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09/16/2002CITY COMMISSION WORK SESSION CITY OF CLEARWATER September 16, 2002 Present: Brian J. Aungst Mayor/Commissioner Whitney Gray Vice-Mayor/Commissioner Hoyt P. Hamilton Commissioner William C. Jonson Commissioner Frank Hibbard Commissioner Also present:: William B. Horne II City Manager Garry Brumback Assistant City Manager Ralph Stone Assistant City Manager Pamela K. Akin City Attorney Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk Brenda Moses Board Reporter The Mayor called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. at City Hall. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. Service Awards Four service awards were presented to City employees. Employee of the Month - September 2002 The Employee of the Month Award was presented to Terrance Labelle, Public Utilities Department. The City Commission recessed from 9:11 to 9:30 a.m. to meet as the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) and the Pension Trustees. PRESENTATION 1. The Pinellas County Fair Housing Study Leon Russell gave a presentation on the Pinellas County Fair Housing Study. He said the test indicates the type of educational programs that are needed to train housing providers. He reviewed his recommendations and said he appreciates Clearwater’s cooperation in the study. In response to a question, Mr. Russell said Clearwater’s results were comparable to other cities its size. City Manager Bill Horne applauded the County for pursuing this study the educational focus. 2. U.S. 19 Overpasses Update Public Works Administrator Mashid Arasteh said the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) would work with the City regarding changes to their landscaping, signage, and aesthetics standards. The FDOT will allow cross funding from one project to another to use allocation of funds from one project that cannot be accommodated on another project. She thanked the consultants for their efforts. Ms. Lynn Isaak and Mr. Joe Hitterman, FDOT, reviewed the US19 overpass project. In response to questions, Mr. Hitterman said the right-of-way costs are twice as much as construction for Drew Street. He said the FDOT would make the overhead signs directing drivers to exit US19 north of Drew to access Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard as obvious as possible. It was questioned if the sign would include direction to Downtown and the beach. Mr. Hitterman said after reviewing the alternatives and in an effort to minimize costs, there would be a pond underneath the overpass. Dwayne Kyle, FDOT, said Clearwater desires a higher level of landscaping than the FDOT normally provides, and therefore would be responsible maintenance of enhanced landscaped areas. Mr. Kyle said the landscaping dollars are provided as a percentage of the construction project which results in more landscaping for the more expensive projects. In response to a question, he said the FDOT does not require or assign a requirement or percentage of landscaping that must be comprised of large plant materials. He said some cities within the district have chosen artwork as part of their design features which include “logos”. It was remarked there appears to be little opportunity for landscaping at Sunset Point Road and Northeast Coachman Road in this design. The City Manager said as Clearwater increases the amount of landscaping, the cost of materials and maintenance increases. PUR PURCHASING 1. Purchase books and library materials during the contract period October 1, 2002 through September 20, 2003 for $85,000 from Book Wholesalers, Inc. 2. Purchase library materials during the contract period October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003 for $85,000 from Ebsco Subscription Services. 3. Purchase books and library materials during the contract period October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003 for $185,000 from Ingram Library Services. 4. Service contract software maintenance and support during the period October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003 for $80,000 from PeopleSoft USA Inc. 5. Service contract exterior painting of Marshall Street WPC Complex for $67,050 from Specialized Coating Inc. 6. Purchase Sumitomo Gear Reducers during the contract period September 20, 2002 through September 30, 2003 for $71,649 from Applied Industrial Technology. 7. Purchase vehicle replacement parts during the period September 20, 2002 through September 30, 2003 for $300,000 from Fleet Products Inc. In response to a question regarding the purchase of library materials from Ebsco Subscription Services, Purchasing Manager George McKibben said staff shops each order individually with a list of ten vendors in order to ensure the best prices. In response to a question regarding the purchase of vehicle replacement parts from Fleet Products Inc., Mr. McKibben said the City only stocks standard items and orders parts as needed to prevent stockpiling obsolete parts. He said the $300,000 is an annual amount. BU BUDGET 1. FY 2002/2003 Annual Budget a. Second Reading Ordinance #7011-02 - declaring the millage rate to be levied for the Fiscal Year beginning 10/01/02 and ending 09/30/03 at 5.753 mills (levy of 5.753 constitutes a 11.41% increase over the rolled back rate of 5.1640 mills) b. Second Reading Ordinance #7012-02 - adopting Operating Budget for Fiscal Year beginning 10/01/02 and ending 09/30/03 c. Second Reading Ordinance #7013-02 - adopting Capital Improvement Program Budget for Fiscal Year beginning 10/01/02 and ending 09/30/03 Assistant City Manager Garry Brumback said he made a presentation to the Coalition of Homeowners last Monday. The Coalition unanimously recommended the City continue as proposed. 