Special City Council

121 SW Port St. Lucie City of Port St.Lucie Blvd. Port St. Lucie, Florida 34984 Special City Council Meeting Minutes 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, August 19, 2019 1:30 PM Council Chambers, City Hall 1. Meeting Called to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Oravec led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Public to be Heard No one signed up to speak under this item. 5. New Business Page 1 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 5.a Public Transit Enhancement Plan: Staff Update and 2019-759 Recommended Approach on Strategic Priority. Clyde Cuffy, Engineering, stated that the Public Transit Enhancement Plan was prioritized by the City Council in the 2019 Strategic Plan, and public transit was identified through the Citizens' Survey as a need in the City. He presented a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the St. Lucie County Transit Plan. He explained that currently, the buses ran Monday-Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. He said that the County received a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation that allowed bus riders to ride for free. There were 7 fixed routes throughout the County, 4 of which fell in City limits. There was also a direct connect service which provided after-hours service for the transportation-disadvantaged, but the service carried a fee and required scheduling. There was also a demand response program for eligible disadvantaged citizens and seniors. He gave an overview of the routes and the County's Transit Development Plan, which was revised every year. He presented the results of the County's public outreach efforts to evaluate existing conditions and services. He said that staff was reviewing an Interlocal Agreement between the County and the City to install seats at bus stop locations throughout the City. He explained the concept of microtransit, which the County wanted to introduce. He said that the County was looking for partnerships with the City to improve the Intermodal Facility, and the item would be brought forward to the Council in the future. Mr. Cuffy stated that staff recommended that the City Council select the Gatlin area for the Microtransit Program, and listed the benefits of it. He said that staff would continue to work with the County to prepare the TDP, and would report quarterly to the Council regarding transit enhancement progress. Staff would also coordinate on bus shelter improvements and bus shelter art, and would explore options to improve the Port St. Lucie Intermodal Facility as a vibrant public space. Mayor Oravec asked what the current headway was in the County system, to which Mr. Cuffy replied 1 hour. Mayor Oravec said that he wanted to advocate for it to be reduced to 30 minutes. He asked if the major TDP update was done, to which Mr. Cuffy replied in the affirmative. Mayor Oravec asked if the City provided formal comments as part of the process, to which Mr. Cuffy responded in the negative. Mayor Oravec said that he would like to effect change through the Page 2 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 Annual Update process. Vice Mayor Martin asked how staff was included in the process, to which Mr. Cuffy replied that the City was not included in the process. Vice Mayor Martin asked if there were stakeholder meetings, to which Mr. Cuffy responded in the affirmative. Vice Mayor Martin asked if the City was invited to which Mr. Cuffy replied that the City was not formally invited. The City Manager added that was why staff advocated that the Council include a Strategic Initiative in the Plan. Mayor Oravec asked the Council to endeavor to formally participate in the update to every County TDP, and for more frequent intervals on the headway, to which several Councilmembers responded in the affirmative. Councilwoman Caraballo said that she had a meeting with Commissioner Mitchell on Wednesday and she could talk to him about it, to which Mayor Oravec advised that he would send a letter to the County. Vice Mayor Martin said that the item regarding improving the Intermodal Facility was interesting, given that the City would likely have to pay for it. Mayor Oravec asked who paid for it in Fort Pierce, to which a member of the audience, later identified as Natasha Serra, replied that she was business consultant, and that the Federal Transit Administration paid for it. Mr. Cuffy clarified that the Intermodal located in Port St. Lucie was financed through a grant from the FDOT and the County. Councilwoman Morgan said that the 30-minute headway came up at a TPO meeting, as well as that the route that went down St. James might be changed to Selvitz Road. Mr. Cuffy said that the County was looking into increasing the frequency, bus funding was the biggest issue. Mayor Oravec asked the City Manager to direct staff to track new developments and emerging issues, such as art and bus shelters going in, to make sure that the City is being treated fairly. Councilwoman Morgan asked what was discussed regarding transportation at the Council on Aging meetings, to which Councilman Carvelli replied that the process was going back out to bid. Mayor Oravec said that he appreciated that staff was trying to capitalize on the Strategic Goals of beautifying the City and mobility, and he asked for waste