Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 02-27-2007 regular agenda — reading text

proponents/ opponents. J. D. Taylor, 210 Gilmore Court SE, commented on the difficulty in reading the ordinance. As there were no further comments, the public hearing was closed. Mr. Tucker moved to adopt Ord. 1717 on first reading ( proposed phase). Dr. Pullen seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson., Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. . QUASI- JUDICIAL SITE PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT ORDER - SULLIVAN CONDOMINIUMS Consideration of a request by Emerald Coast Associates, agent for G& S Enterprises .of NW Florida, LLC, owner,' for a site development plan and a development order ( MPB Case # 06- 16- SP) to construct Sullivan Condominiums, 16- unit condominium complex, located at 504 Sullivan Avenue NW. The project consists of three ( 3) two- story buildings, totaling 16 three- bedroom, 2. 5 bath dwelling units, with a single car garage, each unit will contain 1, 760 square feet in area. The City Attorney gave the oath to everyone who expected to testify on the issue. Darryl Bmgis with Emerald Coast Associates, agent for G& S Enterprises, confirmed they will comply with the condition of approval and requested Council approve the request. SULLIVAN CONDOMINIUMS cont. Mr. Mitchell, Long- Ranger Planning Manager, reported the Municipal Planning Board recommended Council approve the site plan and development order with the condition that the. condominium homeowner' s documents shall be reviewed and approved by the City Attorney prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. He submitted the staff report for the record. The Mayor opened the public hearing. As there was none, the public hearing was closed.  Regular Council 2- 13- 07 188 SULLIVAN CONDOMINIUMS cont. Mr. Holmes moved to approve the site development plan and a Development Order to construct Sullivan Condominiums located at 504 Sullivan Avenue NW, with the condition the condominium homeowner' s documents shall be reviewed and approved by the City Attorney prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Mr. Campbell seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. CITY LIBRARY l Consideration of a request to place the City' s Library up for sale. Mr. Tucker stated the Library in its location has accomplished what it was set out to do, to draw businesses downtown, and it is time to move the Library to a place where it can be used more easily by the majority of the public. He believed it is in the long- term best interest of the City and he was prepared to make a motion. . Mr. Minich raised a Point of Order that once a motion is made they could not receive public input. . Mr. Tucker moved to suspend Robert' s Rules of Order. Dr. Pullen seconded motion and it carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, and Minich in favor and Hartwell opposed. Mr. Tucker moved that the City Manager and City Attorney take necessary steps to place the City Library at 185 Highway 98 up for sale. .Dr. Pullen seconded motion. Charlene Greenwald, 206 Jet Drive, read into the record a letter dated February 12, 2007 addressed to the Mayor and City Council. As shop keepers in the library lobby, members of the Friends of the ForfWalton Beach Library hear patrons concerns and experience the issues that swirl around our public library. Major concerns are: Accessibility Patrons .cite the location as difficult to get to, out of the way. For example, westbound drivers intending to use either First or Eglin ne'ed to be braking through the Eglin/ Florida Place intersection rather than accelerating as the light is followed within feet by a stop sign. Not close to neighborhoods except immediate downtown condo community. Parking Insufficient spaces available except at night when patronag.e of the library is low probably due to safety & - accessibility concerns. Any special occurrence at the library, a small meeting, a' large meeting, city training, children' s reading hour, etc., causes a parking overflow. That's even when Snowbirds are not in residence; when they are a full parking lot starts just about from 9 am opening. While additional parking is available off Ferry, patrons view off site accessibility as a major inconvenience and are quite vocal about the ' parking Access to, the library using the situation.' Ferry lot is either round- about using sidewalks or hiking the shorter path over uneven, rocky & dirt property, then around the retention feature landscaped by tall ornamental grass and inhabited by feral. cats. During construction to insure parking met code requirements, spaces were designed to meet bare minimum standards resulting in ,short, narrow design and minimal maneuvering open area. Parking and navigation of the compact lot in general, are a challenge for everyone, especially those with big vehicles, as the tire marked, sharply banked, U shaped round- about curb will attest to. Reports of . .. vehicle dings, scratches and incidents are common. ' Design j The long walk from the parking lot to the front door is a frequent source of complaints, particularly seniors. The strain is sometimes visible in body language. Loss of some patronage might be attributed to this favor. Inside, the long, narrow design limits staff' s ability to monitor activities & the check out counter does not face the door with the same limitations. Electricity costs are high. At the end of January, electricity was at 44% of budget for the year! Regular Council 2~13- 07 189 CITY LIBRARY cont. Safety Concerns that children cannot safely access the library using bikes or even walking has been expressed. There are general concern about personal safety especially so at night probably explaining low evening patronage. . Utilization It is said patrons have quit using the library because of difficult accessibility, lack of adequate parking and problems associated with the shelter seeker' s constant presence. This in turn may be causing the library to be underutilized, thus, sharing in less of the cooperative money pie distributed according to patronage. Ascetics The absence of available ground to provide an ascetically pleasing environment is a loss for the community. Other than City Hall, the library is the single most important municipal building and should add to the identification of the city. The design should be handsome, the setting beautiful. Instead, the city' s library is hidden behind a wall that attempts to disguise a carwash. In fact, the library entrance is exactly in front of the carwash machines. ' Attempts to disguise' is a carefully worded description because there is no way to . ignore the sounds of machinerY at work, car radios blasting and water mist disbursed by thewind. Those distractions are inescapable consequences of location. Friends membership has experienced concerns with all of the Behavior problems such as foregoing. aggressiveness, overt staring/ inappropriate comments; non- conformanceto rules and acceptable social standards create a strained atmosphere between library patrons and shelter seekers. For a library to be the focus of on going controversy detracts from its mission to provide citizens with top notch service and, so, during the regular monthly Friends meeting February 12, members voted unanimously to support Councilman Tucker' s proposal to explore the relocation of the- library to a more user friendly location. Respectfully submitted on behalf of Friends, Charlene Greenwald, President" Virgil Miller, 26 Chelsea Drive, candidate for City Council, commented he was approached about his position on the issue and said if the City can get their money out of it and move it to a better location, he was for it. He said now the property is more valuable they need to get it on the tax rolls. J. D. Taylor, 210 Gilmore Court SE, expressed his satisfaction with the library where it is located. James Thoreen, 33 Anastasia, expressed interest in hearing Council discussion on the funding, the trade off between the price of the sale and purchase of the new equipment when debating the motion. The City Manager reminded Council money was borrowed to fund the library construction and the City received a State grant. She mentioned that, should the motion pass, research will need to be done to. determine if there are any limitations about whether or not the public financing would in any way prohibit the City from selling the property. Discussion was held with an exchange of views on relocating the library. Comments included uncertainty on the replacement value; uncertainty on whether the City can declare the library property excess and move fOlWard without having a viable plan to replace it; to let the public know there is property for sale to see if there is interest; the suggestion that the City consider relocating the library to property already owned on the west side of the auditorium; that the City should move forward if the . time comes the library outlives its usefulness but it is too premature to consider relocating the library; that it would not hurt to find out what would be offered for the property and explore doing something better; uncertainty that the motion as presented to put the property out there for sale is the right direction to take; that it should be explored to determine whether it can be done, determine whether it is a viable option, and whether the .City will make money to reduce or retire the debt; .the suggestion that staff be tasked to explore the possibility of relocating the library; that the City move ahead, start now to put it out to the public and start moving in that direction; and concern whether it is something the City can do. The City Attorney was asked if the motion was clear and if the City could do it.  Regular Council 2- 13- 07 190 CITY LIBRARY cont. , The City Attorney stated that Council can make the motion and