2. Third Quarter Budget Review – approve budget amendments for fiscal year ending September 30, 2002 a. First Reading Ordinance #7009-02 – amending Operating Budget b. First Reading Ordinance #7010-02 – amending Capital Improvement Budget Budget Director Tina Wilson said the General Fund is still strong. Revenues are within $200,000 of estimates. The reserve is at approximately 10% of the budget. Enterprise Funds are doing well. ED/HSG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/HOUSING 1. Approve an Agreement between the City and the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce for tourism services in Fiscal Year 2002-2003 in return for funding in the amount of $170,000. In 1999, the City entered into an agreement with the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce to provide specific tourism services on behalf of the City in exchange for a certain amount of funding from the City. This has proven to be an excellent partnership and the City is satisfied with this arrangement. The Clearwater Regional Chamber will continue to provide visitor information services for the City at the Chamber’s business location. Services will include the preparation and distribution of visitor guides, advertising, telephone service and its attendant costs, and the operation of the tourism web site formerly handled by the City, as described in Exhibit “A” of the agreement. This fiscal year, the Clearwater Regional Chamber has mailed over 24,000 Visitors Guides to consumers requesting information. They have provided Visitors Guides for Consumer Promotions and Travel Trade promotions. The Chamber has taken advantage of cooperative advertising campaigns with Visit Florida in their Great Getaways publication and the 2002 Florida Spring In-State newspaper Coop and with AAA in their Midwest Coop, and Going Places publications. Banner and button advertising has been featured on www.flaus.com. The www.visitclearwaterflorida.com web site is continually updated and is promoted in all advertising. Funding in the amount of $ 170,000 has been budgeted for in the FY02/03 Economic Development operating budget to fund this agreement. The Clearwater Regional Chamber shall provide an accounting of said funds, as well as furnish the City with a quarterly report of activities on behalf of the City. The term of the agreement is for one year. In response to a question, Economic Development Coordinator Anne Green said last year’s contract was $170,000. She said the Visitors Information Center at the beach is not included in this amount. The City does not fund the Courtney Campbell Causeway Welcome Center. This will be the fourth year the City and the Chamber have partnered to provide tourism services. HR HUMAN RESOURCES Authorize negotiation of contract for health insurance with United HealthCare with a 18.5% increase for contract period January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003, at a total estimated annual cost not to exceed $11,407,000 [includes both City ($7,895,000) and employee/retiree/COBRA/Out-of-Area ($3,512,000) premiums], continue mental health/substance abuse and EAP coverage contract with Bradman/Unipsych at estimated cost of $159,820 for contract period of January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003, and continue current funding strategy for HMO Standard Plan at 100% for "Employee Only", 72% for "Employee plus One" and 62% for "Employee plus Family", with same dollar amounts contributed to other three plans (HMO Buy-up, POS Standard, and POS Buy-up). The contract with the City’s current medical insurance provider, United HealthCare, expires on December 31, 2002. In June 2002, the Benefits Committee, headed by the Human Resources Department, distributed a Request for Proposal (RFP) for medical insurance coverage. There were five respondents to the RFP: United HealthCare, Cigna, Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Aetna. The Benefits Committee reviewed the submitted RFPs and used the following criterion to evaluate the proposals in five specific areas: benefits offered, cost, medical network disruption, customer service, and quality. United, Cigna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield were selected as finalists for interviews; however, Blue Cross Blue Shield withdrew from the process. The Committee interviewed the two remaining finalists. Based on the ratings and interview results, staff and the Benefits Committee recommends United HealthCare be awarded a one-year contract to provide medical insurance coverage for the coming calendar year (January – December 2003). Additionally, staff recommends Bradman/Unipsych be awarded a one-year contract to continue EAP and mental health/substance abuse coverage for City employees and their covered dependents for January – December 2002. The current agreement with Bradman, which went into effect January 