receptacles and bus shelters to be placed at the more heavily-utilized bus stops first, such as the one on Lennard Road. He asked that staff evaluate amenities at bus stops on a case-by-case basis, based on the bus stops' demand. Vice Mayor Martin moved to accept staff's recommendations, as Page 3 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 amended by the conversation today. Councilwoman Caraballo seconded the motion. Vice Mayor Martin asked the City Manager to share her disappointment in the City not being included in the stakeholder discussion with County Administrator Howard Tipton. The City Manager said that he did not want to say that no notice was received, as it could have been sent to the Former Public Works Director, but the Council should be actively engaged. Mayor Oravec suggested that the Council recheck their emails before taking a heavier-handed action. Councilwoman Caraballo stated that something of this nature called for more notice than just an email. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. (Clerk's Note: After Item 5 b) was heard, Mayor Oravec noted that Ms. Serra signed up to speak under this item.) Natasha Serra stated that she interned at the St. Lucie County Department of Housing and Community Services, and was an employee when the intermodal was breaking ground. She explained the importance of microtransit and said that she would be happy to be a part of the transit process in the City. Councilwoman Caraballo suggested that Ms. Serra apply if the Council ever established a Transit Committee. Page 4 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 5.b GL Homes - Riverland Park Conveyance and Parks Impact Fee 2019-747 Credits The Assistant Parks and Recreation Director stated staff was asking the Council to consider the design and construction of a new City Park. The proposed Park’s property was currently owned by the Riverland Development Company, and they would design and construct an unmanned Neighborhood Park connected to Riverland’s Paseo Development. It would be a landscaped linear park, where one could walk, bike, or jog. The proposal met the tenets of the recently adopted 10-Year Parks Master Plan. Kevin Ratterree, Vice President of GL Homes, said that the name for the proposed Park would be the Riverland Paseo Park. He said that GL Homes would convey the Park site to the City, and would entitle the Park site via zoning, platting and building permits. They would construct the Phase I improvements of the Park and turn it over to the City upon completion. He said that GL Homes would benefit by getting a park built near their communities and receiving an Impact Fee credit on the City’s Park Impact Fee Schedule. He explained the location of the park, and presented the proposed Site Plan of the Phase I improvements, which consisted of a softball field, a parking area, 3 dog parks, and a bathroom area. He said that the dog park would have a dog wash area, climbing boulders, a bowwow barrel, a pet waste area, fountains, and shade structures. The softball field would have 3 bleachers, a scoreboard, and dugouts. He requested that the City Council authorize staff to bring the Parks and Recreation Facilities Conveyance Agreement and the Parks and Recreation Impact Fee and Offsite Drainage Agreement before them at their August 26th meeting. He also asked that the Council approve the proposed improvements for City Park 1, and the naming rights as Riverland Paseo Park. Lastly, he asked that the Council direct staff to amend the CIP to include the Riverland Paseo Park. He informed that the Park would be conveyed between August 26th and September 23rd of 2019, and a performance bond would be posted for the improvements. He said that the overall timeframe was that the Park would be online in approximately 2 years. Councilman Carvelli asked if the bond would be posted equal to the amount of the Impact Fee credits, to which Mr. Ratterree replied that it would be for the cost of the improvements. Councilman Carvelli said that he was unsure about giving up the naming rights. The City Manager clarified that staff was not asking the Council to act on Mr. Page 5 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 Ratterree’s asks at this time, but wanted to know if the Council was comfortable with the path, and with bringing forward a conveyance to the property amendment to the CIP to show the park in it, but the City had to own the property for it to occur. Vice Mayor Martin said that she thought that the item was a win-win, as it would move the Parks Master Plan along. She said that she was okay with the naming rights, as the developer was paying to develop the Park and was going to hand it over to the City. Mayor Oravec said that he was open to conveying naming rights, if the property was donated without the request of Parks Impact Fee Credits. Councilwoman Caraballo asked if there was a plan for a future City Park site next to the Dog Park, to which the Assistant Parks and Recreation Director replied in the affirmative and explained that the fields would be lit in the future. Councilwoman Caraballo said that fields were needed for recognized user groups, but open play for residents was also important. She suggested that if naming rights were granted, one of the names be dropped so that it was Riverland Park or Paseo Park, as Riverland