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11/10/1993 CITY COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING November 10, 1993 The City Commission of the City of Clearwater met in special session at City Hall Annex, City Hall Annex Community Room, November 10, 1993 at 7:30 p.m., with the following members present: Rita Garvey Mayor/Commissioner Arthur X. Deegan, II Vice-Mayor/Commissioner Richard Fitzgerald Commissioner Sue A. Berfield Commissioner Fred A. Thomas Commissioner Also present: Michael J. Wright City Manager Kathy S. Rice Deputy City Manager William C. Baker Public Works Director Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk Mayor Garvey opened the meeting stating the City Commission had made a decision to consolidate City Hall. This decision to consolidate was made based on providing better, more efficient service to the citizens and cost reductions and savings in operations. She stated this was a long-range issue not a short range one. Kathy Rice, Deputy City Manager reviewed the chronology of events regarding the City Hall Project. Dean Rowe of Rowe Architects Inc., presented mock-ups of various options for construction of the city hall facility. He stated they were conceptual models only with three concepts on the bluff site and two on the annex site. One of the three concepts on the bluff site includes using the existing city hall; constructing a four-story, 70,000 thousand square foot office building across Pierce Street and a five-story parking garage on the Osceola side of the existing City Hall. A bridge spanning Pierce Street would connect the four-story office building to the current city hall. The second concept on the bluff site is to have the four-story office building in an east-west orientation which would have split parking with some parking below the bluff under the office building and would require a referendum. The third bluff site concept is to have the parking garage down-slope of City Hall. This too would require referendum. The annex site provides for a 95,000 square foot, single-story campus concept with the 95,000 square feet divided among four equal size single-story buildings. He stated the cost of the concepts are not that different with the current estimates ranging from approximately $9,000,000 to $10,000,000. Mayor Garvey expressed concerns that remodeling the existing city hall would cost over $1,000,000 compared with $9,800,000 figure for developing on the annex site. Mr. Rowe indicated that the 95,000 square feet would house all the functions at the annex site. The question to be resolved was what to do with the existing city hall if all functions moved to one building. The Mayor opened the meeting for public comment. Joe Fletcher, Sr., stated that when he first attended City Commission Meetings 30 years ago, the city hall was across the street from the court house. He indicated this would be the third city hall for the City of Clearwater. He felt the current city hall was the most classic building in downtown Clearwater and that it should not be hidden by a parking garage. He felt the current city hall should be left for some future use and the new city hall developed at the annex site. Bill Kirbas, representing the Clearwater Beach Association, stated a poll was taken at the association meeting on October 6, 1993. Four alternatives were presented. Number one, retain the current city hall leaving the legislative branch there and placing the administrative staff in a new building at the annex. Number two, construct a four-story office building next to the existing city hall and a five-story parking garage. Number three, extend the current city hall and do not span Pierce Street. Number four, do nothing. The first alternative received 66% of the vote; the second received 31%; the third received 3%; and, number four received no votes. Jerry Lancaster stated the number one priority is the quality of service and number two is to get your dollars' worth. He stated the glitz of the 1980's is out. He felt it would be an albatross if city hall was placed on Osceola Avenue. He stated first the commission needed to demonstrate the need for a city hall and that if it was needed, to then get the City's money's worth out of the facility. Sonny Kulaas questioned which of the alternatives would be the most cost efficient to maintain. He stated that things needed to be conserved. He preferred city hall where it is, but if it were not to be on the bluff, city hall should be something the public can use. Joe Evich questioned the objective of building a new city hall. He felt that $2,000,000. to construct a parking garage to hide the existing city hall made no sense. He stated the city hall needed to be upgraded for the city's future. He felt city hall should be placed on the annex site where it could be seen by the public. He stated the existing city hall could be worked in with the Maas Brothers' site. He stated if you have a single-story building versus a high rise you would not need to worry about hurricanes. Bob Wright, President of Clearwater Coalition of Homeowners, stated they had a meeting in October, 1993, and passed a resolution requesting the commission to re-think the need for a consolidated city hall in light of the current economic situation. If the commission chooses to proceed, there needs to be cost justification and bonds should be approved by referendum. He stated the facility should be tax-payer friendly. He questioned a referendum not being required. He stated if conditions are that bad in city facilities, someone has been derelict in their duties. He expressed concerns regarding the proposed parking structure obscuring the existing city hall. He stated there should be a comparison in utility costs. Ernie Barber referenced a time when there had been talk of building a court house on U.S. Highway 19 and instead, they were convinced to build it downtown. He stated this created a mess in the downtown area. He stated there was plenty of room on the annex site for a city hall and a one-story building was better than going up in height. He felt the building should be two-stories at most. He favored the annex site. Norman Chamberlain felt the city hall and new police department issues should be combined and constructed in the annex area. He stated that two years ago, during a bad storm, a lot of windows were blown out of properties on the bay front. He suggested moving the Library and the Chamber of Commerce into the existing city hall. He stated once property is cleared along Osceola, it could be sold to someone who would put it back on the tax rolls. Laurie Kay referenced a St. Petersburg Times survey which indicated the citizens preferred the city hall on the annex site. She stated using one-story construction would save money in many ways; it would have no elevators, be safer from storms, etc. She felt it would be an albatross to have a 400 space parking garage in front of the current city hall. She stated if the city hall were placed on the annex site, there would be no need for a parking garage. She also stated street access is much more compatible with a public building. She stated the bluff is the most beautiful on the west coast and it should be open to tax-paying businesses. Mary Helen Marin stated convenience should be considered and that all recognize that the center of Clearwater is not on the bluff. She stated the annex property has to be the better choice. She also indicated that building on the annex property would allow for expansion and long-term convenience. Rick Wessel questioned if there was really a need for a new city hall. He stated if there is, there is no need for a Taj Mahal. He stated remodeling the current city hall should be held off for five to ten years and to do only what is necessary and no more. Curtis Walden stated he preferred the annex site. He stated the mock-ups presented tonight reinforced that opinion. He recommended razing the current city hall annex structure and constructing a campus type setting. He stated he has seen two city halls in two California cities that were both bay front and those city halls were away from the water front in a campus style setting. Anne Garris stated one element that has not been considered is if a city hall is built on the annex site, there will not be a chance to put it back on the tax rolls. She stated she believed most citizens were against commercialization of the current city hall. She felt that city hall should be left where it is and the necessary maintenance should be done. She felt an administration facility could be built on the annex or the annex renovated. She stated the city does not have money to play around with and the money should be used to buy environmentally sensitive land. She stated that she could not find a reason for a new city hall. Michael Quillin expressed that he favored the annex site, stating it would be a great boost to the area and a welcome to the downtown area. He stated it would also be more convenient. Bob Bickerstaffe stated that the city hall should be placed on the annex property. Ms. Rice reminded the commission that if they decided on an option that would require a referendum, this decision would need to be made on Monday. Laurie Kay expressed concerns that a decision could be made without citizen input. The Mayor indicated this would depend on the concept approved by the commission. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.