to the Special Magistrate. Commissioner Hutson said the process could be expensive and time-consuming, so people would still go through the process of getting signatures from their neighbors. Director Portal said that is why it was not made mandatory. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Tami Jones, Realty Executives, spoke on behalf of her client, who had an issue with both of his neighbors who would not sign off for him to install a new boat dock. July 20, 2022, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 3 of6 Shannon Sullivan, 13411 Boca Ciega Avenue, thanked the staff for their work. She said it allows for consistency between the beach communities and docks to be added to the variant section. It allows residents to be less subjective and more objective in an unbiased and equitable way. The consensus of the Board was to move forward with it. E. Regulating Smoking on City Public Beaches and Parks Mayor Hendricks said all the beach communities would be voting in favor of banning smoking on the beaches. It excludes cigars and non-filtered cigarettes. St. Pete Beach is working on developing an ordinance that encompasses several items that have been regulated and they will share it at the Big-C meeting. He hoped a common ordinance would be passed amongst the beach communities, so there would be consistency up and down the beach. Commissioner Hutson asked if they were going for both parks and the beach. The Mayor said it would be City property. He thought City Hall would need a designated smoking area. Commissioner Tagliarini asked if the deputy sheriffs would enforce this and if there would be a fine penalty. The City Manager said it would be an ordinance violation and the fine structures were in the Code. Commissioner Hutson asked about waterway areas within the City. The City Manager said he did not think that was regulated. Attorney Mora said as of July 1st, the language in the statutory amendment specifically extends a municipality's authority to parks and beaches. The open waterways are not the City's parks or beaches. He advised them to stay close to what was written in the statutory language. Commissioner Hutson asked if it impacted transients at the Marina. The Mayor said they could designate a smoking area at the Marina. Commissioner Tagliarini said enforcement is always going to be difficult. Vice Mayor Andrews asked if they knew how the Sheriff Department felt about it and what type of enforcement they would provide. The City Manager said they would enforce all ordinances, but it would be more educating, advocating, and encouraging people. The Mayor said the City already had an ordinance in place establishing a $250 fine for littering. Commissioner Kerr said he was confused about the vaping portion because there is no litter with vaping. Vaping has been abused and is a huge problem. It would be something to regulate. He asked if there was a way to have a regulated area with a facility at each beach entrance so smokers could enjoy the beach. Attorney Mora said it would depend on each municipality and how they chose to regulate it. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. F. Recycling Service July 20, 2022, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 4 of6 The City Manager said they were approaching the end of the initial three-year agreement with Waste Connections. The agreement allows for two one-year extensions. He explained the proposal with the changes they received. The options are: • Issue an RFP over the next month or so. • End recycling. • Continue with the new proposal from Waste Connections. Mayor Hendricks said he was okay with putting out an RFP, but he thought it might be something to come back to in a couple of years. He does not support it right now. Commissioner Tagliarini said he supported it and would like to see an RFP done to find a company that provides a respectable size bin with a lid and wheels. Ian Boyle, Waste Connections, responded to questions and comments from the Board. Commissioner Kerr asked about the handout that was distributed and said he would support the RFP and the 65-gallon carts with lids. Vice Mayor Andrews said he was okay going out for an RFP but did not think they had to. He is okay staying with Waste Connections. Commissioner Kerr asked why the price doubled from January 2019 to February 2019 and said it looked like it would double again. Mr. Boyle explained it was the beginning of the one-year contract extension, and everything in the market had changed. Commissioner Hutson asked ifthere were other options, such as a drop-off area. Mr. Boyle said they had gotten rid of the drop-off boxes in other municipalities due to contamination. Commissioner Hutson asked what it meant for Madeira Beach regarding the county building a material recovery facility. The City Manager said it would add another option for recycling. Stephanie Watson, Pinellas County Department of Solid Waste, explained what the county has been working on and the resources available. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. Ed Farmer, Waste Pro of Florida, Inc., said they have the MRF next to Strategic Materials in Sarasota. There are companies interested in providing the service and fair quotes. He supported Waste Connections and Pinellas County Department of Solid Waste because natural resources needed to be protected. The consensus of the Board was to put the recycling services out for an RFP. Financial Consultant Andrew Laflin said they would like to include an increased sanitation fee in the Fees and Collection Manual by October 1st and would like the Board's direction on that. G. Honor Court at Patriots - 9/11 Park July 20, 2022, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 5 of6 Mayor Hendricks said it was something Commissioner Hodges wanted to get done. The American Legion and VFW were going to be involved. Public Works Director Megan Wepfer said the plans would need to be modified and described what the Honor Court would look like. The City Manager said it would be added to the budget next year. Mayor Hendricks opened to public comment. There were no public comments. The consensus of the Board was for Mayor Hendricks to do the leg work and bring it back to the Commission. 5. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hendricks adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m. ATTEST: July 20, 2022, BOC Regular Workshop Meeting Page 6 of6