City Council

City of Marco Island Florida 51 Bald Eagle Drive Marco Island, Florida cityofmarcoisland.com Meeting Minutes - Final Monday, November 4, 2019 5:30 PM Community Meeting Room City Council Chair: Erik Brechnitz Vice-Chair: Jared Grifoni City Council: Larry Honig, Howard Reed, Charlette Roman, Victor Rios and Sam Young City Manager: Mike McNees City Attorney: Alan L. Gabriel City Clerk: Laura Litzan City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 1. Call to Order Chair Brechnitz called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. 2. Roll Call Present: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios Also Present Michael McNees, City Manager Laura Litzan, City Clerk Alan L. Gabriel, City Attorney Michael Murphy, Fire Chief Tracy Frazzano, Police Chief Guillermo Polanco, Finance Director Daniel J. Smith, Community Affairs Director Jeff Poteet, Water & Sewer General Manager Jose Duran, Information Technology Manager Citizens and Visitors Citizens and Visitors 3. Invocation - Deacon Mark Leonard of the San Marco Catholic Church 4. Pledge of Allegiance Led by Chair Brechnitz 5. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair ID 19-536 Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Chair Brechnitz addressed the audience and briefly outlined the process, beginning with Council nominations and vote for the Chair, followed by Council nominations and vote for Vice-Chair. He then called for nominations to begin. MOTION by Councilor Reed nominating Councilor Roman as Chair of the City Council. Councilor Roman declined nomination. MOTION by Councilor Young nominating Chair Brechnitz as continuing Chair of the City Council. MOTION by Councilor Roman nominating Councilor Reed as Chair of the City Council. Councilor Reed declined. COUNCIL VOTE for Chair Brechnitz to continue as Chair of the City Council. CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios MOTION by Councilor Roman nominating Councilor Reed for Vice Chair of the City Council. MOTION by Councilor Young nominating Councilor Grifoni for Vice Chair of the City Council. City of Marco Island Florida Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 COUNCIL VOTE for Councilor Reed as Vice-Chair of the City Council. VOTE FAILED: Yes: 3- Councilor Reed, Councilor Young and Councilor Roman No: 4- Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios COUNCIL VOTE for Councilor Grifoni as Vice-Chair of the City Council. CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 5- Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios No: 2- Councilor Reed and Councilor Roman (THE MEETING WENT INTO RECESS AT 5:37 P.M. IT IS NOTED FOR THE RECORD THAT ALL COUNCILORS WERE PRESENT WHEN THE MEETING RECONVENED AT 5:48 P.M.) 6. Approval of the Agenda MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Rios, that the Agenda be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios 7. Approval of the Minutes ID 19-557 Approval of Special-Called Closed Meeting Minutes of October 24, 2019 MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Rios, that the Minutes be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios 8. Approval of the Consent Agenda Approval of the Consent Agenda approves all items listed below: a. ID 19-555 Resolution approving the State of Florida Department of Emergency Management Grant Agreement for Hazard Mitigation Grant Project 5178-002-R, Fire Station #51, Wind Retrofit b. ID 19-559 Resolution finalizing the approval of the parking maintenance agreement and pedestrian node easement required in Resolution 16-43 and in the approval of the Site Improvement Plan (SIP 16-001166) with respect to Island Plaza, located on the Subject Property, of 664 Bald Eagle Drive, Marco Island, FL 34145 City of Marco Island Florida Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 c. ID 19-525 Florida Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement d. ID 19-524 Memorandum of Understanding with Marco Island Academy e. ID 19-561 Public Safety Answering Point Emergency Communication Inter-local Agreement MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Rios, that the Consent Agenda be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios 9. Proclamations and Presentations - None 10. Citizens' comments on agenda items not scheduled for public hearing and items other than those appearing on the agenda. Ms. Dawn Kuhn, Parks & Recreation Committee member, addressed the Council on behalf of the pickleball members and players who regularly frequent the City of Marco Island Racquet Center. Ms. Kuhn requested Council awareness and support to ensure that Parks & Recreation Department leadership pursue the re-lining of Court #1 with the City's selected provider that ensures that the pickleball courts are lined for prominence over the existing tennis court. City Manager Mike McNees indicated that he was already scheduled for a meeting on Wednesday (11/6) with Parks & Recreation leadership and pickleball-playing representatives from the Center, and that he felt confident that a satisfactory solution will be reached at that meeting. Mr. Doug Kelly, also a player and member of the City of Marco Island Racquet Center, addressed and supported Ms. Dawn Kuhn's request of Council. He pointed out the past adversarial stance taken by Parks & Recreation Department leadership in the past and requested that all parties work together to "... make the Racquet Center a better