Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 04-10-07 workshop minutes — reading text

231 MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 10, 2007 INTRODUCTION A Council Workshop Meeting of the City Council of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was held on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 at 5: 30 p. m. wth the following members present: Mayor Mike Anderson Councilmen: Mike Holmes, Virgil Miller, Dennis Reeves, Bill Garvie, Dr. Wayne Pullen, Jim Hartwell, and Mike Minich Also Present: Joyce Shanahan, City Manager; Lisa Absher, Finance Director; Toni Craig, City Attomey; and Department Directors CALL TO ORDER The Mayor called the meeting to order. He announced a lengthy workshop agenda and noted that discussion may have to be limited in order to get through the whole agenda; if not, the workshop may have to be recessed in order to begin the Council meeting at 7: 00 p. m., then reconvened after the Council meeting. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Mayor led in the Pledge of Allegiance. INTRODUCTION OF NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS The Mayor introduced new Council members Virgil Miller, Dennis Reeves, and Bill Garvie. UPDATE ON COMMUNICATION SERVICES TAX ISSUE Suzanne Brownless, Franchise Attomey for the City, updated Council on the Communication Services Tax ( CST) Issue and the meeting that was held with herself, the City Manager, the Finance Director, and representatives from the Department of Revenue ( DOR) in Tallahassee. Ms. Srownless advised they were informed by DOR that a series of audits is being done all over the state for all CST providers, which DOR expects to be done by late June and is the time will have they the data necessary regarding the proper amount of CST taxes that should have been remitted for all jurisdictions. Ms. Brownless discussed the legislation written by her and the DOR to address the repayment issue, and advised the legislation is supported by the DOR and of Cities, and will know soon League whether the bill has passed the House and Senate. She explained if it does not get passed. a proposed emergency rule would be established to allow the DOR to put in the rule the same language. Ms. Brownless was asked how many counties are impacted by this, and responded she asked the same question and was advised the position of the DOR is that certain information is contained in tax filing and is confidential information to the vendor filing it; therefore that information could not be divulged. Ms. Brownless stated her opinion is that the DOR is taking the necessary steps to resolve the CST issue. The Mayor thanked Ms. Brownlass for providing this information to Council. t;.-',..~ 232 Council Workshop 4- 10- 07 CHANGE IN AGENDA ITEMS Mr. Minich noted the full agenda and suggested that Item 6, Discussion on Board and Committee Appointments for 2007, could be discussed at this time since action will be required at the Council meeting later this evening, thus allowing time for the other items which may take longer to discuss. CHANGE IN AGENDA ITEMS Mr. Minich moved to table Item 3, Goals and Responsibilities of City Council Members, Item 4, Fairground Lease Negotiations, and Item 5, Location of the New Courthouse Property, to u enable Council to discuss Item 6 in a timely manner. Mr. Holmes seconded motion. Dr. Pullen advised he wanted the opportunity to discuss the position paper he distributed to Council, either now or at the end ofthe Council meeting. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion and it carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Hartwell, and Minich in favor and Pullen opposed. Mr. Minich moved to suspend Roberts Rules of Order during discussion of Item 6. Dr. Pullen seconded motion. Mr. Hartwell amended the motion to suspend Roberts Rules of Order for the remainder of the Council Workshop. Mr. Miller seconded motion. The Mayor called for the vote on the amendment and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion, as amended, to suspend Roberts Rules of Order for the remainder of the Council Workshop and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. COUNCIL BOARD/ COMMITTEE APPONTMENTS FOR 2007 The City Clerk suggested discussing each appointment separately, and noted that an alternate representative needs to be appointed. The City Clerk advised the Mayor has offered to serve as an altemate to all of the boards as he has the time, if Council desires. Dr. Pullen advised he would like to continue on the Library Cooperative, the Head Start Board, and the Okaloosa Community Development