1, 2001, guarantees the same rates and services for three years. This renewal would be the third year of the guarantee. For fiscal year 2003, the City has budgeted $7,427,200 for the City’s share of both medical insurance coverage and EAP/Mental Health/Substance Abuse coverage. The City’s estimated share of these expenses for FY 03, which covers three months of the current contract and nine months of this proposed contract, is $8,132,643. The difference between budgeted and actual costs, estimated to be $705,443, will be paid out of the Premium Stabilization Fund. Costs related to this contract for coverage from October – December 2003, estimated to be $2,628,403, will be budgeted as part of the fiscal year 2004 budget. Staff also recommends that the current funding strategy for City contributions to health care be changed as follows: maintain 100% for HMO Standard “Employee Only”; increase from 72% to 75% for “Employee plus One”; and increase from 62% to 68% for “Employee plus Family”, and apply the same dollar amounts calculated in the HMO Standard plan to the tiers in the HMO Buy-Up, POS Standard, and POS Buy-Up plans. This recommendation is based on an evaluation with seven of the other benchmark agencies in the area, which shows that making these changes will raise the City’s contribution level to the average of the employer contributions of the other agencies. In response to a question, Human Resources Manager Cynthia Bender said a comprehensive wellness program is not in the budget, however the City is looking at ways to improve wellness initiatives. In response to a question, Mr. Gehring, the City's benefit consultant, said insurance costs for healthcare are on a roller coaster ride. Healthcare providers are pushing to limit lawsuits and the legislature is reviewing ways to address healthcare issues. He felt that insurance carriers also would offer innovative programs next year. The City Manager said the City must proceed carefully when instituting a wellness program. MR MARINE /AVIATION 1. Marine and Aviation Business Plan - Recommend Commission approval of the Marine and Aviation Department five-year business plan for FY 2003 through FY 2007. It is necessary to receive City Commission approval permitting the City Manager to approve any Marine and Aviation Department rate increases as market demand or economic conditions change. As in past Business plans, these changes may range from 0% but not exceed 10% in any given year. Increases above 10% in any given year would still be required to come before the City Commission for approval. This plan is an update of the July 1996 Clearwater Municipal Marina Business Plan and describes the current operation and financial projections and projects for the department over the next five years. The Marine and Aviation Department is made up of five different divisions that are funded by both general and enterprise funds. The two enterprise fund programs are the Clearwater Airpark and the Clearwater Municipal Marina. The Cities Parking enterprise fund pays for the Beach Safety program. The general fund programs are the Clearwater Sailing Center and Pier 60. The Sailing Center will be transferred to a 501 (c) 3 “not for profit” organization under a management agreement with the city. The Seminole Street Launch Ramp rate increases are the most controversial in this plan in that they have not changed in since 1986. The launch ramps exist to serve the recreational boat launching community of Clearwater. It is open seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Approximately 30% of the users are not Pinellas County residents based on random reviews of vehicle license tags in the parking lot on weekends. Ticket sales forms have been modified to capture more user information. Clearwater residents most likely are fewer than 70% of the users. Parking permits are only necessary between 6:00 A.M. to sunset and are sold on-site in a cost sharing agreement (75% City, 25% on-site manager) with the management of the adjacent privately owned Bait House. The revenue generated is used to maintain and repair the city facilities and fund dredging CIP’s. Effective 1 October 2002 the new daily rates will raise from $3.00 per day to $5.00 for residents and $7.00 for non-residents. Monthly rates will increase from $10.00 to $15.00 for residents and increase from $15.00 to $30.00 for non-residents. Annual rates will also increase from $100.00 to $150.00 for residents and increase from $150.00 to $240.00 for non-residents. By comparison, the ramp rates at Dunedin Launch Ramp cost $2.14 per day for Dunedin residents and $10.70 per day for non-residents. They do not offer monthly launch permits. The cost for an annual permit for a Dunedin resident is $26.75 and the cost for a non-resident is $107.00. The City of Dunedin only has 17 launch ramp parking spaces and 50 parking spaces for persons with boat slips. Marine & Aviation Director Bill Morris reviewed proposed public slip rate increases, fuel prices and discounts as part of the Marine and Aviation Department’s five-year business plan for FY 2003 – 2007. The last increase in slip rates was in 1987. He reviewed beach safety, revenues to pay for beach guards, beach equipment, etc. He said although Clearwater’s lifeguard salaries are among the lowest in the