Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 04-18-06 special minutes — reading text

year period. The project would be in two phases; the first phase is to hire a consultant to a GIS develop Implementation Plan and the second phase to hire a consultant to collect the required field data and create a GIS database of the City' s infrastructure. John Hofstad, Utilities Director, explained the County GIS is more related to property boundaries and does not include their entire infrastructure. Mr. Tucker moved to develop water, sewer, and stormwater GIS asset mapping ($70, 000 in FY 06- 07 for implementation plan; $ 250, 000 in FY 07-08 for field data collection & database creation; 250, 000 in FY 08- 09 for field data collection & database creation; $ 250, 000 in FY 09- 10 for field data collection & database creation; and $ 180,000 in FY 10- 11 with $30, 000 for Hi- speed T1 cable from field office to City Hall, and $ 150, 000 for hardware and software). Mr. seconded Campbell motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. Attainable Housina Partnership Proaram Cstrateaic plan aoan Should an Attainable Housing Partnership Program be pursued? The City Manager explained the goal is to partner with existing housing programs to attain affordable housing in the City. Staff is proposing to include a Housing Coordinator in FY 06- 07 with funding to be split between the General Fund and the CRA Fund. She also explained the need for a second Code Inspector so that the Neighborhood Improvement Coordinator can focus on neighborhood responsibilities full- time. r 180 4- 18- 06 Special Council Attainable Housina Partnership Proaram cont. Dr. Pullen moved to authorize a second Code Inspector in the General Fund in the FY 06- 07 budget. Mr. Tucker seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. MainStreet FundinQ Should the City continue to support MainStreet? The City Manager recalled in the past Council decided that MainStreet should be self-sufficient, and then r1... Council directed her to investigate the possibility of hiring an Executive Director for MainStreet using CRA funds. She reported she was unable to find many MainStreet Directors that worked for a City. U and will be During brief mention of funding for MainStreet, it was noted that funding is not a policy issue addressed during the budget process as a line item. Council took no action to support ongoing Main Street operations by contracting for an Executive Director in FY06-07. Expand CRA Public Safety Initiative Cstrateaic plan aoal) Should the public safety initiative be expanded in the CRA area? The City Manager mentioned if authorized, an additional position for a sworn officer would need to be added and will increase the authorized positions for the department by one. Mr. Holmes moved to authorize a second sworn officer in the CRA Fund in the FY 06-07 budget. Mr. Minich seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. Expand Police Take- Home Vehicle Policy Should the shared take- home vehicle program be expanded to a non- shared policy? The City Manager explained an additional 18 marked units, with equipment and computer wiring and mounting would be needed, and it is proposed in next year's budget to purchase four vehicles. She noted to purchase 14 additional vehicles over the next three fiscal years it would cost approximately $71- 72, 000 to purchase 5 vehicles in FY 06- 07, approximately $ 71- 72, 000 to purchase 5 vehicles in FY 07- 08, and approximately $ 58, 000 to purchase 4 vehicles in FY 08-09; or approximately $ 200, 000 to purchase the vehicles in FY 06- 07 budget. It was questioned whether a police officer driving a marked vehicle outside the City limits had authority to give a ticket, the Police Chief explained the police officers do not have authority outside city limits for an infraction, but could have authority for a felony. The City Manager clarified that the current 20 mile radius restriction would be lifted with a non- shared take- home vehicle policy. Mr. Patterson moved to implement, immediately ( FY 06- 07), a non- shared take- home vehicle policy through the acquisition of 14 used vehicles in FY 06-07, with the understanding it may take up to 12 months to acquire and equip all vehicles. Mr. Holmes seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. Police Pre-Service Hirina Proaram Should a Police Pre- Service Hiring Program be implemented?  181 Special Council 4- 18- 06 Police Pre- Service Hirina Proaram cont. The City Manager explained the program would pay academy tuition, exam fees and a salary prior to a candidate entering the City' s Field Training and Evaluation Program and in exchange, police candidates would be required to sign a contract to provide good police service for three years following completion of the field training: if the candidate fails to complete the academy, the field training or three years of service, then reimbursement of the City's expense would be required. Ted Litschauer, Police Chief, acknowledged that the candidate would have to sign a contract to agree to provide three years of good service and if they fail to do that then they pay back the City. He mentioned the success of this program in recruiting and retaining police officers at his previous place of employment. It was suggested that the difference between minimum wage and the actual wage also be included for reimbursement; or that the salary be designated as a stipend that would have to be repaid in full. The City Manager stated a contract can be drafted by the labor attorney. Mr. Holmes moved to fund law enforcement academy tuition and exam fees for up to the number of officer vacancies at the time of the next enrollment period for the law enforcement academy. Mr. Campbell seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. Fire Station 7 Renovations CstrateQic plan aoal) Should Fire Station 7 ( Lewis Turner Blvd.) be renovated? The City Manager went over three renovation options with a preliminary total of $750,000. Phase I would be to renovate the sleeping quarters, shower facilities, locker rooms, and bathrooms; to modernize the kitchen, apparatus bay, computer room and gym facilities, at an estimated cost of $300, 000; Phase II. in addition to the renovations in Phase I, would be to refurbish the outbuilding that is currently leased to the County EMS and turn it into a combination training room/ back- up Emergency Operations Center capable of sitting 30 students, and to construct a portico shelter capable of storing operational trailers, primary movers, and reserve apparatus, at an estimated cost of $ 240,000; and Phase III, in addition to the renovations in Phases I & II, would be to demolish the training tower and burn building and construct in its place a new training tower and burn building, at an estimated cost of $300, 00. She suggested the funds be borrowed from the Florida League of Cities to phase in the improvements over a three- year period. Discussion included borrowing the funds to do the renovations of all three phases at once. The City Manager mentioned if it is Council' s desire to immediately implement the renovations, then drawings would be needed and costs lined up before borrowing the money. Mike Dutton, Fire Chief, clarified that Station 7 would have communication capability as a back- up emergency operations if needed during a hurricane, but there would be no sleeping facilities. Mr. Patterson moved immediate (FY implementation and issuance of debt for Fire Station 7 06-07) renovations. Mr. Holmes seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. Fire Command Vehicle Should a % ton utility vehicle with command module be purchased? The City Manager explained the Fire Chief proposes allowing the ~ ton pickup truck to be used by the fire inspections then to purchase a new command size vehicle. She recommended a new fire inspection vehicle be purchased and to postpone the purchase of a command vehicle. r-' 182 4- 18- 06 Special Council Fire Command Vehicle cont. the equipment to During brief discussion, it was mentioned that the command vehicle also houses monitor the safety of the firefighters and currently the firefighters are not being monitored; and that the purchase of a new command vehicle has been postponed for a number of years, and that it is needed for the safety of the firefighters. Dr. Pullen moved to fund the purchase of a new command vehicle. Mr. Campbell seconded fI' motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. fIIlI Emplovee COLA Should there be an annual cost of living increase effective October 1, 2006? The City Manager went over the previous years COLA adjustments and the surrounding jurisdictions anticipated COLA increase for next year. She wished to know whether Council would like to provide a and and if what rate they wish to set. She noted COLA adjustment for the general police employees so,