place ...". Mr. Tim Clune, pickleball player and member of the City of Marco Island Racquet Center next addressed the Council in support of Ms. Kuhn and Mr. Kelly by pointing out statistics regarding the popularity and growth of pickleball on Marco Island, and indicated that his data " ... speaks for itself ...". Mr. Ray Seward addressed the Council by bringing forward his complaint about receiving a parking ticket violation for leaving his personal vehicle parked in the swale for two nights as a result of having to garage his non-operating classic auto after the recent Knights of Columbus Car Show. He felt that the restriction on overnight parking in the swale was intended to address the vehicles parked by short-term renters in residential areas, he further believes that the parking ordinance is unnecessarily vague, and he believes that a warning (rather than a violation) was the appropriate action by the Marco Island Police Department. Councilor Young addressed a question to Chief Frazzano asking if parking violation warnings are a customary Department practice. Chief Frazzano responded that the Department does not issue "warning tickets", but rather, issues "violations", and that an apparent parking violation situation usually leaves the officer with no context or information other than the fact that the vehicle is illegally parked during the hours during which no parking was in effect. City Manager McNees further clarified that this was not a situation where a member of the City's Code Enforcement Department issued a code violation. Mr. Lee Rubenstein, Commander of American Legion Post 404 next addressed the Council to: 1) recognize and honor the 96th birthday of a veteran who was present at the meeting, and; 2) to update the Council on the fund-raising and scheduling success in having the Vietnam Veterans Traveling Memorial Wall returning to Marco Island for a three day stay beginning February 20, 2020. Mr. Rubenstein noted that Marco Island is the first stop for the Wall in 2020, and that no other locations in Florida are on the City of Marco Island Florida Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 planned 2020 national travel schedule. He recognized and thanked the many individuals and organizations on the Island who helped to make this possible, and he referenced forthcoming meetings with state, county and City officials to help plan and manage the execution of this important event. Ms. Denise Holmes, a long-time Marco Island resident who started a non-profit organization early in 2019 to assist families in the Naples/Marco Island area dealing with addiction, shared information and statistics with the Council regarding the degree to which opioid addiction is affecting communities locally and around the country. She is leading an effort to have NARCAN nasal spray emergency treatment kits available to teachers and administrators in Naples/Marco Island middle and high schools to address potential teenage opioid overdose situations. 11. Quasi-Judical Public Hearing - None 12. Ordinances A. Public Hearings ID 19-548 Ordinance - Second Reading & Public Hearing - Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Re-appropriation Chair Brechnitz noted that this is the second reading of the budget re-appropriation. City Clerk Laura Litzan read into the record by title only, Ordinance 19-17. Finance Director Guillermo Polanco highlighted the one item of change from the first reading of the Budget Re-appropriation. No questions were raised by the Council or by the public in attendance. MOTION by Councilor Rios, seconded by Councilor Reed, that the second reading of the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Re-appropriation by Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios B. First Readings - None 13. Resolutions and City Council Items ID 19-495 Approval of the 2020 City Council Meeting Schedule Councilor Honig requested clarification from City Clerk Laura Litzan regarding the Workshops noted on the 2020 City Council Meeting Schedule. Councilors Grifoni, Reed, Roman and Chair Brechnitz raised potential changes to the proposed August and October schedule. By consensus, the majority of Council agreed to eliminate the second meeting in October. MOTION by Councilor Rios, seconded by Councilor Roman that the 2020 City Council Meeting Schedule be Approved as amended. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Councilor Reed, Councilor Honig, Chair Brechnitz, Councilor Young, Councilor Roman, Councilor Grifoni and Vice-Chair Rios 14. Items Removed from the Consent Agenda -None 15. Council Communications & Future Agenda City of Marco Island Florida Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 ID 19-340 Future Agenda Items Councilor Honig offered his observations regarding the discussion and direction undertaken by the Planning Board on the City's sign ordinance at its November 1 meeting. He re-stated his intention that the Planning Board not spend additional time or discussion on this issue. Councilor Honig expanded upon and contrasted the relationship and the role of the City Council and the Planning Board relative to the Comprehensive Plan, and he requested that the City Manager and Staff ensure that Council direction and actions are correctly intrepreted and acted upon by City Boards and Committees. Councilor Rios restated his concerns raised at the previous Council meeting regarding the need for active Police