Paseo Park was too wordy. Mayor Oravec noted that he preferred Riverland Park. He asked for the City's nomenclature on parks, to which Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Keen explained the difference among Community Parks, Neighborhood Parks, and Preserve and Open Space Areas. Mayor Oravec asked that parks on major thoroughfares be looked at for appropriate lighting. He asked for the park to be expedited, as a park was needed in Tradition. He clarified that the park would not belong to the Riverland HOA, to which the Assistant Parks and Recreation Director reiterated that it wold be a City Park. Vice Mayor Martin agreed and asked that the park be completed faster than 2 years. Vice Mayor Martin moved to direct staff to move forward, as presented. Councilwoman Caraballo seconded the motion, which passed unanimously by voice vote. Page 6 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 5.c Hear Update on The Humane Society of St. Lucie County, 2019-756 Now Known as Second Chance Animal Shelter The City Manager explained that Chief Bolduc was talking to representatives from St. Lucie County and Fort Pierce for several months regarding lapses in services from the current Shelter Provider. Chief Bolduc stated that the City of Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, and the City of Fort Pierce had contracted with the Humane Society of St. Lucie County for animal sheltering services for many years. All 3 contracts were ending on September 30th. Public criticism of the sheltering services and financial issues were brought to the City's attention. On June 18th, the Humane Society sent a letter to all 3 jurisdictions, identifying contract revision suggestions, and requesting a substantial increase in funding. Ten days later, a response was sent from all 3 agencies, requesting that an operational review report from Best Friends be shared, as well as a financial audit, a projected budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and an updated Business Plan for the Shelter that would address all of the areas raised. The agencies were notified that the items requested would not be provided, and that they should make other plans for the animals as of October of 2019. Chief Bolduc said that several attempts were made to meet and it was openly discussed that additional funding for the Humane Society may be needed. He said that at this point, the representative from the 3 governmental agencies decided that an impasse was reached. He suggested that the City go out to see what other services were available to provide animal sheltering in the County. He said that staff was preparing for an emergency animal sheltering situation, but they would like to see what was available for a long-term solution. He said that when he informed the Humane Society of this, the Executive Director of the Humane Society left a message with Assistant County Administrator Jeff Bremer, indicating that he wished to negotiate the contracts. The agencies met to discuss this, but staff from all 3 agencies agreed that a Request For Proposal was the proper long-term solution. Chief Bolduc explained that the reasons for the decision included the deteriorating condition of the Human Society's finances, the lack of a budget or Business Plan, the ineffective use of fundraising over the years, and their level of animal control. He said that since the issues arose, staff from the City visited the shelter twice a week and the animal care was described as minimally acceptable. Additionally, the negotiations became increasingly difficult. Chief Bolduc said that the Fort Pierce City Commission had a Page 7 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 discussion, and decided not to renew their contract and to go out for RFP. They directed their staff to use every legal method necessary to attempt to take possession of the Fort Pierce Facility on Savannah Road. St. Lucie County secured a backup location at the St. Lucie County Airport, in the event that it did not occur. Chief Bolduc pointed out that Ron Parrish, from St. Lucie County, and Peggy Arraiz, from the City of Fort Pierce, were present in the audience. He said that it was staff's intent to make arrangements with shelters to the north and the south to provide interim shelter solution, and would be asking for authorization. It was also staff's intent to issue a 3-party Request For Proposal for long-term services. Chief Bolduc explained that staff needed authorization to work with St. Lucie County and Fort Pierce to secure an agreement for interim shelter services, to participate in a 3-party RFP for long-term sheltering services and to amend the ordinance to begin a TNVR, or Community Cat Pilot Program. He said that initially, he would like for the ordinance to give staff the ability to create the Program by policy to give them the chance to work on a County-wide ordinance that would nail down the exact details. He also asked for authorization to bring back a change to the ordinance that referred to tethering. Mayor Oravec asked Chief Bolduc to define TNVR, to which Chief Bolduc replied that it stood for Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release. He said that it was a way that organizations across the country dealt with feral cat populations. He explained that he was initially concerned about what effect domestic