State, Clearwater’s lifeguards are some of the best trained, winning several related awards. He reviewed Pier 60 improvements and revenues. He said the Clearwater Airpark continues to operate under the premise of a Master Plan. Mr. Morris said proposed rate increases for fuel slip rentals, lifeguard salaries would be presented to the Commission. Discussion ensued regarding annual, monthly, seasonal, and daily slip rental rates for residents and nonresidents. Consensus was to have the percentage of increase by more for non-residents than for residents. Mr. Brumback said the City would like to pursue asking hoteliers on the beach and the DDB to participate in funding lifeguard salaries. PR PARKS AND RECREATION 1. Approve contract with Julian and Helen Weiss to purchase Crest Lake Subdivision, Blk. B, Lots 15-18, a.k.a. Park Lake Motel, for $490,000 plus additional consideration of $60,000 together with estimated costs for environmental, survey and demolition expenses of $35,000 for estimated total of $585,000. The City is replacing and relocating the playground of Crest Lake Park and building a new dog park on the old playground site (SW corner of existing park). An opportunity has presented itself to expand the park west of Glenwood Avenue with the purchase of this property. The only parking available at Crest Lake Park is parallel parking along the east side of Glenwood Avenue. For years residents and visitors to the park have requested that additional parking be provided. However, residents closest to the park were opposed to a parking lot on the interior of the park. The purchase of this property will provide a location where additional parking could be constructed and not disturb the interior of the park and provide needed parking for the dog park. In addition to the enhanced parking, this property would be landscaped so as to be an improved and attractive entryway into Clearwater. Space could also be reserved so that some type of public art could be included in the future. Staff has met with representatives of the Skycrest neighborhood who are in favor of purchasing the motel property and expanding the park. Staff has notified all property owners adjacent to the park along Glenwood Avenue of the proposed purchase and invited them to attend a public meeting on July 23, 2002 to discuss the purchase. If this property is purchased, various options would then be available regarding the future design of the park as well as Glenwood Avenue. Funding for the purchase of the property would come from available Open Space and Recreation Facility Land Impact Fees that are applicable to this purchase and as included in CIP 93267 “Parkland Purchase”. Funds for future development and improvements to this property have not yet been identified; however, major park improvements are identified in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for FY 2012. In addition, staff will attempt to secure grants and other funding for improvements identified. James M. Millspaugh, MAI, valued this property at $475,000 in an appraisal performed June 4, 2002. Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Dunbar said the City would be looking at all available grant opportunities. In response to a question, he said the additional $60,000 is for furnishings, closing costs, real estate broker fees, etc. He said impact fees come from new development within in the City. They can only be spent for land acquisition. He said after using some of those fees, there would still be approximately $900,000 in impact fees left. PD POLICE 1. Award a contract to B & H Photo Video for $55,014, and a contract to Media Visions for $91,563 for expenditures of federal grant funds from the US Department of Justice for a FY 2001 COPS Technology Grant The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), has awarded the City of Clearwater a FY 2001 COPS Technology Grant in the amount of $748,350 for a period of one year. The funds will be provided through a special Congressional Earmark that was designated for the City of Clearwater to enhance the Police Department’s existing computer network and technology applications. The funds provided through this grant will be utilized to purchase a variety of computer hardware and software products designed to aid in computer operations, emergency response deployment of the Command Bus and community crime prevention programs. The items being purchased from B & H Photo Video include DVCPRO Format Video Recorders and Studio Camera Systems Equipment. Items being purchased from Media Visions will include Intercom Wireless Headsets; Digital Multi Effects, Synchronizers, and Terminal Equipment; Image Monitoring; Production Switcher (Modules Only); Add Input Module Options; Add Output Module Options; and Beta Format Video Recorders. There is no match and there are no additional positions required for this grant. All costs will be charged to Special Project No. 181-99339. The third quarter budget amendments will establish project 181-99339, COPS Technology Grant, to recognize the grant that was awarded to the city on 1/1/01. In response to a question, Police Chief Sid Klein said the equipment will be used to support video operational needs for a Police Department bus, however the equipment also could be used elsewhere in the City for community outreach programs, and computer technology programs. He said the associated repair costs and subsequent software licensing fees would be absorbed in the Police Department’s annual budget. He said this video equipment is necessary for use in the prosecution of crimes and for major events. It helps present a defense against civil liability situations. Chief Klein said as the bus is not fully operational, estimates for maintenance costs are unavailable. The bus must be continuously air conditioned and would be parked in a secure location. 