Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 06-12-07 regular minutes — reading text

authority; they only have collective authority that goes by vote. He agreed they can go out to gain information to do the job better but they are not out to supervise anyone individually. He pointed out the Mayor has the rights, privileges and immunities of a member of council except that he can only vote in a tie vote; so the Mayor has the right to collect information also like the rest of Council, so they do not necessarily want the Mayor to sit there as a talking head, they want someone who is as attuned to the issues as Council because he has to be as well informed about the issues so he can make the right decision when a tie comes up. He stated the Mayor does not have any more say in running around telling anyone what to do than any of the rest of Council because they do not have that authority either, all directions given to a charter member are given in this room by vote. Mr. Holmes commented the City Attorney has put out directives about form vs. function because it has been addressed before and the ultimate goal for Council is to make the best decision with the best knowledge available to them and the Mayor brings a great amount of knowledge. He absolutely did not want to restrict the Mayor in his comments or his knowledge that will help a decision that he may be looking at. He extended to the Mayor that if he ever did want to speak then he would take the gavel so he would have the opportunity to speak. Dr. Pullen wished to know how the Mayor presented himself to the legislators when he is in Tallahassee. The Mayor replied he presented himself as the Mayor. Dr. Pullen commented his belief that the Mayor could not express himself as the Mayor and an opinion unless Council agrees to it. He mentioned when he collects information he makes it clear he is representing only himself and asking questions for himself; no Councilmember can represent Council without approval of the Council, and no board or committee can represent a committee unless they were asked to do it. He expressed that the Mayor cannot represent himself as the Mayor of the City unless he has the express approval of Council and they vote on exactly what the Mayor can say. The Mayor mentioned he usually advertises that he is going to speak advocating the Northwest Florida League of Cities position or the Florida League of Cities position, and he has presented that information to Council. He said he does not bring up anything he has not presented to Council and if there is something Council does not want him to speak on it might be appropriate to say we need to discuss it in Council if they don' t want him to represent the City on an issue. Dr. Pullen added that if the Mayor is going over to represent the Florida League of Cities that is a different matter because he is an officer of the Florida League of Cities, but not to say he is representing the Council when they have not discussed what he may be representing, but the Mayor is free to express his personal opinion. The Mayor commented it is a point well taken. Mr. Hartwell expressed his understanding that as long as the Mayor was not stating a position for the City or allocating resources, he is free to speak. He asked the City Attorney if there is no issue if it is something that has already been voted on by Council. The City Attorney commented the question relates to the issue that has been raised, is the Mayor a member of the legislative body or is he the Mayor. She said she tried to illustrate in her opinion that the Mayor is under the legislative provisions of the Charter, he is entitled to vote, but he also has other obligations to represent you all ceremonially and she thought that does give the Mayor a greater ability to state the position of the City when he knows it. She said each of Council has the right in a public setting to can say they are a Councilman and express their opinion and she has not heard one way or the other whether the Mayor is doing anything different. She said the rules, in her opinion, would apply to everyone equally because of his position in the legislative section of the Charter. c'f 28 Regular Meeting 6- 12- 07 CITY COUNCIUMAYOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND RELATIONSHIP cont. The Mayor expressed his understanding that under Roberts Rules of Order he can participate in discussions, and he tries to make sure he is asking for clarification issues, but once a motion is made he gets out of the debate. He tries to restrict his comments just for clarification. Mr. Minich commented since the Mayor does preside, he makes the rulings and lately a lot of the Mayor' s comments were for clarification other than opinions, but since the Mayor makes the rulings it is important to keep an air of impartiality unless he feels strongly about an issue, then he passes the gavel. He said it is the right of every member of Council if they think the rules are being violated they can make a point of order. Mr. Miller commented when he asks a question of someone behind the podium he would like the answered the person behind the podium to answer the question, not the Mayor who has on occasion question. He stated it is just a question of getting organized, it is not personal, it is roles and missions, they have the job of being Councilmen and he is the Mayor. Mr. Reeves commented that sometimes when trying to facilitate a group someone might feel like they are getting their toes stepped on a little bit, but that is part of the job. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. There was no one from the public who wished to speak. No action was taken by Council. FAIR ASSOCIATION LEASE Consideration of a lease agreement between the City of Fort Walton Beach and the Northwest Florida Fair Association. The City Manager referenced the draft lease agreement and went over a few minor changes that need to be made: page 3, line 74 the words be separately licensed will continue to be struck through but will be eliminated from the final version; page 4, line 96 should be buildings plural; page 6, line 130 & 131 should also state excluding windstorm coverage; page 7, line 156 rewrite the date to use the conventional date method of June 30, 2012 and line 160 rewrite the date as January 31; page 8, line 179 and 185 the zip code should be 32547; and line 173 the zip should be 32549. The City Attorney confirmed that the corrections did not change the draft lease agreement significantly. Charles Rigdon, Jr., with Fair Association said the Association thanks the Mayor and Council for the opportunity and thanked the City Manager who represented the City well. He said the base rent is acceptable and he did not want it to hold up approval of the lease tonight but the only issue not in the lease is acknowledgement that if the Fairgrounds has to be used for emergency management, they ask that the rent be pro- rated based upon how many days the fairground was actually being used. He said if FEMA pays them for the use of the buildings, then the Association should pay the City but if FEMA does not pay them then they ask that the rent be abated. He said they have no objections to the recommended administrative changes to the draft lease but the only thing he asked is to let them t" look at their deductibles on windstorm coverage. I' ., The City Manager commented if the windstorm coverage will change the outcome of the vote then Council may want to require her to bring that back to Council. She explained the reason for concern over damage to the buildings in the event of a catastrophic event is to ensure proper removal of the buildings.  29 Regular Meeting 6- 12- 07 FAIR ASSOCIATION LEASE cont. Mr. Minich received confirmation from Mr. Rigdon that other than the windstorm damage, there was no problem with the $ 1, 000 deductible for everything else. Mr. Hartwell received confirmation there is an alarm system in the facility. I'*' The Mayor opened the floor for public input. As there was no one, public input was closed. Mr. Reeves moved to approve the five year lease and three five year renewal periods for a total of a 15 year lease between the City of Fort Walton Beach and the Northwest Florida Fair Association, with the administrative modifications. Mr. Minich seconded motion and it carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, and Minich in favor and Hartwell opposed. RES. 07- 11 - FORT WALTON BEACH YOUTH COMMITTEE The Mayor read the resolution by title. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, CREATING A FORT WALTON BEACH YOUTH COMMISSION FOR THE YOUTH OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH; ESTABLISHING ITS MEMBERSHIP AT 11 MEMBERS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Cam Johnson, PIO, briefly went over the make up of the youth commission as an advisory board that will bring forward to Council for action any ideas they believe will benefit the youth of the City. During some discussion it was suggested that the wording Youth Commission be changed to Youth Committee; it was noted the committee would be governed by the Sunshine Law; and it was suggested that Section 3 include a date when Council will appoint the members. The PIO expressed the hope that the students will submit their applications to apply so he can bring at least eleven applications to Council at the first meeting in August. The City Attorney was asked if minors were subject to the Sunshine Law because it may scare the students off if they are told they will go to jail if they talk to each other. The City Attorney replied only if they talk about things that may foreseeable come before them. She said it is her position that if they are going to have a Board, Committee, Authority, Commission, or whatever it is called, they do need to be vested with the idea that they are an important authority. She did not make a big distinction between the name of the board or committee but definitely educating them on the Sunshine Law is crucial to municipal law. The PIO further explained he will serve as staff liaison for the committee and per their direction he will set their agenda as to their topics and issues they want to tackle The Mayor opened the floor for public input. As there was no one who wished to speak, public input was closed. Dr. Pullen moved to adopt Res. 07- 11, with the change of the word commission to committee. Mr. Garvie seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. I' 30 Regular Meeting 6- 12- 07 WATERWAY SIGNAGE Consideration of a request to authorize creation of signage and application to Fish and Wildlife for erection of the signage on waterways. The CDS Director explained the