Department traffic management at the intersection of Yellowbird and Collier Boulevard during the continuing Marco Shores Alternative Water Pipeline Project. Water & Sewer General Manager Jeff Poteet responded by indicating that reductions in materials and equipment in the roadway associated with the project have recently occurred alleviating much of the heaviest traffic congestion, and that he would work with Chief Frazzano as necessary to address continuing traffic management at that intersection. Councilor Rios next noted that Council review and action on fertilizer and recycled water usage on the Island is long past due, and he requested that these items be addessed as a near-term agenda item for the Council. Councilor Roman observed that traffic conditions will continue to become more challenging as seasonal visitors to the Island increase and the forthcoming County road repair on Hwy 951 gets underway. She also referenced back to Councilor Honig's earlier comments during this portion of the agenda and requested clarification of his comments regarding his role of the Planning Board and its interpretation of the Island's Comprehensive Plan. (Councilor Honig responded). Councilor Roman next reminded the Council that the Comprehensive Plan has been a Future Agenda item for quite some time, and she expressed her feeling that the Council wasted $90,000 on the most recent Comprehensive Plan update because the Council has not pursued an orderly process for regularly reviewing it. Seeing an up-to-date Comprehensive Plan is ultimately expressed and enacted as articles in the Land Development Code, she reiterated her previous recommendation that the Council undertake a process guided by an academic department at Florida Gulf Coast University that specializes in assisting cities in matters of this nature. Councilor Roman concluded by requesting that the City Manager provide an update on the invasive hydrilla control efforts in the lake at Mackle Park. City Manager McNees responded by providing an update on the City's engagement and dialogue with the South Florida Water Management District, and indicated that he would bring a full report to the Counsel perhaps as early as its December meeting. Councilor Roman noted that, due to family matters, she would not likely be in attendance at the regularly-scheduled December Council session. Councilor Reed requested removal of two Future Agenda white paper items under his name: 1) Review of Rules Regarding Leadership of the City Council, and; 2) Methodology for Improving Turnaround Time on Permits. He also affirmed his agreement with Councilor Roman on the 'wasted' $90,000 spent reassessing the City's Comprehensive Plan, and he voiced his agreement with the comments offered by Councilor Honig regarding the Planning Board and the Comprehensive Plan. Going forward, he supports the need to spend an appropriate amount of time on the Comprehensive Plan, to do it right, and to do it differently than the manner in which it was addressed previously. Vice-Chair Grifoni began his comments by asking the City Manager when the RFP on water quality monitoring was intended to come back to the Council. City Manager McNees responded that he hoped to have it on the Council's December agenda. Vice-Chair Grifoni then requested that, given the high degree of interest in the community and the additional funding that Council approved for this effort, a timeline of when and how the dollars are projected to be spent also be included in the next report to Council. Vice-Chair Grifoni next spoke to the recent Government Week activities by complimenting the City Staff City of Marco Island Florida Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 on its execution. He noted, however, the limited community attendance for certain activities, and proposed that future Government Week activities involving the broader community might be condensed to one or two days. On the earlier Councilor comments and discussion regarding communications by members of the Planning Board, Vice-Chair Grifoni noted that the City of Marco Island Handbook for Boards & Committees clearly outlines the expected roles, responsibilities and behaviors of the City's Committees and Committee members. Vice-Chair Grifoni concluded his remarks by requesting that, in light of the forthcoming burrowing owl nesting season in late January/early February, the December 2 Council agenda include the proposed Safe Harbor Program for burrowing owls on residential property. Councilor Roman commented upon Vice-Chair Grifoni's observations regarding Committee actions and behaviors by noting that she has observed a 'tone change' between some Committees and the Council over the last several years. She expressed the opinion that some amount of that change is the result of the Committee selection process that is currently in place, and she recommended that the Council members look within themselves to assess how they might be contributing to this change in tone and loss of civility and decorum. Councilor Roman commended the City Manager on the effort that he has undertaken to work more closely with the Committees, and she proposed that he offer suggestions for Council consideration as he continues to engage with the Committees. Vice-Chair Grifoni supported Councilor Roman's comments by noting that the increasingly negative, 'attack-minded' tone in government and politics is, unfortunately, a nationwide