Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 01-16-2010 retreat — reading text

65 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA COUNCIL RETREAT JANUARY 16, 2010 INTRODUCTION A Council Retreat of the City Council of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was held on Saturday, January 16, 2010, at Two Trees Restaurant from 8: 30 a.m. to 12: 00 p.m. with the following members present: Mayor Mike Anderson Councilmen: Mike Holmes, Virgil Miller, Dennis Reeves, Bill Garvie, Bobby Nabors, Bill Patterson, and Dick Rynearson Also Present: Bob Mearns, City Manager; Helen Spencer, City Clerk; Toni Craig, City Attorney; and public visitors Scott Mayville, Fort Walton Beach fireman and Dean Covey, citizen. PURPOSE The purpose of the Council Retreat is to discuss the direction of the City on annexation and bonds. CALL TO ORDER The Mayor called the meeting to order. ANNEXATION The City Manager discussed ways to annex land into the City to increase revenues. He mentioned one way to undertake annexation is through a dual referendum that is voted on by the voters of the area to be annexed and City voters. He noted an annexation referendum comes down to what it will cost the property owner so a campaign must address the value added such as the enhanced services of police, fire, and recreation provided by the City. He mentioned the areas north of Gamier' s Beach and areas around the hospital as candidates for annexation. The City Manager mentioned another option is through enclave annexation. He said there is a state statute that allows the City to annex areas identified as enclaves through an Interlocal Agreement with the County. He said there are eight unincorporated lots in the Kenwood area that are surrounded by the City and the County Administrator said the County Commission would consider an Interlocal Agreement. He noted the County would have nothing to lose as they would still collect taxes but would no longer have to provide any services. Discussion on annexation of the Kenwood area enclaves included the benefits of tying into the City water and sewer system as well as the added benefit of police and fire response time. It was suggested that the Kenwood residents be provided a financial incentive, such as the tap fee waived, to annex. Other areas discussed as potential candidates for annexation included the area north of Gamier' s Beach, the unincorporated areas in Sylvania Heights, Cinco Bayou, and there was brief discussion on Mary Esther and Hurlburt Field to the county line. During discussion on the Sylvania Heights area it was mentioned they may be interested because they complain they do not receive City services, their streets are in bad repair, and they have water flooding issues. It was noted that would be a good area to include in the CRA. Council Retreat 1 - 16 -10 ANNEXATION cont. Discussion on Cinco Bayou for potential annexation included the benefits to the residents with the elimination of the 25% surcharge on water and sewer, the elimination of the payment for a dedicated deputy, and the elimination of the Ocean City/Wright Fire District tax. During discussion it was pointed out each of the neighborhoods have different needs and different reasons for annexing into the City, and the campaign would need to be individually tailored for oil each area. There was consensus of Council to focus on three areas: the Kenwood area, Sylvania Heights, and Cinco Bayou to include the Gamier' s Beach area. Council tasked the City Manager to prepare an analysis on response times for the police and fire departments, and the reasons each of the different neighborhoods ( Kenwood, Sylvania Heights, Cinco Bayou, and Gamier' s Beach) would want to come into the City along with a cost benefit analysis to help them make the decision. Council also wished to know how much more revenue the City will receive and what it will cost to annex those areas. The City Manager said there are a couple of issues he would need to discuss with the City Attorney, but he has the police and fire information and would prepare something for each of the areas to bring to Council in about a month. Council discussed the timeframes in which to place the referendum on the ballot for the November 2010 general election or on the ballot for the City election in March 2011. It was noted the ballot for the November election closes in June and that March 2011 may be a more realistic target date. BONDS The City Manager briefly discussed the general obligation bond in which projects are identified, estimates of cost are established and the matter is placed before the voters in a referendum; and a revenue bond in which a revenue stream is pledged as debt service. He mentioned the only benefit of the bond market is the Build America Bonds which the federal government will pay 35% of the interest. He mentioned a bond issue will cost a lot of money; a bank qualified note is about 1 / 10 of the cost. He said in the upcoming budget hearings one of the problems they will be facing is the question of whether they will have to close some places because of the environmental conditions, such as mold issues at the Hedrick Center. He said there are going to be projects in the Capital Improvement Program next year and thought the only way to be able to fund them is through either revenue bonds or a bank qualified note, which means they will have to look at additional revenue sources. He requested Council direction on whether they wish to go forward with a bond issue Discussion included suggestions that the City Manager prepare an estimate on what type of funding is available and how much is going to be needed to get the facilities repaired; that a wish list be