Loading...
01/11/1994 " , , " '". ' NAC ..' q. . t Minutes Neighborhood Advisory Committee .' DATE ,. 1- //- 9L/ -1- /Lf~ ~l'.~;.:~' " . '1 ~ . ,. ,----.., AGENDA CLEARWATER NEIGIlBORIIOOD ADVISORY COM.l\fiTTEE t 14th REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL ANNEX - DRC CONFERENCE ROOM 10 S. MISSOURI AVENUE TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1994 7:30 P.M. l. 2. 3. 4. \:;} 5. Call to Order Approval of minutes of previous meeting (See attached). Discuss FY 92/93 Grnntec Perfonnance Report (See attached). FY 92/93 Pinellas County Consortium's Annual Perfonnance Report (See attached). Old Business Discussion . Pat Lafferty dminage issue (See Attachment C). . Results of December 15, 1993 Commission Meeting for: a) Demolition Policy. b) Foreclosure Policy. c) 1991-92 Final Statement Amendments. 6. New Business Discussion . Proposed 1994-95 CDBG. Application Process (to be distributed at the NAC meeting and discussed at the February 1994 meeting. (see schedule attached) 7. Meeting Adjoumed v It ,! H ;":..'< C:. . < JI" . . . . . .:r.:., c. i;.' . ~t~:~1:'"~.:,,', . h.,..>. .., NAC , ' , ' Minutes :Neighborhood Advisory Committee DATE . /""llw 11/ :{-/LfS ,. . '." , . . , . I . I rl.~:1 . T OFFICIAL CLEARWATER NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY COMMITTEE 114th Regular Meeting January 1 1, 1994 Clearwater City Hall Annex DRC Conference Room MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE Cherry Harris Ralph linn Rudy Miller, Vice Chrmn Richard Hinseher Willie Brewton Thomas Brooks John Gammage (P) (A) (P) (A) (A) (A) (A) , Milly Joplin Fred Infinger Robert Mitchell Darrell Collins, Chairman Mary Heard Tina Pimenidis (P) (A) resigned (A) (P) (P) (A) Others present: James Polatty, Michael Holmes, Pat Fernandez, all from City, Lois Cormier, Vernel Brown, Pat Lafferty and Bob Joplin, residents. 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:42 pm by Darrell Collins. 2. Corrections to the Minutes of 12-14-93 included a statememt from Darrell Collins who believed the City was liable. He felt the committee needed to hear from all parties involved so the committee could determine if they felt the City was liable. In the last paragraph on #8 the reference to a debate should be changed to a discussion with a 15 minutes maximum per party. Punctuation is to be placed around the Judgement Day comment. It was suggested th~ pages be numbered. A motion was made by Rudy Miller and seconded by Cherry Harris that the Minutes of 12-14-93 with the above corrections be approved. Motion carried. ; '-'" 3. Jim Polatty discussed the FY 92/93 Grantee Performance Report. He explained changes that appear on pages 26, 27 and page 28. He advised members the bus tour will not take place this weekend and that the City Commission listened to their recommendation and will aI/ow police officers to wait in line for a house, not be moved favorably ahead of others, with the added stipulation that no officer live any closer than either 500 or 1000 feet apart. 4. Mike Holmes covered in detail the FY 92/93 Pinel/as County Consortium's Annual Performance Report. Members were advised there is no prioritization on the waiting list. It is first come, first served. Milly Joplin inquired if Clearwater had no availability, could the person go to Largo? The answer was, tlyesll . '..--' 1 , . " .. ~ L . . ,...._ ~ i. , . ~ . '. w' , .' , The report listed the amount of assistancE- provided for Jow-to-moderato income families in the area. Rehab work done at Woodlawn Gardens is an example of what is covered by this report. Vandalism necessitated the repairs. The units were acquired through the RTC. CFS acquired the property as it fits into their role of providing such services for the community. Mary Heard, in response to her question, was advised the minimum down payment is $1,000.00. Borrowing this money could affect the allowable ratio for borrowed funds. 5. Darrell Collins asked if a Public Works representative would make their presentation on Ms. Lafferty's flood problem. Jim Polatty provided a copy of the January 7, 1994 memo from Bill Baker in which he explained that no municipality builds storm sewers to withstand every deluge and that resolution of Ms. Lafferty's claim of city culpability is the responsibility of Risk Management. Mr. Potatty reminded the members that Ms. Lafferty had already taken possession of the property when her brother stored all her possessions in the garage and then the rains came. Members were advised that Leo Schrader of Risk Management had our agent, Johns Eastern, review this matter and they denied the claim. >---., ,.- At the request of the Chairman, Jim put a drawing on the board to illustrate the levels at which both the house and garage were built. He informed us all building was to code. The foundation contained fill to bring the living area of the house to the flood plain. The garage was built to code but is slightly below the crown of the road elevation and is below the flood line. Mr. Polatty advised that both the builder, Peter Wright, and Dixie Walker- Duncan, the City's Rehab Specialist, advised her of the possibility of flooding. Ms. Lafferty also was required to obtain flood insurance. Mr. Polatty felt that since he has a response from Public Works; advised the members of Leo Schrader's view that this was an "act of God" and not reimbursable; that Ms. Lafferty's home was built to code; that flood insurance was a requirement; and last, the contact by both Mr. Wright and Ms. Duncan-Walker who personally advised her of possible flood problems that the city i~ not negligent or liable. DarreH Collins asked Ms. Lafferty to present her case. Jerry Spilatro told her neighbors did not want her to build as they believed the Jot should be a retention pond. Ms. Lafferty thought flood insurance was required because of her proximity to Stevenson's Creek. She explained the crest of the road is 8', her house is 11' which is the flood elevation line, but her garage is at 7.95'. She has subsequently learned homes in the area have suffered from flooding for years. 