Village Council Workshop

Village of Wellington 12300 Forest Hill Blvd Wellington, FL 33414 Action Summary - Final-revised Monday, March 10, 2014 3:00 PM Village Hall Village Council Workshop Bob Margolis, Mayor John Greene, Vice Mayor Matt Willhite, Councilman Howard K. Coates Jr., Councilman Anne Gerwig, Councilwoman Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final-revised March 10, 2014 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Margolis called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. 2. REVIEW OF COUNCIL AGENDA Mr. Schofield presented the Agenda for the March 11th Council Meeting for discussion and review. A. 14-195 CERTIFICATES OF CORRECTION FOR NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENT Mr. Schofield presented the item. There were no changes recommended. B. 13-0423 AUTHORIZATION TO RENEW ANNUAL PATHWAY AND MINOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS Mr. Schofield presented the item. Councilman Willhite stated, for all future agenda items, he would like Fiscal Impact to read: “Funds are allocated in the amount of $____________ for ___________ items.” He thought this would let Council know how much they are spending on an annual basis. Vice Mayor Coates indicated he would like to know the total cost of the contract. C. 13-0430 AUTHORIZATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF POURED IN PLACE SAFETY SURFACING AT VARIOUS PARKS Mr. Schofield presented the item. Mr. Barnes provided details and answered Council’s questions. Councilman Greene thought a lawsuit regarding one of the parks had to do with the equipment someone was on versus the surface they landed on. Mr. Barnes stated he would have to check that, as he did not recall the particulars of the lawsuit. D. 13-0336 AUTHORIZATION TO AWARD CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF LIQUID DISPERSION POLYMER Mr. Schofield presented the item. There were no changes recommended. E. 14-149 RESOLUTION NO. R2014-13 (RIGHT-OF-WAY PURCHASE FOR SOUTH SHORE PHASE III IMPROVEMENT PROJECT) A RESOLUTION OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA'S COUNCIL AUTHORIZING STAFF TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR THE SOUTH SHORE PHASE III IMPROVEMENT PROJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Schofield presented the item. Mr. Riebe responded to Council’s questions. Village of Wellington Page 1 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final-revised March 10, 2014 Vice Mayor Coates was disturbed that the Village started the process for the 120th project two years ago, and he had to hear from the residents it was not going to happen. He said, as a matter of transparency, if staff decides a capital improvement is no longer viable, Council needs to be informed. Mr. Schofield was not aware of any staff decision. He said, as part of the CIP process in any given year, projects will be moved forward or back depending on Council direction. Vice Mayor Coates wanted to know where the Village was with 120th, because the plan was to pave a portion of it. Mr. Riebe stated they would update the Council. Vice Mayor Coates stated he wanted to see the minutes, because his recollection was the project was approved, it was in the CIP, and it was just a matter of when to start construction. Mr. Schofield indicated staff would get him the minutes. F. 14-172 ORDINANCE NO. 2014-18 (PURCHASING AND PROCUREMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL FOR THE VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON) AN ORDINANCE OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA'S COUNCIL REPEALING SECTION 2-335 OF CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE VII OF WELLINGTON'S CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO BID PROTESTS; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Schofield presented the item. Ms. Cohen provided the details. There were no changes recommended. G. 14-191 PRESENTATION OF AUDIT RESULTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 Mr. Schofield indicated the audit presentation would be rescheduled for the March 25th Council Meeting. H. 14-201 RESOLUTION NO. 2014-16 (URGING FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ADOPT AND GOVERNOR SCOTT TO SUPPORT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES PROVIDING FOR REGULATION OF RECOVERY RESIDENCES OR "SOBER HOUSES") A RESOLUTION OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA'S COUNCIL URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ADOPT, AND GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT TO SUPPORT, LEGISLATIVE CHANGES PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF RECOVERY RESIDENCES OR "SOBER HOUSES" IN THE FORM OF STATEWIDE LICENSING AND REGISTRATION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Schofield presented the item. Ms. Cohen reviewed the recent activity regarding this issue and answered Council’s questions. Councilman Greene stated he would like to know how many sober houses there are in Wellington and what the Village could do legally. Ms. Cohen Village of Wellington Page 2 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final-revised March 10, 2014 thought it would be helpful to provide a memo to Council outlining what the Village could and could not do under the law regarding Sober Houses and Congregate Living Facilities (CLF) as well as what the courts have said in various cases. Vice Mayor Coates thought the resolution was undefined, as it did not state the will of this Council, what they believed was an acceptable policy or what the accountability would be. Ms. Cohen stated the resolution supported state legislation and a model resolution drafted by the Palm Beach