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04/25/1988 - Town Meeting CITY OF CLEARWATER Interdepartmental Memorandum FROM: Ron H. Rabun, City Manage~~ Elizabeth S. Haeseker, Assistant City Manager TO: COPIES: Betty Deptula, Budget Director ~ SUBJECT: Town Meeting - April 25, 1988 - Countryside High School DATE: Apri 1 29, 1988 Elected officials in attendance: Mayor Garvey, Commissioners Berfield, Nunamaker, Regulski and Winner Citizens in attendance: 41 City Manager Ron Rabun presented the proposed budget using a slide presentation. Most questions from the audience pertained to the budget. 1. Dick Fitzgerald, 2686 Brattle Lane, Clearwater 34619 Thanked the Commission for giving information 6n the budget this early in the decision-making process. His current concerns are as follows: A. Would like to see a cost-control system developed, i.e., needs versus nice to have. B. His priorities are health, safety (fire and police), water, sewer and garbage pickup. C. He noted that leisure services in FY 87/88 amounted to $6 million and in the proposed FY 88/89 are anticipated to be $7.5 million. He suggested more volunteers be used in the libraries to cut down these costs. D. He mentioned some concerns about the $400,000 commitment to PACT and asked if this could be reduced or eliminated. He expressed concern that the documentation in the budget does not give the need for disbursing these dollars. Commissioners explained the commitment and indicated that PACT must reach certain funding levels in order to reduce this amount. E. Regarding the public affairs arena and the proposed enhancement in the Clerk's office, he stated this should be closely scrutinized in this time of tight dollars. 1. Town Meeting 4/25/88 F. He questioned if the dollars designated for Fun 'N Sun were in addition to in-kind services and was told that they were. G. In general, Mr. Fitzgerald asked that the line be held as far as ad valorem taxes but noted that with the decrease in growth holding the line gets harder. He also stated that streets, sewers and other infrastructure are necessary but not "showy." The Mayor reminded those in the audience that more than 50 percent of the City budget is from user fees and not ad valorem taxes. 2. Rev. Walter Campbell, 1138 Palm Bluff, Clearwater 34615 Commended the City Commission and Chief Klein on behalf of the Greenwood community and requested the following: A. 24-hour operation of the Greenwood pOlice substation. B. ,More policemen be hired. 3. Hal Ebersole, 2676 Redford Court W, Clearwater A. Requested status of the Dunedin Pass dredging. He was told this matter-is in the hands of the County and it was suggested that all citizens contact the County Commissioners. At present the County is working on response to DNR questions regarding the application. 4. Tal Rutledge, 1105 Lasalle Street, Clearwater 34615 Reiterated the percent of taxes that goes to the Police Department and Fire Department and indicated: A. Priorities are not in order -- suggested the City Commission take some of the dollars for leisure and use them for the Police Department in order that the City will get the appropriate ratio of police to citizens and provide adequate protection. B. Expressed concern over the dollars apportioned to water pollution control and indicated that every few years we spend more money to expand our plants and perhaps the answer to this problem is to curtail other people moving into Clearwater. The Commission explained that the WPC dollars are spent on treatment enhancement, not on expansion. For instance, the Marshall Street plant just received new sludge drying equipment. It was also mentioned that the City will need $40 million for advance water treatment in order for the effluent to be processed to State standards. At this time there was some discussion regarding State mandates and the proposed legislation that any mandates to local governments must be accompanied by the necessary dollars. 2. Town Meeting 4/25/88 C. Mr. Rutledge reiterated his concerns about the City's ordinance which requires landlords to be responsible for utility bills. (At thi~ point discussion ensued regarding the proposed State legislation which would not only prohibit this activity but would also prohibit cities from going after the tenant to receive the money.) Mr. Rutledge indicated that the City does not send a late notice as other utilities do; that we penalize any late payer with our $3 charge. He stated that most of our problems could be solved if we would turn off the utilities when they are not paid. 5. Frank A. Kozdras, 2014 San Sebastian Way S, Clearwater 34675 A. Mr. Kozdras wants appropriate police protection at Valencia Park. He stated that all pOlice officers have titles and there are none on the streets to enforce the laws. He said his homeowner's association is thinking of private security in order to assist the residents in their problems of drugs, garbage cans in the pool, etc. He indicated that he told the Police Department that people are even growing illegal plants in their homes and have drying ovens to take care of these plants when they reach maturity but nothing is done. 6. Bob Loeffler, 2068 Sunset Point Road, Unit 104, Clearwater 34615 A. Duri ng the fi rst week of April hi s deve l'opment experi enced a seri es of cat burglaries and other robberies. He stated the Police Department handled this well. However, he has concerns because our police ratio of officers to citizens is below the average for the State of Florida. This condominium has hired a private s'ecurity service until the Police Department can get. more employees to provide regular patrol protection. B. He proposed we hire 40 more police officers and indicated that he and others are willing to pay the amount of money required to support these officers and equipment. He does not want the budget reduced in order to hire the necessary law enforcement employees. C. He is also opposed to the utility bill legislation proposed in Tallahassee. 7. Morris Rose, President, City Center, 100 Second Avenue S, Suite 200, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 A. The City of Clearwater is a safe City but it is undermanned. He indicated briefly the Kerner Commission Report. He stated that the quantity of police is not the major priority in the North Greenwood area but the quality of the officers is. He believes the City should proceed towards accreditation. B. He briefly discussed our Police Community Relations Study which called for the pOlice service to choose the power pattern. 