phenomenon. Councilor Honig pointed out that, in the last ten years, 17 different individuals have served as members of the City Council. Chair Brechnitz shared his comments regarding the previous observations by Council members by: 1) expressing his pleasure and satisfaction in being involved in Government Week, and; 2) clarifying that the $90,000 expenditure spoken to by the Council members was intended to address inconsistencies in the Land Development Plan rather than the Comprehensive Plan. He further outlined his expectation that the completion of the 2019 - 2024- 2034 Strategic Plan earlier this year now provides the basis for the review and contemporization of the Comprehensive Plan, and he requested that City Manager McNees bring forth a proposed process and schedule for the Council to address the Comprehensive Plan early in the 2020 calendar year. Regarding Councilor Reed's request to remove the permitting process from the Future Agenda, Chair Brechnitz asked the City Manager and Staff to bring forward as a Future Agenda item, a presentation outlining the turnaround time that contractors and owners can expect in the submission of permit requests. Additionally, Chair Brechnitz raised the issue of the long-term plan and costs to improve the City's swales, and he asked that City Manager McNees bring forward a plan that solves the long-term problem. Councilor Young supported Chair Brechnitz's request regarding swales and referenced the recommendations developed by the Waterways Advisory Committee several years ago on this issue. Vice-Chair Grifoni added his support and referenced previous discussions with Building Services Senior Plans Examiner Raul Perez during the recent budget development process that timelines and comparative data from Naples and other appropriate municipalities be included in the next report and proposal to the Council. Councilor Reed contributed his expectation that the contractor selected under the current RFP process will include in its report on improving the water quality of the Island an assessment as to the degree to which the swales can be counted on to contribute to this improvement. He cautioned the Council on assuming that there currently exists adequate 'science' in hand regarding the impact of the swales on the water quality of the Island. City of Marco Island Florida Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 Councilor Rios concluded the Council Communications & Future Agenda portion of the meeting by offering anecdotal evidence that the City's permit process is still perceived as taking too long by owners and contractors who are currently undertaking renovation projects at Cape Marco. 16. Council Reports - None 17. City Manager's Report City Manager McNees reported that the Staff is preparing a master set of standards and the expected timeline for the completion for various permit requests. He also advised that water quality RFP responses from six vendors were reviewed on November 1 and narrowed to three potential providers. Given the quality of the submitted proposals, presentations by the narrowed pool of three vendors will be conducted on November 18, with the City Staff's recommendation going before the Waterways Committee prior to Council review and requested approval on December 2. City Manager McNees assured the Council that any of the three remaining candidate vendors will do a fine job for the City. City Manager McNees then responded to questions raised by Councilors Young and Reed. Chair Brechnitz asked City Manager McNees to send an email with the specifics of the November 18 presentations session to all City Council members. 18. City Attorney's Report - None 19. Departmental Reports ID 19-341 Monthly Departmental Reports Councilor Young asked if the trial of the sweep/street vacuum truck had been conducted. Councilor Reed responded that he believed so, but that Public Works Director Tim Pinter would be able to provide specific response and results of such a trial in response to Councilor Young. Chair Brechnitz asked that Director Pinter be asked to provide an update to the Council at a future meeting. 20. Citizens' Comments Mr. Jerry Swiacki, as incumbant Chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee when he ran for City Council in 2016, commented on the Council's discussion regarding 'politicalization' of issues and its relationships with the various City Committees. He pointed to his experience as a Council candidate and a Committee Chair, and offered that the 'politicalization' of Committee activities may have had its genesis during the 2016 election campaign. Ms. Teri Sommerfeld expressed support for Councilor Roman's comments regarding Council members "setting the standard" for behaviors and relationships with the Committees. She noted the public criticism of the Planning Board by some members of the Council during this meeting, and proposed that Councilors take the time to review the video of the proceedings from the perspective of the residents of the Island. 21. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:16 pm. _______________________________________ Erik Brechnitz, Council Chairman ATTEST: ________________________________________ Laura Litzan, City Clerk City of Marco Island Florida Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final November 4, 2019 PREPARED BY: ________________________________________ Jim Kornas, Recording Specialist City of Marco Island Florida Page 8