County League of Cities, and they were asking all municipalities to adopt it. Vice Mayor Coates thought they needed to have some guidelines as to what they were actually supporting. Ms. Cohen stated staff could provide Council with a copy of the proposed bill they were being asked to support. Vice Mayor Coates asked if another municipality had passed an ordinance that withstood scrutiny and why would they involve the state in what they could do in Wellington. Ms. Cohen stated Council would adopt its own policies, but this was being proposed state wide. She did not think it was going to pre-empt local governments, but it may enhance local government’s ability to address the issues. Vice Mayor Coates asked if she could look at the statute and make sure that was the case. Councilwoman Gerwig also asked her to check the Delray ordinance, because it was very new and she doubted it had been through much scrutiny yet. Councilman Greene and Councilman Willhite wanted the Village to be more restrictive with sober houses by using code enforcement and any other resources available to them currently. Ms. Cohen stated this was in the development stage. She said they had gathered a lot of information and were putting together a policy to bring before Council. Vice Mayor Coates thought neighborhoods across the country were bothered by sober houses, so he believed it was a prime issue for their lobbyist who has federal contacts. Ms. Cohen agreed it needed to be focused on at the federal level. I. 14-200 RESOLUTION NO. R2014-15 (ADOPTION OF POLICY FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS INCIDENT TO ETHICS COMPLAINTS) A RESOLUTION OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA’S COUNCIL ADOPTING A POLICY FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS INCURRED BY CITY OFFICERS, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES IN SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDING ETHICS COMPLAINTS. Mr. Schofield presented the item. Ms. Rogers explained this issue and responded to Council’s questions. Mayor Margolis thought the hourly rate for a specialty attorney was low. Ms. Cohen stated that number was chosen because it was the standard used by everyone. However, Council was free to increase it, as $300/hr. was not Village of Wellington Page 3 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final-revised March 10, 2014 unreasonable. Vice Mayor Coates did not have a problem with $300/hr. However, he was not for a policy that would incentivize private attorneys to get paid more for these matters then they would charge to the municipality affected by what they were doing. He thought if the rate was set at $300, and the same attorney had a lower government rate, the Village policy should require that lower government rate. Vice Mayor Coates wanted to know if there were ways to factor in instances where a settlement would either disqualify or qualify someone for reimbursement. He thought the policy did not deal with settlement at all. Ms. Rogers indicated they did not deal with settlement in the proposed policy as she would caution them against making that determination, because the ethics commission at the local level as well as state level, based on the type of settlement they enter into, will include a finding of guilt or a non-finding. She said that would still be considered a settlement at the local level, and she believed that was something they should not categorize as non-reimbursable. Councilman Greene and Mayor Margolis did not think they should categorize the settlements for qualifying reimbursements. Vice Mayor Coates understood Ms. Rogers to say it would come before Council on an ad hoc basis each time there was a gray area. Ms. Rogers stated that was correct. If that was the case, Vice Mayor Coates wanted to add to the last sentence under Section 2, “. . . that it is in the sole and absolute discretion of the Council.” He said he did not want there to be any perception of entitlement, as it would always be subject to the discretion of Council. Councilwoman Gerwig questioned the legal representation of Dr. Priore. Mayor Margolis was not sure, but stated he would pull the records. Vice Mayor Coates did not believe the Village Attorney could not represent a Council member if they had an ethics complaint brought against them for relying on the advice of their counsel to vote instead of to recuse themselves. He stated he would like to have that checked. Councilwoman Gerwig stated she leaned towards $250/hr. for an attorney, unless expertise was required, Council agreed the expertise was unique and it was an unusual circumstance, and a standard government attorney would not cover it at that rate. Mayor Margolis thought it would be interesting to know if the municipalities that have accepted the $250/hr. were under the Florida League of Cities insurance plan and had a maximum limit as well. 3. WORKSHOP 4. ATTORNEY'S COMMENTS Ms. Cohen stated the Canvassing Board met this morning and canvassed the absentee ballots. She said the Board would be meeting again tomorrow night in Riviera Beach after the Council Meeting to canvass any additional absentee ballots. Village of Wellington Page 4 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final-revised March 10, 2014 5. MANAGER COMMENTS Mr. Schofield mentioned they had the proposed ballot language for Saddle Trail, along with the maps, a slightly revised drawing, and a better cost estimate that included interest if paid over time. Before staff sent this out, they wanted to make sure Council was aware of the process. He stated a neighborhood meeting was suggested, and he thought that was a good idea. 6. COUNCIL COMMENTS Village of Wellington Page 5