3. Town Meeting 4/25/88 He stated that, with the percentage of dollars going to public safety, citizens can get more for their tax dollars if they participate in the Police Community Relations Study. He also suggested that the City's manpower needs to be combined with other solutions in neighborhoods to solve the crime problem. 8. Robert B. Tegarden, St. Petersburg Junior College, P. O. Box 13489, St. Petersburg, FL 33733 A. Thinks our program on police community relations is excellent. He believes the citizen emphasis is on the time it takes to respond to a call for help and he had promised various citizens that he would take this message to the City, i.e., the need for more officers. He believes it is a good department and has a good Chief who is frustrated because he cannot do the job he is assigned to do. He indicated we have only four (4) officers assigned to control illegal drugs. Commissioner Regulski suggested the group begin to discuss what to draw from the budget and he mentioned the change in EMS service and asked for a showing of hands to see who in the audience would be willing to pay an extra $50 in taxes for more police protection. (This was based on an "average home.") Discussion continued regarding 20 percent of the budget which comes from user fees; there were suggestions that the nonresident fee should be increased; more volunteers be used in the libraries so that they can be open seven (7) days a week; the elimination of residential street sweeping. 9. Ernest Gibson, 2663 Westchester Drive N, Clearwater 34619 A. Asked how our Police Department dovetails with the Sheriff's Department, the Highway Patrol, etc. 10. Wyn Neudeck, 530 S Gulfview Blvd., Clearwater Beach 34615 A. Wants quality not quantity of police. Asked why we have an ordinance against noise when we should be using an ordinance against disturbing the peace. Said that the last two gentlemen who spoke (Mr. Morris and Mr. Tegarden) know far less than he about the pOlice service because he has lived on the beach for a long time and the last two gentlemen were from St. Petersburg and Seminole. He indicated that more pOlice may not mean better pOlice protection. 4. Town Meeting 4/25/88 11. Anne Garris, P. O. Box 3025, Clearwater 34630 A. The police aide program has worked very well and saved a lot of money. She thanked the Commission for starting the program and suggests it be used throughout the City. B. Asked that the Commission look into the way Central Services spends its money on painting and maintenance. Need to look at purchasing procedures. Is there bidding? She believes dollars could be saved going to bid on these various projects. C. She suggested the City Commission form a citizens' task force on justice. This would entail sitting in courtrooms and seeing how the whole legal system works. 12. Bill Schramm, 3213 Sandy Ridge Drive, Clearwater 34619 Questioned whether there is a reserve or contingency item within the City budget. The Commissioners responded that the City always attempts to keep 10 percent in reserve for emergencies. 13. Bill Jo1son (Address Unknown) A. Thanked the City Commission for the Town Meeting which offered residents the opportunity to speak. B. Thanked the Commission for the new Countryside Library and suggested that the library collection city-wide needs to be enhanced. He stated that the books he looks for are frequently checked out and that research information documents are limited. He requested that the libraries be opened on weekends and during the evening hours and suggested volunteers might be able to solve this scheduling problem. He also suggested that the City encourage book donations. The City could sell those received but not needed in order to augment the library budget. C. Regarding the Building Inspection Department, he stated that the inspectors rudeness is intolerable but a good inspection is very important. He gave several examples -- in his home, for example, it was discovered that the hurricane straps in the attic were not attached, etc. and indicated that builders were using our Building Inspection Department as their quality control team. Need to be sure that the Code is thoroughly and equally enforced. D. He congratulated the City on winning the sign litigation. E. He questioned the rezoning of the Paradyne property to commercial. He stated this goes against previous Commission pOlicy. The Commission attempted to explain the 3 to 2 decision for rezoning this acreage. 5. Town Meeting 4/25/88 14. Glen Warren, Tack & Warren, Inc., 806 Pierce, Clearwater 34616 A. He misses the pOlice protection in the downtown area (Officer Karlick) and hoped the City could come back to a 24-hour-a-day foot patrol. He suggested that it is important: (i) to increase the number of police officers; (ii) to assign the officers to a smaller geographical area rather than dividing the City at Highland Avenue; and (iii) ~o provide downtown with continuing foot patrol. 15. Al Sachs, 3421 Hyde Park Drive, Clearwater 34619 A. Thanked the Commission for the resolution regarding McMullen-Booth Road and asked what steps the Commission and the citizens should take at -this point. The Commission responded that personal conversations with County officials should be beneficial and that they intended to do this themselves. 16. William Aldrich (Address Unknown) .A. Mr. Aldrich is a 14-year resident and appreciates the excellent service from Chief Klein. He indicated many innovative programs have set a tone to be copied by other cities in Florida. At this point the City Commission discussed the differential response time and explained it in such a fashion that the audience was able to understand. 17. Dick Fitzgerald, 2686 Brattle Lane, Clearwater 34619 A. He suggested that the Commission declare a moratorium on commercial development within the City limits along McMullen-Booth Road until the matter of the road's proposed enhancement is determined and the future characteristics of the road are known. In response, the Commission indicated there was no justification for such a moratorium; that they would be open for extensive litigation; and that the citizens do not seem to be opposed to the widening of the road but are opposed to any connection of the road to an interstate or larger system. 18. Betty Scott, 1360 Woodbine, Clearwater 34615 A. Requested a turn lane at the intersection of Betty Lane and Drew Street so that persons will realize that they must turn left on to Drew Street from Betty Lane. 6. Town Meeting 4/25/88