2 -../ . . . r' .....-- . . po . , . . She states Roy Sattinger advised her not to have the builder put in the driveway before the City replaces the storm drain. The storm sewer is inadequate and cannot handle the runoff. During building, when she expressed some concerns, the builder put in a swale on each side of her house. Her property is at the lowest elevation in the area and drainage pipe to the creek cannot always accommodate the runoff from Fairmont and adjoining properties. Seven inches of water in her garage during the storm destroyed her belongings stored there. Her home suffered no water intrusion. Ms. Lafferty called Jerry Spilatro who after inspection made an offer of $500.00 if she signed a statement was City was not liable. She turned him down and called Steve Watry. Mr. Watry was sorry and offered $500.00 on a moral issue to compensate her for her loss. Mr. Polatty and Mike Holmes agreed to the proposed payment. Since neither was adequate she turned them down. Calls to Public Works for relief resulted in Mr. Baker coming out. .".,/' Mr. Baker suggested she put in a speed bump before the entrance of the garage to keep water out. Ms. Lafferty requested sand bags and was informed the City does not supply them. Mr. Baker visited a neighbor and suggested the neighbor build a dike and pull a plug when the water reaches a certain level. The builder advised Ms. Lafferty it was not his problem. Dixie Walker~Duncan took photos of the damage. Mohammed Abdur-Rahim examined her flooding and saw the storm sewer failed to handle the run off from this storm. The drainage system needs to be fixed to accommodate the new building in the area. This is on the Public Works list of projects to be done. The exact date scheduled is unknown. Pat advised her flood insurance did not cover the damage and excluded her garage. Her homeowners insurance denied her claim. Darrell Collins questioned the wisdom of allowing garages to be built lower than the street level. Mr. Collins and Cherry Harris expressed the view that it might be necessary for them to appear before the City Commission to get the sewer work moved to a priority status by the City. He believes this committee should determine if a flooding problem does exist; if the city is negligent; and what action should be taken. Mr. Polatty, as an advisor, informed the committee of their options. They could make a recommendation to the City Commission to consider this a housing case and appeal the decision. If this were a housing case, they could ask that we look into making improvements of the swale. The storm water runoff needs to be addressed by either fixing the sewer, adding a french drain, or a swale. Cherry Harris recalls noticing the large pipes put in during her walks on the Pinel1as Trail. They were huge and are now literally filled with sand. She wonders why as she is a Harbor Drive resident that it is now 22 years of complaints, the problem of flooding gets progressively worse and she is curious as to when the City is going to clean out all those pipes. 3 Mr. Polatty informed committeo members that Leo Schrader would require a waiver absolving the City of any liability jf a payment were made that would absolve the City of any further liability. He added that new home owners are now more thoroughly advised about potential flooding and insuranco coverage. Darrell Collins made a motion: 1 ~ Based on factual presentation before the NAC, there is insufficient evidence to prove the City is liable and this motion is not to be taken as such; 2) That the sewer be of sufficient size and either be replaced or repaired as soon as possible with some ongoing maintenance and that the street's storm water inlets be thoroughly cleaned by the Public Works Department; 3) As a good-faith moral gesture, the City find funds in the amount of $1500.00 to replace items Mr. Lafferty lost and 4) To go an record that this is not a City Risk Management issue but a housing problem. The motion was seconded by Cherry Harris. Rudy Miller asked if the City agreed to the figures Ms. Lafferty entered in her loss itemization. The reply was no. Mr. Collins felt the City would have a happy resident if we satisfied her making this gesture. The motion carried. Mr. Polatty said he would advise the City Manager's office of the NAC , concerns and they would either find monies or pass their resolution onto the City Commission for action. Mr. Polatty covered the results of the last commission meeting. ;.. '... The bus tour will be scheduled in February and City Commissioners will travel along with the committee if they so elect. '..-' There will be revised talks about how to disburse COSG funds this year. Our recommendations as well as social service recommendations will be received and considered in making agency selection determinations. Mr. Collins asked Mrs. Cormier if she wished to speak. She advised she is now addressing this matter by involving herself and others in a thorough review of the whole infiJI housing program including the choice of lots. CNHS and CSF also have lots. She has the right to look over staff's shoulder and will continue to do so. She recently saw a program completed by King Engineering which dealt with flood insurance. Mr. Polatty stated the City had a program last year where significant savings to residents were available based on efforts of the City resulting lower flood insurance rates. Stevenson's Creek is one of her areas of, concern. Ms. Cormier advised that Rosemary informed her Fred Thomas is interested in her efforts. She believes the City has an obligation to protect the home owner. 7. Darrell Collins motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Cherry Harris and the meeting adjourned at 9:37 pm. 4 ~"