cat colonies could have on wildlife, but subsequent research revealed that it would not be detrimental. He added that research showed that cats who were trapped and euthanized contributed to the issue because the resources were continually available, whereas when cats were spayed or neutered and returned to the population, it was stabilized. Mayor Oravec pointed out that when people fed the cats, it led to excess resources, which contributed to population booms. Vice Mayor Martin asked if Chief Bolduc or anyone from the County received a copy of the Best Friends report, to which Chief Bolduc replied that he did a public records request to the Humane Society, requesting a copy of the report, but it was not provided by them. Someone else sent him a copy this morning. Vice Mayor Martin asked to be provided a copy of the report, to which the City Manager replied that he would provide a copy of the report to each Councilmember. Vice Mayor Martin asked to also see a copy of the audit. Councilman Carvelli asked Chief Bolduc how long he had been working on trying to put a solution together, to which Chief Bolduc replied that the issue had Page 8 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 been occurring over the last few years, but really ramped up over the last 15 months. Mayor Oravec stated that some members of the public signed up to speak on the item. Mary Milmore stated that she was appalled at what was happening at the Humane Society, and spoke in favor of the solutions proposed by Chief Bolduc, especially not renewing the contract with the Humane Society. Kathy Norton stated that she started shelter reform at the Glades Shelter, and stated that she was very concerned about the animals at both shelters, due to management issues. She asked if there was a Plan B, so that animals did not have to be euthanized. Vice Mayor Martin asked Chief Bolduc to address what would happen with the animals that were remaining, to which Chief Bolduc replied that he hoped for a smooth transition, and if authorization was given, someone would be ready to run the existing facility on or before October 1st. The animals would stay and the new organization would come in. He said that the County sent a letter, putting the Humane Society on notice that they are not to euthanize any animals without 2 veterinarians signing off on it. Mayor Oravec said that the Humane Society was an independent corporation, and the City did not control them. He said that the Glades Facility was titled to a corporation, and was not the City's facility. Vice Mayor Martin said that the elected officials got a letter from David Robertson, of the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, which called them out as being the reason that the Humane Society was in the state it was in. She said that the tone of the letter and the demands made were inappropriate. She said that she was later asked to meet with a Board member, and she informed them that the Board was being run poorly. Councilman Carvelli thanked the municipalities for stepping up to come up with other solutions, and said that he supported staff's recommendation. Councilwoman Caraballo requested that if the City was to continue to contribute money to sheltering services, that they hold a seat on the Board of the organization providing the services. She said that she supported all 4 initiatives brought forward. Councilwoman Morgan thanked the shelter volunteers for their hard work, and said that she supported all 4 recommendations. She advised Chief Bolduc to let her know if she could help. Page 9 of 10 Special City Council Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 Councilwoman Caraballo motioned to direct staff to move forward, as presented: Authorize preparation of an Interlocal Agreement with St. Lucie County, Fort Pierce, and City of Port St. Lucie to seek interim animal sheltering services beginning on October 1, 2019. As well as authorize an interim sheltering agreement with St. Lucie County, Fort Pierce, and City of Port St. Lucie and authorize the preparation of an RFP for long-term shelter service. Finally, authorize the preparation of a Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release (TNVR) of Feral Cats Ordinance and a change to the Animal Control Ordinances to include a prohibition to Tethering, similar to the St. Lucie County Ordinance. Councilwoman Morgan seconded the motion. Mayor Oravec emphasized that the volunteers went out of their way to help the animals, and thanked them for their service. He asked them not to internalize the conversation, as it pertained to the Board. He said that he appreciated the Board's hard work, but it didn't work out. He said that Councilwoman Caraballo's suggestion of holding a seat on the Board deserved to be explored. He advocated for a more convenient site than the Glades Cut Off Road facility, as it would be more convenient for citizens and would help alleviate some of the public dollars spent towards Animal Control Officers' gas, when traveling to and from the facility. He also said that he wanted to see a no-kill shelter, and that TNVR was an important piece. There being no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. _________________________________ Karen A Phillips, City Clerk ________________________________ Jeannette C. Baechle, Deputy City Clerk Page 10 of 10