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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004 0520 Special City Commission Meeting SUMMARY MINUTES Special City Commission Meeting Thursday, May 20, 2004, 5:30 p.m. City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida A TTENTION ALL LOBBYISTS: CITY LAW REOUIRES YOUR REGISTRATION PRIOR TO ENGAGING IN LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BEFORE CITY STAFF, BOARDS, COMMITTEES OR THE CITY COMMISSION. PLEASE CONTACT THE CITY CLERK FOR FORMS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDERlROLL CALL OF MEMBERS The meeting was called to order by Mayor Edelcup at 5:36 p.m., with the following officials present: Mayor Norman S. Ede1cup Vice Mayor Gerry Goodman Commissioner Roslyn Brezin Commissioner Danny Iglesias Commissioner Lewis J. Thaler City Manager Christopher J. Russo City Attorney Lynn M. Dannheisser City Clerk Jane A. Hines 2. DISCUSSION REGARDING GENERAL OPERATIONAL ISSUES OF THE CITY. Action: Mayor Edelcup noted that this meeting was called to order at the request of some of the Commissioners and himself to talk about operational procedures here in City Hall. He said that he had a meeting with the City Attorney and the City Manager one day last week and during that meeting they discussed the work issues of the City, and he said at that meeting that he felt we needed to have a five-day work effort from the Department Heads, and he requested the City Attorney to make plans to work a five-day work week starting with Fiscal Year 2004/05, and the City Attorney indicated at that time that it would not be a problem. He said he also discussed with City Manager Russo that we need to have either him or the City Attorney here at all times, because it is inconvenient to him and to the other Commissioners not to have Senior Staff available five days a week. He said he also discussed at that meeting that he felt that Senior Staff shouldn't have part time jobs outside of the City that interfered with the operation of this government, and that anybody in a senior position was adequately compensated to ensure that we would have them here for fi ve days a week. He said he wanted to have tonight's meeting so that each of the Commissioners could also make comments. Mayor Edelcup also noted another issue that he brought up was in dealing with a number of people outside of the City confines, developers, attorneys, etc., felt that the process we were implying is cumbersome and difficult to move zoning issues through the City, having phone calls returned, etc., and scheduling applications for Commission hearing and that we need to do something to improve them. He said that he had indicated to many people he spoke to that we had made certain steps and that being the fact that we now have two regular Commission meetings a month so that we can handle zoning matters every other week and that was a step in moving it in a quicker pace, and that we have Shelley Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting May 20, 2004 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Eichner and her firm to assist in reviewing zoning matters so that we were attempting to do the best that we can to move matters forward. He said it still seems that this City sometimes have difficulty in tracking everything, specifically Mr. Behnamou has mentioned that for months he has been trying to get the opportunity to donate his property to the City and he felt that the City was not acting in a prompt and quick manner. Commissioner Iglesias commented that in all fairness to staff that he does know that developers have a tendency of sometimes bringing documents in to the Department that are incomplete and expect the Department to do the work for them, or tell them to basically streamline because it is cheaper to bring something in that is halfway done than to pay the attorneys to tell you what needs to be done. He said he doesn't disagree totally that sometimes things get delayed because we have a tremendous volume of work but he thinks that we need to get word out on both sides that when we have an application coming into the City, these are the items that we expect from the developers, that way when it is in and that checklist that we do in permits, then there is no question. He said he would like Senior Staff to be here five days a week because it is more convenient for the Commission to get a hold of and be able to meet with Senior Staff and have impromptu meetings. He said in respect to working outside, he would agree to a point that if it interferes with City work, but if a person has annual time or what he or she does on the weekend, he has no problem with that as long as it doesn't interfere with here. Commissioner Brezin said that was very well put and what people do on weekends, with their vacation times, is their personal business. She said she is very satisfied with staff and also feels we should have them here five days a week. Vice Mayor Goodman reported that since he has been on the Commission he feels that staff have been working extremely well, and in reference to developers, we have been getting reports from the City Manager weekly on what the status on some of these situations are, and from what he finds, the developers are not prepared on many occasions to present their case to us, and if you would check the dates when they are constantly resubmitting and by resubmitting it means it is not complete, and we should not blame staff. He said that progress reports are sent to him regularly. He said in reference to the City Manager and City Attorney, that when they go away on vacation they shouldn't go at the same time, but he has found that they are always available by telephone, day or night. He said he does not find any problem with the senior staff. He said in 1997 when the Charter was written, we were suppose to have a strong City Manager and a weak Mayor, and in his opinion he feels it has gone in the other direction and he feels that this has to be clarified. He said if a developer comes in to see a Commissioner or the Mayor, he is coming to see him, and when things get presented and the Developers are coming here and talking to people, he doesn't get that information until right before a meeting, and he sometimes does not know what is