Corporation ( OCDC). The following boards are one-year appointments, from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008. EDC Mr. Miller volunteered to serve as representative for the EDC and Dr. Pullen volunteered to serve as alternate. LIBRARY COOPERATIVE Dr. Pullen volunteered to continue on the Library Cooperative and Mr. Garvie volunteered to serve as alternate. OKALOOSA-WALTON TRANSPORTATING PLANNING ORGANIZATION ( OWTPO) Mr. Holmes, Mr. Garvie, and Mr. Hartwell volunteered to be the representatives for the OWTPO. Mr. Minich volunteered to serve as alternate for Mr. Holmes; Mr. Reeves volunteered to serve as altemate for Mr. Garvie; and Mr. Miller volunteered to serve as altemate for Mr. Hartwell. Council Workshop 4- 10- 07 233 OCDC Dr. Pullen volunteered to continue on the OCDC and Mayor Anderson volunteered to serve as alternate. OKALOOSA COUNTY LEAGUE OF ClllES (OCLOC) The Mayor advised that the OCLOC consists of the nine municipalities with the Mayor of each municipality the primary members, with the Mayor Pro tem serving as alternate. Consensus was that whoever is appointed as Mayor Pro Tem will serve as the alternate to the OCLOC. MAYOR PRO TEM Mr. Minich volunteered to serve as Mayor Pro Tem, and will serve as the alternate to the OCLOC. REGIONAL UTILIITY AUTHORITY ( RUA) Mr. Reeves volunteered to serve as representative for the RUA and Mr. Garvie volunteered to serve as altemate. TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL rrDC) Mr. Minich volunteered to continue on the TDC, where he serves as Chairman. Mr. Holmes volunteered to serve as alternate. WEST FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL (WFRPC) Mr. Miller volunteered to serve as representative for the WFRPC and Mr. Garvie volunteered to serve as altemate. The following boards are calendar year appointments from January to December. Alternates will need to be selected to serve until December. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Mayor Anderson is the representative until December 31, 2007. Mr. Garvie volunteered to serve as altemate. OKALOOSA COUNTY HEAD START Dr. Pullen is the representative until December 31, 2007. Mr. Minich volunteered to serve as alternate. NORTHWEST FLORIDA FAIR ASSOCIATION Council received clarification from the City Attorney that the Council representative will vote on matters regarding the Fair Association during a Council meeting, and during meetings of the Fair Association they may have to abstain from voting. Mr. Miller volunteered to serve as representative for the Fair Board and Mr. Hartwell volunteered to serve as alternate. OKALOOSA GAS BOARD The City Clerk advised that this is a four-year term until December 31 2007, with former Councilman Bill Patterson serving until that time. She advised that since Mr. Patterson is no longer on Council, he would have to be appointed by Council, as a private citizen, to continue on the Board from 1 April through December 31, 2007. Mr. Miller stated that a current Councilmember should be appointed to the position.  234 Council Workshop 4- 10- 07 GAS BOARD ( CONTI Bull Rigdon, member of the Gas Board, advised the law says that members are appointed for four years, and can only be removed with cause, and it does not matter whether an individual is a member of councilor not. Consensus of Council was to vote on these appointments during the regular Council meeting. GOALS/ RESPONSIBILlT1ES OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS Discussion on goals, responsibilities and duties of City Council Members. t'...;.. Mr. Minich moved to remove items 3 - 5 from the table. Mr. Reeves seconded motion and it I' carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. GOALS/ RESPONSIBILlT1ES OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS cont. Dr. Pullen advised he asked this to be placed on the agenda as a point of interest for the new Council members and as a review for the current Council. He mentioned the Public Records Law; enforcing the City Ordinances; that Council may appoint an Assistant City Manager to serve when the City Manager is absent; Council and employee relations; the impartial enforcements of all laws by the City Manager; the establishments of boards and committees by Council; and all boards and committees work for and are appointed by City Council. Dr. Pullen also noted receiving emoluments other than regular compensation by members of Councilor City employees; and the establishments of workshop agendas. Discussion included holding a workshop to discuss the Charter as it has not been reviewed since the 1980' s, and contains out-of- date phrasing