2. Contract with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Largo, Florida, for latent fingerprint and crime scene services including evidence and property storage during the contract period October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003, at a cost of $490,084.33 The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Clearwater Police Department have had this contractual arrangement since January 1, 1994. This contract covers latent print examination, evidence storage and crime scene processing. The total cost of the contract is $490,084.33, which is a 4.5% increase over last year’s contract. Of this total cost, $76,862.03 is for latent fingerprint services and the balance, $413,222.30, is for evidence storage and a base workload of 2,500 crime scene processing calls for the contract period based on a rate of $151.99 per call. The 2,500 crime scene call base was provided by the Clearwater Police Department for the Sheriff’s use in establishing his manpower and equipment allocations. Billing for requests for service in excess of 2,500 calls, should this become necessary during the period of this agreement will be invoiced at the rate of $151.99 per call. Funding for this agreement is available in the Police Department’s fiscal year 2002/03 operating budget. In response to a question, Chief Klein said the proposal for Clearwater to provide police services to the City of Safety Harbor made the point that Safety Harbor pays the Sheriff less than the true cost of the level of service they are receiving Chief Klein said after evaluating all the cost associated with providing this service in-house, staff has determined it is much cheaper to contract this service out to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office It was remarked that the City would look carefully at all the charges and fees levied on Clearwater by the County to ensure Clearwater is getting its fair share of the 26% of taxes it already gives the County. It was felt that Clearwater citizens are paying for services to other cities and for unincorporated areas. SW/GS SOLID WASTE/GENERAL SERVICES 2. Award a contract to Peterbilt of Central Florida of Winter Garden, Florida at a cost of $146,600 to purchase one 2003 Peterbilt with EZ-Pack Body front-end loader (FEL) for Commercial Recycling, and provide for initial vehicle preparation costs estimated at $4,400 for a total cost not to exceed $151,000. Commercial Recycling currently operates two front loader vehicles to collect cardboard five days a week, and to collect recyclables from the Pinellas County dropoff-off centers. The commercial recycling customer load has increased sufficiently to create the need for an additional service vehicle and will generate the revenue to fund the purchase. The Solid Waste Department plans to operate this vehicle with current staff. An impending increase of $5,000 per diesel engine, as of October 1 of this year, enables the City to save money by purchasing at this time. This purchase piggybacks the City of Tampa purchase order #FM02200093 (Bid #91013002). Initial vehicle preparation will be accomplished by Fleet Maintenance at an estimated cost of $4,400. Approval of a third quarter, FY2001/02, amendment that will establish a new Vehicle Acquisition capital improvement project #315-96807, by transferring $151,000 from #315-96806, Recycling Vehicle Replacement capital improvement project to cover this purchase. In response to a question, Director of Solid Waste/General Support Services Bob Brumback said this vehicle would support the cost of picking up recyclables from County drop-off centers, as the City receives a portion of the revenues from the collected recyclables. PLD PLANNING 1. Public Hearing and First Reading – Ordinance #7003-02, Ordinance #7004-02 & Ordinance #7005-02 - Annexation, Land Use Plan Amendment and Rezoning for properties at 717, 719, 721, 723 & 725 South Bayview Avenue; 3018 & 3024 Penmar Drive; and Lot 5, Tract B of the Myron A. Smiths Bay View Subdivision (in Section 16, Township 29 South, Range 16 East) Owners: Our Lady of Divine Providence, House of Prayer, Inc. This development site is comprised of eight parcels of land and is located on the east side of South Bayview Drive and on the north and south sides of Penmar Drive, north of Old Tampa Bay and is 3.08 acres in area. This annexation, land use plan amendment and rezoning is requested by the applicant Our Lady of Divine Providence, House of Prayer Inc. who intends to construct a 12,000 square-foot place of worship on the site. Five of the eight parcels (721 & 723 South Bayview Avenue, 3018 & 3024 Penmar Drive and Lot 5, Tract B of the Myron A. Smiths Bay View Subdivision) are located in Pinellas County and the applicant is requesting the City annex them. The