Special City Council

121 SW Port St. Lucie City of Port St.Lucie Blvd. Port St. Lucie, Florida 34984 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final Gregory J. Oravec, Mayor Stephanie Morgan, Councilwoman, District I John Carvelli, Councilman, District II Shannon Martin, Vice Mayor, District III Jolien Caraballo, Councilwoman, District IV Monday, July 15, 2019 1:30 PM Council Chambers, City Hall 1. Meeting Called to Order A Special Meeting of the CITY COUNCIL of the City of Port St. Lucie was called to order by Vice Mayor Martin on July 15, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., at Port St. Lucie City Hall, 121 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Port St. Lucie, Florida. 2. Roll Call Council Members Present: Vice Mayor Shannon Martin, Councilwoman Jolien Caraballo, Councilman John Carvelli, and Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan Council Members Not Present: Mayor Oravec 3. Pledge of Allegiance Vice Mayor Martin led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Public to be Heard Sarah Howard thanked the Council for fixing up the College Park Road traffic circle and requested that pedestrian crossing signs be added. She stated that she felt that she was being harrassed by the Code Enforcement Department and others that were associated with the Police Department and had written the Governor and FDOT regarding the issue. Ms. Howard encouraged other residents with these issues to come forward and pointed out that her children were bullied in school and she was bullied at work. Councilman Carvelli recommended that Ms. Howard contact the St. Lucie County School Board, as policies were in place regarding addressing bullying with a certain course of action. Page 1 of 7 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final July 15, 2019 5. New Business 5.a A Presentation By The Economic Development Council Of St 2019-653 Lucie County Regarding The Status Of The Incentives Packet For Project Learn And Project Matthew To Establish The Florida Biomedical Translational Research Institute At The Florida Center For Bio-Science. The City Manager introduced Pete Tesch, who would provide the status of the QTI for Project Learn and Project Matthew. Pete Tesch, Economic Development Council, announced that Vaxine LTD, a biomedical research firm from Australia, was partnering with the Cleveland Clinic and were interested in occupying the building now known as the Florida Center for Bio-Sciences. He stated that he was working with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and that they had secured a Qualified Industry Tax Refund Grant, which was awarded to the Florida Center for Bio-Sciences, in the amount of $250,000. Mr. Tesch said that approval from the DEO was obtained and that he would be going in front of the St. Lucie County Commission tomorrow to approve the local financial match for the 80/20 grant, as well as securing a Job Growth Investment Grant from the County with Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County and the State of Florida as partners. He explained that they were performance based incentives that would be required to create 100 jobs in a 5-year period. presented A break was called at 3:00 p.m. and the meeting resumed at 3:17 p.m. Page 2 of 7 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final July 15, 2019 5.b Discuss the Proposed Landlord Registration Ordinance 2019-671 The City Manager stated that the Neighborhood Services Director and Greg Hyden, Esquire would be making a presentation, as the Council had previously asked that the issue be explored and information be provided regarding the matter. The Neighborhood Services Director explained the Landlord Registration Ordinance that was used by other cities in Florida to combat frequent property issues. He stated that 50% of the City's Code Enforcement cases dealt with non-homestead properties. The Neighborhood Services Director proposed a program for both residential and commercial properties and requested Council support. He pointed out that although he was not able to receive a letter of support from the County, they were in support of considering implementing it within their jurisdiction that abutted the City limits. Mr. Hyden advised that the program was intended to incentivize versus penalize a landlord, so that issues don't come up at a later time. He listed the cities that used the program in the immediate region and said that it would require City resources to implement it and proposed a point system. Mr. Hyden explained the way that other cities regulate it, through the Business Tax License and Certificate of Occupancy or an ordinance could be adopted that regulated the issue. John Slivon, Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB) and Governmental Affairs Committee (GFLR) Chair, stated that he represented a group that believed in the protection of private property rights and was not in favor of the proposed ordinance, as the local laws and processes in place should be able to regulate the low number of nuisance properties. He stated that it would be viewed as a tax on the realtors and requested that staff withdraw the the proposed ordinance. Judith Sekscenski, member of the Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful Committee and the Board of Directors of the Southbend Lakes Residents' Association stated that she was a realtor, and she disagreed with Mr. Slivon, as she felt that the ordinance would help discourage blight in the City. Joe Edge spoke in favor of the item, and stated that properties had to be maintained to an acceptable standard, so that the property values could be maintained. Claire Sweet, M.E. Good Realty, spoke against the ordinance, and said that it took away property rights. Chuck Reller, American Personal Storage, stated that the City had to go against blight without stepping on property rights. Robert Ludlum stated that there were already organizations and measures in place to curb blight, and the ordinance was an additional layer of bureaucracy. Page 3 of 7 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final July 15, 2019 John Pankraz stated that less than 0.5% of the total homes caused an issue, and the ordinance was a lot of work to keep track of all the homes. Andi Hays stated that she financed real estate, and she saw how the impact of properties not being properly maintained affected all property values. Kevin Schevers stated that he agreed with Mr. Ludlum that the ordinance was another layer of bureaucracy. Pat Ayers stated that there was no blight in the City, and that the ordinance was government overreach. Councilman Carvelli stated