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01/31/2005CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION CITY OF CLEARWATER January 31, 2005 Present: Frank Hibbard Mayor William C. Jonson Vice-Mayor Hoyt P. Hamilton Councilmember Carlen Petersen Councilmember John Doran Councilmember Also present: William B. Horne II City Manager Garry Brumback 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 9:02 a.m. at City Hall. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. Presentations Hillsborough County Livable Roadways Update Hillsborough County Planner Alan Steinback reviewed Hillsborough County’s livable roadways program. Committee volunteers, who meet monthly, advise the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) and focus on planning efforts and interagency/governmental coordination. The Committee is updating livable roadways guidelines. The committee is funded by MPO transportation planning funds. Committee membership is evaluated annually. Currently, the committee has no public representation. Meetings are advertised. He said the Committee is not a political sounding board, and receives little public input. In response to a question, Mr. Steinbeck said Committee guidelines, adopted as a best practices guide, are referenced in the Hillsborough Land Development Code. The Committee reviews issues on an ad hoc basis and assists the MPO with planning. Mr. Steinbeck did not know if the Committee had changed roadway development or deviated from FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) plans. He said effecting change would require involvement at a project’s inception. He reported the Committee was instrumental in encouraging the City of Tampa to construct a trail. The Committee is working with FDOT regarding the Busch Boulevard resurfacing and some I-275 links. Discussion ensued with a recommendation that Clearwater consider a similar opportunity to discuss future projects in Pinellas. A request that Mr. Steinback submit an updated draft of Hillsborough County guidelines was made. Mr. Steinback anticipated the guidelines draft will be completed by mid-year, unless the County makes changes and delays finalization. Consensus was to wait until Hillsborough County’s guidelines draft is complete before the Council discusses formation of its own Committee. Parks and Recreation Approve standard License Agreement template and grant authority to the City Manager or his designee to enter into and approve standard License Agreements for future concessions. Under current City policy, all Agreements must be approved by the City Council. The Parks and Recreation Department has many Agreements that come before the Council within the year including Joint Use Agreements, Operational Agreements, Grants, Funding Agreements, Contractual Agreements and the like. In addition, under current policy, all Concession Agreements also must come before the Council for approval. Due to the large number of Concession License Agreements that need to be entered into during the year, staff is recommending that a standard License Agreement be approved by the Council and the City Manager, or his designee be given the authority to enter into them from this point forward. The standard Agreement includes the specific responsibilities and services the concessionaire will provide for the City as well as the location, hours of operation and percent commission to the City. The Agreement also provides the necessary language and insurance requirements to protect the City. The City may terminate the Agreement at any time, with or without cause. If adopted, the standard Agreement can be used for entertainment concessions (climbing wall, bungee jump, water slide, etc.) as well as food, beverage, and retail sales concessions (hot dogs, sodas, t-shirts, hats, disks for disk golf, etc.). Revenues generated from these Concession Agreements will be used to offset general fund costs in the Parks and Recreation Department. In response to a question, Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Dunbar said the purpose of this Agreement is to provide service to the public rather than raising money. The City Attorney said the agreement covers mostly seasonal activities. The Legal Department drafts these agreements to include a termination clause allowing the City to cancel without cause or notice. Discussion ensued with a remark that considering the small number of seasonal agreements would not significantly increase the Council’s workload. The City Attorney said staff does not always have sufficient time prior to events to bring these items to the Council. Consensus was for the City Council to continue to approve these agreements until staff brings forward a policy containing guidelines and criteria for staff approval of certain license agreements, with exceptions brought before the Council. Public Communications Results of the Communications Survey Public Communications Assistant Director Joelle Castelli presented results of the PMC Associates communications survey, which randomly sampled 400 people in Clearwater. In response to a question, she said names were extracted from postal codes in Clearwater and included unincorporated areas. Calls were terminated when respondents indicated they were not Clearwater residents. Concern was expressed about the validity of the survey results due to a larger percentage of responders being over 60 than the over 60 percentage of the population. It was suggested the City explore non-traditional ways of reaching out to the public. It was suggested City representatives attend neighborhood meetings rather than having separate public meetings that are not well attended. Concern was expressed a high percentage of respondents felt the City does not value cooperation and dialog with residents. A request was made for analysis if specific zip codes responded negatively to the survey. It was recommended future surveys feature open-ended questions allowing respondents to make recommendations on how the City can improve. Official Records and Legislative Services Appoint two members to the Marine Advisory Board with the terms expiring on February 28, 2009. Consensus was to place reappointment of Edward O’Brien, Jr. and appointment of Mark A. Smith on the Consent Agenda. Appoint one member to the Community Development Board with the term expiring February 28, 2009. Consensus was to place reappointment of Dana K. Tallman on the Consent Agenda. Appoint Councilmembers as Representatives on the Regional and Miscellaneous Boards. Consensus was for Councilmember Doran to take over the Mayor’s seat on the Pension Advisory Committee, he is recommended for the Countywide Homeless Task Force, and he replace Vice-Mayor Jonson on the Mainstreet Joint Venture Committee. It was suggested the Council recommend the CRA appoint Councilmembers Petersen and Doran as the ex-officio members of the Downtown Development Board. It was directed that discussion of MPO/PSTA transportation issues be included on Work Session agendas every other month. Other City Attorney Items The City Attorney requested scheduling an impasse hearing related to IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) union negotiations. Consensus was to schedule the impasse hearing at 8:00 a.m. on February 16, 2005. Council Discussion Items Undergrounding Utilities - Jonson Councilmember Jonson recommended establishing a policy requiring the consideration of undergrounding utilities for projects totally reconstructing roadways. Discussion ensued with it being noted undergrounding is very expensive. In response to a question it was indicated cost can be a factor in determining if undergrounding is practical. The City Manager stated staff will highlight undergrounding as a topic of focus as future agenda items are brought forward. Amenity Pool Approval - Jonson Councilmember Jonson recommended the City Council, not the CDB (Community Development Board), be responsible for review and approval of Downtown amenity pool requests that are greater than a certain percentage. It was noted this would require amendments to the Downtown Plan and to the zoning code which is a lengthy process. Concern was expressed the City is inconsistent in handling density units Downtown and on the beach. It was noted the unit pool on the beach is very limited, while the Downtown amenity pool is very large and can be used in very small increments. Discussion ensued with it being noted the current system is working well and bigger projects are reviewed by City Council along with development agreements. Majority consensus to make no changes. Scheduling Visioning Sessions Discussion ensued regarding scheduling visioning sessions, with comments that staff first needs direction regarding City Council expectations. It was recommended the City Council build on what was started in 2002, revisit what has been accomplished, and listen to input from the new Councilmembers. Another suggestion was for staff to obtain information regarding St. Petersburg’s process, which includes a public involvement component. It was remarked the process will dictate the facilitator. Other Council Action Mayor Hibbard said, regarding planters at SR60 and US19, he spoke to FDOT Secretary Hartman, who said the agency will try to expedite the agreement. He requested discussion, on Thursday, regarding his recommended initiatives. Councilmember Jonson suggested rotating responsibility for writing a column for the Countryside Cougar. He distributed handouts from a seminar about taking the hometown message to Tallahassee. He thanked Councilmember Doran for helping with the Downtown clean-up at the post office. Councilmember Hamilton said he received a packet from the Outback Bowl and said the event is beneficial to the region. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 11:36 a.m.