going on and he can't talk to the Mayor or Commissioners because ofthe Sunshine Law, and if everything 2 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting May 20, 2004 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Rorida would go to the City Manager originally, then he can go talk to the Manager or the City Attorney. Commissioner Thaler said he feels that some senior staff should be here at all times, and he feels that Commissioners need additional information, whether it is from a builder that comes in to speak to anyone of us, it should be related, not wait until we get the paperwork just before the next meeting. He said people should be here and work five days a week. He said we just started two months ago getting tracking reports on the builders and he finds that it has helped tremendously to understand that in many cases it is not our fault, it is the fault of the builders in terms of not having completed information on the reports. He said that we have asked for organizational reports on if we need additional help in this office, as City Hall and departments are growing. Mayor Ede1cup said that we have heard a number of comments as far as the builders not following the proper procedures and filing their applications and getting their work put together in an efficient manner. He said he has asked the City Manager to run another Workshop for the development community and their attorneys, on the procedure. Commissioner Brezin said that she feels everyone is in agreement about having staff available to them, that the builders are really at fault in the delay, so she feels that the builders need to be addressed very strongly on that issue. City Manager Russo said that there has been a workshop scheduled for June 24,2004, and that he had a meeting with Bill Lone today to identify developers that should be at that meeting to make it a productive meeting, which is representative of the group. He said that on the tracking form where you see these repeated submissions, one of the things that have been identified is that many times when they keep getting things back that haven't been changed, it is a strategy because we have found that in a pattern, if you ignore the comment long enough, maybe it will go away. He said to move things along, and an example is on the first meeting in June where, he thinks is the Trump Palace, there is still an outstanding cueing issue on traffic and we put it before the Commission, and if they can resolve it between now and then, fine, then it will be a positive recommendation, but if they can't, we will go over the facts and it will be open-ended, it is just issues that we disagree on, not on the whole project. Mayor Edelcup said that there will be open items where staff and the proponent have not agreed and it will be up to the Commission to see if it can side with one side or the other, or staff may come out and say we are going to defer this until we get a greater understanding of the problem, we always have that alternative. City Manager Russo discussed having 3-D models, and City Attorney Dannheisser clarified that on 3-D models, that Commissioner Iglesias was right, that the intention was simply to create a cardboard model so you will have something physically before you so you can get a better visualization, that is what the Ordinance requires, so if the 3 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting May 20, 2004 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Rorida Commission wants to do something different, they would have to amend the Ordinance. She also noted that on the Development ordinances and the process, we have provided for the developers to pay for professional fees that we incur as they go through the application process, to date, we have not received one dollar from any developer. She said that up to now it has really been a cost recovery in-house, now we are actually paying out dollars to professionals, and that is tax payer money going out of pocket, as opposed to developer money, as provided in the Ordinance, being paid for as part of the process. She said she is specifically talking about Miriam Maer, and Mayor Edelcup said we should make sure no permit is issued unless all of those fees have been paid, and City Attorney Dannheisser said we could either not schedule or tell them that they have got to pay these fees, but we really need to collect them. Mayor Edelcup said when we have the Workshop, it would be a good time to remind them that they won't get a permit unless all fees have been paid related to the approval process of their project. Commissioner Brezin said to Vice Mayor Goodman that he made mention of the fact that builders and other people do come in and they address some of the Commissioners and you felt that you were in the dark on a lot of issues, and she said she has had that feeling from time to time so she agrees with him. She realizes that there are things that the Sunshine Law prevents them from discussing wi th one another but if there are issues that come about, that we cannot tell a builder or one of our constituents, but if there is any information that anybody on our Commission or staff are receiving from any of the builders that Sunshine Law would permit them from having that information. Mayor Ede1cup said that the Sunshine Law prevents them from speaking to one another, and the best way is when they speak to a developer to encourage them to please speak to all the Commissioners individually so that all have an understanding. Public Speakers: Henry Kay Mayor Edelcup noted that Commissioner Thaler has requested for a test of a telephonic Commission meeting. Commissioner Thaler said that the rules changed last year and it is allowed to participate in meetings via telephone under certain circumstances. He said he will be gone for the June 3, 2004 City Commission meeting and would like to test it out at that time. 3. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Brezin moved and Commissioner Iglesias seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Mayor Edelcup adjourned it at 6:28 p.m. Respectfully su~mitted by: ,. \. ~: .....A .. ; ~'i .',) ~~\\.( \~- M\'~~ Jane A,: Hines, City Gl.erk ) .. ... " . 1 ....t Approved by the City Commission on July 8, 2 04 '. . > .:-.. ~- ~... :' " ~ . . 4