he received many letter about the ordinance, and he was not in favor of it, as he thought that any problems regarding landlords should be dealt with individually. Councilwoman Caraballo said that the question often came up about what to do with the properties. She said that she did not want to see a fee, and asked the City Attorney if the ordinance could include that changes would have to be approved by a super majority, to which the City Attorney replied that the original ordinance required only a majority vote, and that he did not think that the City would have the ability to require a super majority vote for future changes. Councilwoman Caraballo said that she intended to speak with staff regarding options for a registration process for landlords who were large companies. Councilwoman Morgan said that she noted that many in the audience were opposed to the ordinance. She said that she was in favor of staff conducting stakeholder meetings, and returning with the findings of what the stakeholders' opinions were, but she was not in favor of recommending to move forward at this time. Councilman Carvelli asked what the process was for Code violations, to which the City Attorney explained the Special Magistrate process and explained that outstanding fines could go to liens, which were hard to collect on. Councilwoman Caraballo said that she agreed with Councilwoman Morgan's suggestion that staff conduct the stakeholder meetings and return with findings. Vice Mayor Martin pointed out the success of the Vacant Property Registration process, and said that investors were property owners, and had the same responsibility to maintain the property as homeowners. The Assistant Neighborhood Services Director pointed out the landlord registration was among the best practices for other municipalities around the country. He added that the challenge was that he often had to go to the same properties multiple times, and reaching the owner was an issue. Vice Mayor Martin said that she would like to see more information come forward, and she wanted to know the staffing that would be needed. Page 4 of 7 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final July 15, 2019 Councilman Carvelli asked for the City Attorney to bring an alternate solution regarding putting the fee on the tax bill and asked the City Manager to bring a staffing solution, if there were staffing issues. Vice Mayor Martin said that staffing information should be discussed at the Retreat. Councilman Carvelli asked that HOA's be included in the stakeholder meetings. The City Manager summarized that he understood that the Council's direction was for staff to continue to gather information from all stakeholders, and to return to the Council to provide information. He said that he would notify the Realtors' Association, as well as any other outreach bodies, when it was placed back on the agenda. Vice Mayor Martin asked that the stakeholder meetings include residents and business owners. A break was called at 3:06 p.m., and the meeting resumed at 3:17 p.m. discussed Page 5 of 7 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final July 15, 2019 5.c Update on the Implementation of the East Coast Greenway 2019-681 and Greenways and Trails System in St. Lucie County and the City of Port St. Lucie The Strategic Initiatives Director stated that at the Summer Retreat, the City Council would consider adoption of the 10-Year Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and as part of the Plan, a Needs Assessment was conducted, which showed that trails were a key need and desire of City residents. She said that an update would be provided regarding the East Coast Greenway, and the comprehensive trail system being planned for St. Lucie County, which included Port. St. Lucie City Limits. Pete Buchwald, Executive Director of the St. Lucie Transportation Planning Organization, explained that when completed, the East Coast Greenway and the Florida SUN Trail would serve as a major north-south spine for the St. Lucie Walk/Bike Network, which was codified in the Go 2040 Long-Range Plan of the TPO and the St. Lucie County Comprehensive Plan. The network included more than 900 miles of sidewalks, multi-use paths, bike lanes, and unpaved hiking and biking trails. Mr. Buchwald introduced Mike Middlebrook, with St. Lucie County Natural Resources. (Clerk's Note: A PowerPoint presentation was shown.) Mr. Middlebrook explained that the East Coast Greenway was a 3,000-mile trail that ran from Maine to Key West, and was 10-12 feet wide. He said that in 2001, the Master Plan came online at the Board of County Commissioners' level, and in 2006, the City put the first segment of the East Coast Greenway online, at the Green River Parkway. he said that the Crosstown Bridge incorporated part of the East Coast Greenway. Mr. Middlebrook stated that in 2015, funding became available from the Legislature for the SUN Trail Program, and $25 million was split into 3 pots of money. He said that there would be an additional investment of $20 million in the County to connect to projects that the City completed. He said that 5 segments were funded, and it was his hope that the trail for North A1A would be retrofitted to be off the road. He explained the improvements to the trail at the Savannahs State Park. He explained that for every dollar spent on greenways, it equaled a $3 savings in medical expenses. Mr. Buchwald said that cyclists from the Southern Grove Annexation Area would be able to access the SUN Trail/East Coast Greenway upon completion of the gap, and upon completion of the Floresta improvements, a loop would be created, which would be just over 26 miles, which was the length of a marathon. Mr. Middlebrook stated that he looked forward to partnering with the City, and invited the public to visit www.greenway.org, to learn more about the East Coast Greenway. Vice Mayor Martin commented that a marathon around the Floresta Loop would be a great event for the City. Councilwoman Caraballo suggested to the City Manager that a City Resource Day be held, in which available resources could be presented to the residents. Page 6 of 7 Special City Council Meeting Minutes - Final July 15, 2019 She said that if one was held, it would be helpful for the residents to know where the bike trails were. Vice Mayor Martin encouraged Councilwoman Caraballo to bike along the Floresta trail, and to invite the Communications Department to film a segment. presented 6. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:36 p.m. ________________________ _______________________________ Karen A. Phillips, City Clerk Jeannette Baechle, Deputy City Clerk Page 7 of 7