applicant is aware of the costs associated with extending and connecting water and sanitary sewer lines to this site. The Planning Department determined that the proposed annexation is consistent with the following standards specified in the Community Development Code: The proposed annexation will not have an adverse impact on public facilities and their level of service. The proposed annexation is consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the Countywide Plan, the Community Development Code and Pinellas County and Florida Law. The proposed annexation is contiguous to existing municipal boundaries, represents a logical extension of the boundaries and does not create an enclave. Please refer to the attached annexation (ANX 2002-05007) report for the complete staff analysis. The Pinellas Planning Council (PPC) and Pinellas County have reviewed the annexation of the subject properties pursuant to the Pinellas County charter amendment approved by referendum on November 7, 2000 and no objections were raised. The five parcels currently located in the County plus three parcels (717, 719 & 725 South Bayview Avenue) already located in the City are part of the land use plan amendment and rezoning request. The applicant is requesting to amend the Future Land Use Plan Map designation of all eight parcels from Residential Low (RL) to Institutional (I). Additionally a zoning atlas amendment is requested to rezone the parcels currently located in the County from One, Two & Three Family Residential (R-4) to the City’s Institutional (I) District and to rezone the three parcels located in the City from Low Density Residential (LDR) to the Institutional (I) District. The Planning Department determined that the proposed land use plan amendment and rezoning applications are consistent with the following standards specified in the Community Development Code: The proposed land use plan amendment and rezoning application are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed use is compatible with the surrounding area. Sufficient public facilities are available to serve the property. The applications will not have an adverse impact on the natural environment. Please refer to the land use plan and rezoning (LUZ 2002-05006) report for the complete staff analysis. In accordance with the Countywide Plan Rules, the land use plan amendment is subject to the approval of the Pinellas Planning Council and the Board of County Commissioners acting as the Countywide Planning Authority. Due to the size and/intensity of the plan amendment site, review and approval by the Florida Department of Community Affairs is not required. The Community Development Board reviewed these applications at its public hearing on August 20, 2001 and unanimously recommended approval of both applications. In response to a question, Long Range Planning Manager Gina Clayton said as this is a religious use, the property would be tax exempt. Objections from the surrounding neighborhood regard increased traffic and the church’s expansion into the neighborhood. Ms. Clayton said this is not a full-service church. She will report regarding any historic sturctures. There is an Indian midden on the site, not an ancient burial site. The church has submitted a conceptual site plan to the Planning Department, which includes one building with an extensive walkway system. The plan intends to preserve the natural features on the site. The building will include a library and additional administration and mediation space. Ms. Clayton said concurrency management only requires the owner make improvements if they are going to degrade the level of service. Staff believes this project would not degrade the level of service. CLK CITY CLERK 1. Award a contract to Identitech, Inc., Melbourne, FL in the amount of $105,000 for the development of an electronic Agenda Management System for the City Clerk's Department. Identitech, Inc. is the provider of the City’s current imaging system. This product will work in conjunction with the imaging system and is therefore a sole source purchase. The City’s current agenda planning process is manual in nature. The labor-intensive process requires handling the original documents several times in producing the meeting agenda package. Excessive paper handling promotes the opportunity for errors and higher costs. Identitech, Inc. has proposed developing a comprehensive electronic agenda management system that will enable the City of Clearwater to streamline the process of creating agenda items, getting them approved using an advanced workflow function, and then managing them through the City Clerk’s office. It is expected that this system will reduce the time for agenda items to work their way through the City Clerk’s office and Senior manager by seven days. This project will result in improved quality and reliability of the City’s Agenda Management processes and will benefit all City departments. Terms of the contract provide for the development and testing of this system from October 14, 2002 through January 21, 2003 with a Go Live date of February 12, 2003. Funding is available in capital project 315-94753, Integrated Document Management System, to provide funds for this contract. City Clerk Cyndie Goudeau noted an error in the title as the dollar amount should be $117,000. She said this new Agenda Management System would streamline the agenda process. This paperless initiative will provide an electronic workflow process that will automatically route agenda items in the system to the appropriate department manager, allow for full text searches by words or phrases for any items that come before the Commission, and eliminate functions and conserve staff time. The final product would be available to the public electronically. Information Technology Director Dan Mayer said staff would provide training on the system to all appropriate parties including the Commission. Other City Attorney Items 1. Authorize an increase of $50,000 to the monetary limit on the contract with the firm of Rogers Towers Bailey Jones & Gay, P.A. for outside counsel services related to representation in Granite State Outdoor Advertising v. City of Clearwater, to cover costs of appeal proceedings. The City has been involved in litigation relating to billboard amortization provisions of its Land Development Code. The City has obtained partial Summary Judgment in its favor in this case. The cost for the planning consultant used in this case was higher than expected, resulting in a deficit of approximately $48,000 in the amount previously budgeted for costs. Granite State Outdoor Advertising has appealed the court’s order to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. A Third Quarter budget amendment will provide the transfer of $50,000 to the Legal Department Budget from the unappropriated retained earnings of the General Fund. City Attorney Pam Akin said this hopefully concludes this case. In response to a question, she said the City typically does not ask for fees to be awarded, as the judge does not generally agree. The City could attempt to do so, however, attorney fees and associated costs would be incurred. City Manager Verbal Reports Mr. Dunbar presented renderings of the Community Sports Complex. He said the City now officially owns the former Home Depot site. He expects that site and the structures at Bomber Stadium to be demolished by the end of this month at which time construction of the new complex would begin. He said everyone who has seen the design for the new complex has been impressed. October 16 is the tentative groundbreaking date. He requested the Commission provide any comments they may have to him no later than the end of next week. Commission Discussion Items Central Insurance Fund Finance Director Margie Simmons said one of the Commissioners had requested information regarding how the reserves in the Central Insurance Fund are estimated. She said an actuary reviewed claims, etc. and estimates what he thinks the City should retain for claims payable, then applies interest earnings, arriving at an estimate for the fund. Ms. Simmons said she takes the best estimates but does not include interest earnings as they can fluctuate greatly. It was requested that a policy regarding the process for Central Insurance Fund be included in the Commission’s Policies and Procedures. 2. County Rental Code Concerns have been raised regarding enforcement against transient accommodations rentals occurring in the single family zones on the beach. The County side rules define transient accommodations as less than a month, more than three times a year. The City code is allowed to be more restrictive and is in that it does not include the more than 3 times per year. Advertisements on the internet for short term rentals of less than 30 days are for houses in the single family zones. Discussion ensued regarding the need to enforce our code or change it. It was indicated individuals renting houses in this manner need a license and some taxes will be due. There was general agreement that staff should proceed with enforcement. A definition of long term and seasonal rental is to be included in the code. 3. Senate Bill 1906 - School Planning Ms. Tarapani said Senate Bill 1906 regarding school planning requires local governments to add a nonvoting member to the CDB (Community Development Board), add a voting member to the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, and requires all cities to enter into an agreement with the School District to share information about population projections, expansion of schools, and redevelopment that might affect schools. It also requires a process for local governments to become involved in renovating schools, buying new sites, offsite improvements, and many other processes of the School Board. The City is required by the State to have the agreement in place by May 1, 2003. It was remarked that the School Board and County Commissioner Latvala have requested that an official representative from each municipality serve on a committee to work on the agreement. Consensus was that Commissioner Gray serve as Clearwater’s representative. 4. Spokesperson Rule Ms. Goudeau said concern has been expressed that some speakers are soliciting members of the audience at City Commission meetings to designate them as spokesperson, thus allowing them more time to speak. Consensus was for the City Clerk to draft an amendment to the rule which would tighten up the requirment. Other Commission Action The Mayor wished Vice-Mayor Gray a Happy Birthday. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 12:50 p.m.