prepared ( facility and non -utility infrastructure needs, utility infrastructure needs, fire trucks /police vehicle needs); that the list be paired with a funding source; that Council prioritize the wish list, determine the funding needed, then figure out how to fund it; information on who is using the facilities and how many people are going to be affected by the use of those facilities; and information on hove each alternative would affect the people in the community. Council Retreat 1 - 16 -10 COUNCIL ITEMS Mr. Patterson brought up the question of when the County is going to repave Hollywood Blvd. up to Fort Walton Beach High School. The City Manager mentioned the City has written a letter to the Department of Transportation requesting to use the excess $ 900,000 in stimulus money for something else and asked if Council felt the need to direct using the stimulus money to resurface a county road. It was suggested before spending any City money that the County be called to find out where Hollywood stands on their road maintenance and improvement schedule so the City can put pressure on them to move it up on the list. Mr. Patterson brought up the question of whether the employees are going to be given a raise this coming year. The City Manager mentioned there are a lot of positions not being filled and through those unfilled positions and restructuring there are excess funds that would be used to provide an increase, either across the board or tied to merit. Mr. Reeves brought up the undergrounding of utilities on Eglin Parkway that has been discussed at previous strategic planning meetings. He mentioned improvements have been made on Eglin and it is an important corridor. He noted CRA money has been set aside to invest in the parking situation downtown and if that does not happen, there is extra money. He relayed it is something on his mind that he would like to see done. Mr. Reeves discussed his thought that the CRA Board is taking on a lot of decisions that affect people' s finances on projects where at the meeting there is a big discussion, a wish list of things they would like to see done, and questions that require the project support people to be there to answer. He expressed the need to review their scope of responsibilities, and perhaps address again the issue of Council becoming the CRA. He mentioned people come to him with problems and relayed one of the recurring issues is at the CRA meetings they make a lot of recommendations and give a lot of input into the project that is before them. He expressed his view that it adds another layer to the process and slows down a project and in this day and time they do not need that slow down or that input. He expressed his thought that it is something Council needs to think about and possibly review their duties and abilities, what they actually have control over and how much control is due them because Council is the one that is ultimately accountable. Discussion included an exchange of views on the CRA; that in the past and possibly now there were members that wanted to impose their own ideas on a project; that under the current code it would not streamline the process if Council were to become the CRA; that projects can skip the CRA process and go directly to Council because the CRA is an advisory Board; and that some ideas for future discussion may come out of the Business Retention Panel recommendations. Mr. Reeves also expressed he would like to see the pros and cons of closing Station 7 to see if there is a potential savings and what it does to response times. The City Manager relayed the Fire Chief has the IAFF report on consolidating services in draft form and Council will receive it Tuesday. Mr. Rynearson brought up his desire to find a way to give the employees a raise; his desire to conceptualize a sports ,complex with four to six soccer /football fields, four to six softballibaseball fields where the City can host tournaments to bring in huge dollars; and that there needs to be a way to inform the public how to report street lights that need to be repaired or replaced. 68 Council Retreat 1 - 16 -10 COUNCIL ITEMS coat. Mr. Nabors discussed his view that the City recreational complexes, except the golf course, are old and do not stand up to anything else that is out there. He relayed he requested Jeff Peters to put together a plan, a wish list, on what he would like to see at the Hedrick Center and other recreational complexes, how to unify them to make a more value added system for the community, and what they have to offer the unincorporated areas. He said they do not have anything that stands out that would draw someone outside into the area. He thought it is an opportunity to step up the programs and create a wonderful facility, to think on a much larger scale than just repainting Hedrick Center or fixing the walls and it is an opportunity to fund a first class recreational system. Mr. Nabors discussed his thoughts regarding employee salary increases or bonuses. He relayed in his business he does not give a raise based on the fact they have not received one in two years. He said if he has employees that go above and beyond what he asked them to do, help him do better what he needs to do to get to the bottom line every month and every year, he will give them a raise. He said he did not feel pressure to give a raise just based on the fact they have not received one in two years based on the economic situation Mr. Holmes discussed the vagrant problem and expressed that something has to be done. He relayed it is a problem he hears about every week and if they have to hire another police officer to stay in their face all the time to get rid of them, something has to be