05/11/1998
CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE
CITY OF CLEARWATER
May 11, 1998
Present: Timothy A. Johnson, Jr. Chair
Richard Fitzgerald Committee Member
William Justice Committee Member
Mayme Hodges Committee Member
Grant Petersen Committee Member (arrived 4:16 p.m.)
Pat Greer Committee Member
Douglas Hilkert Committee Member
Judy Mitchell Committee Member
Carolyn Warren Committee Member
Pamela Akin City Attorney
Cyndie Goudeau City Clerk
Brenda Moses Board Reporter
Absent: Jackie Tobin Committee Member
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
Approval of April 27, 1998, Minutes
Member Mitchell moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April
27, 1998, as recorded and submitted in written summation to each Committee member.
motioncarried
The was duly seconded and unanimously.
ITEM #1 - Establish Rules of Procedure
Consensus was 6 committee members must be present to constitute a quorum,
and 6 affirmative votes are necessary for action to be taken.
motion
Member Greer moved to elect Douglas Hilkert as Vice-Chair. The was
motion
duly seconded. Member Justice moved the nominations be closed. The was
Motioncarried
duly seconded. unanimously.
It was requested members be supplied dividers for notebooks entitled: 1)
charter; 2) minutes; 3) notes; 4) other material; 5) recommendations; and 6) members.
ITEM #2 - Discuss Review Process
A. Technique
As discussed at the last meeting, it was agreed to review individual sections of
the Charter.
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B. Public Input
It was agreed to schedule: 1) a public meeting to give citizens an opportunity to
discuss items they feel should be included or excluded from the Charter; 2) Committee
meetings to review each section of the Charter; and 3) a final public input meeting
before final recommendations are made to the City Commission.
ITEM #3 - Preliminary List of Substantive Issues for Consideration
A. City Commission Mandate
The City Commission’s mandate to the Charter Review Committee is to conduct
a global review of the Charter; 2) identify changes that will facilitate the City’s Vision
and implementation of One City. One Future.; and review purchasing and property
provisions, emergency and maintenance dredging, lease uses, and term limits.
Members will receive a copy of the mandate for their records.
B. City Staff Requests
The City Attorney reviewed a list of suggested City staff requests for Charter
review and explained why staff feels those items should be changed. The purchasing
provision requires Commission approval for items above $10,000. Exceptions need to
be made for emergencies, an RFP (Request for Proposal) process, and for services
that are not capable of being bid. In response to a question, the City Attorney said the
existing purchasing ordinance is inconsistent with the current Charter. The City
Attorney agreed to formulate some less restrictive language for committee review.
The current maintenance/emergency dredging limitation restricts the City from
dredging a retention pond or cleaning Stevenson’s Creek. Dredging also requires
numerous approvals from various agencies such as the Department of Environmental
Protection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineering, Pinellas County, and in some cases, the
U. S. Coast Guard.
The surplus property provision prohibits donations to charitable organizations
and requires a sale to the highest bidder, regardless of the type of business. Staff
suggests this section be deleted or changed to allow an option to declare City-owned
property as a redevelopment site, allowing designation of acceptable uses by the
successful purchaser, regardless of highest bidder. A comment was made that the
verbiage “acceptable uses” could pose future title problems when the property is re-
sold. The City’s practice of giving the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) City-
owned property because they are exempt from the bidding process was questioned.
An existing provision requires the City Commission’s approval for employing any
outside legal counsel. One suggestion is to allow the City Manager and City Attorney
to employ outside legal counsel up to $100,000 annually for any one contract without
Commission approval. Consensus was to delete this from consideration.
C. Review List of “Interesting” Issues Prepared by City Attorney
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The City Attorney distributed a copy of Pinellas and Dade County’s citizens’
rights provisions. In response to a question, she said no Florida model charters exist
for committee use. She will provide members with excerpts of other cities’ charter
provisions that are substantially different than Clearwater’s. Most charters are driven
by the form of government chosen.
D. Review List of Issues Requested for Consideration by each Committee Member
Members viewed the Charter as the constitution of the City, providing guidance
to the Commission with operational restrictions. It was suggested a mechanism be
developed to encourage more citizens to participate in government. It was felt the
Charter should be streamlined by eliminating unnecessary details. Some items could
be better served by ordinances.
ITEM #4 - Set Meeting Schedule
Consensus was to limit meetings to one and one-half hours per meeting. It was
agreed to schedule meetings as follows: 1) a public input meeting June 1, 1998; and 2)
Charter Review Committee meetings June 29, 1998, July 20, 1998, August 10, 1998,
August 31, 1998, September 21, 1998 and October 5, 1998. All meetings to begin at
4:00 p.m.
ITEM #5 - Other Business - None.
ITEM #6 - Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
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