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City of South Miami
Special City Commission Minutes
September 28, 2004
CALL TO ORDER:
The City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida met
in special session on Tuesday, September 28, 2004, beginning at
6:00 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers, 6130 Sunset Drive.
A. Roll Call:
The following members of the City Commission were present:
Mayor Mary Scott Russell, Vice Mayor Velma Palmer, and,
Commissioners Randy G. Wiscombe, Marie Birts- Cooper and Craig Z.
Sherar.
Also in attendance were: City Manager Maria V. Davis, City
Attorney Luis Figueredo, Finance Director Hakeem Oshikoya and
City Clerk Maria M. Menendez.
B. Invocation: The invocation was delivered by former Mayor Dr.
Anna Price.
C Pledge of Allegiance:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
D. Presentation(s) 6:00 p.m.
a) Budget and Finance Committee
Mr. Sellars, one of the five members of the Budget and
Finance Committee, indicated that the Committee had not have
enough time to review all the information concerning the budget
and was not prepared to vote on anything. He said that they could
answer any questions the Commission may have and reiterated that
they were not ready to make any recommendations.
b) Acquisition of YMCA property
Ms. Davis presented an overview of the proposed acquisition
of the YMCA property, consisting of the following discussion
items: Park Overview; Park Operations; Benefits to the Community;
Proposed Purchase; and, Concurrency Issues.
Before she went into the presentation she explained to the
Commission that even though she had met with the "Y"
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
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1
representatives as she had announced, she did not have further
2
information in terms of a dollar amount since they were more
3
interested
in parameters of the deal. Then Mr. O'Donniley
4
explained.
the importance of meeting concurrency which is four
5
acres per
1,000 from the City's current population of 10,891 as
6
of August
2004 per the "Bureau of Economic and Business Research"
7
( BEBR) .
8
9
Vice
Mayor Palmer expressed some concern in terms of the
10
importance
of having some type of a back up plan in the event
11
that the "Y"
would not going along with the lease plan. Ms. Davis
12
explained
that all of that will be stipulated in the contract to
13
enable the
City to enforce any thing that we agree upon.
14
15
With
no further comments or discussion, the presentation
16
concluded.
17
18 ITEMS (S) FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION:
19 2 "d Reading of Ordinance/ Public Hearing(s)
K0,
21 1. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
22 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, LEVYING THE MILLAGE OF
23 7.373 WHICH EXCEEDS THE ROLLBACK RATE BY 13.0% AND
24 RESULTING IN 0% INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX RATE IN THE
25 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
26 2004/2005; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; ORDINANCES IN
27 CONFLICT AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
28 (City Manager)
29
30 Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioners
31 Wiscombe and Birts- Cooper to approve this item.
32
33 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioners
34 Sherar, the motion to table this item passed by a 5 -0 vote:
35
36 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
37 Commissioner'Sherar: Yea
38 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
39 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
40 Mayor Russell: Yea
41
42
43 2. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
44 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A BUDGET OF
45 $14,242,617 AND PAY PLAN FOR THE 2004/2005 FISCAL YEAR;
46 PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; AND
47 AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
48 (City Manager)
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Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
Wiscombe to approve this item.
At this time Mayor Russell opened the floor for public
hearing.
Yvonne Beckman said that she feels that since the beginning
of the budget process she has done her civic duty to ensure that
the citizens' view points are addressed. In recapping, she said
that their taxes are up from the assessments; they also pay
half -penny sales tax, and if this budget passes they will pay a
6% tax increase over last year. She said that she has presented
her recommendation to reduce each department by a percentage to
allow up to one mill 'reduction. She said that she has also
provided information .about the Consumer Price Index which in
South Miami supercedes by 150 %. She then said that the
composition of the Budget and Finance Committee did not
represent anyone east of US1; said to be in favor of purchasing
the Van Smith property; said that the pension payment for former
City Manager Scurr should go into the contingency fund and not
in the regular budget; she asked as to where are the Christmas
lights that were purchased several years ago for about $40,000.
Finally, she indicated that she would like to debate the
rebuttal made by Ms. Davis about the Pinecrest comparison issue.
Mayor Russell explained that the $40,000 that Ms. Beckman
mentioned were not to purchase the Christmas light, but rather,
it was a rental fee which included the installation and removal
of the lights. She explained that for that reason they cut this
expenditures last year and now the City is going to start buying
the lights in order to safe money. The Mayor then thanked Ms.
Beckman for expressing her support of the completion of the Van
Smith property purchase. Ms. Beckman indicated that she would
like to discuss the problems related to that property in
private.
Sharon McCain referred to the September 9th Neighbors where
Ms. Davis wrote indicating that the City had just come out of a
difficult financial situation and did not recommend lowering the
taxes this year. She then questioned as to whether the budget is
really balanced. She also referred to what the new elected
officials had answered in February 2004 to questions posed by
the South Miami Homeowners. She then referred to the budget ad
published on Sunday's Neighbors, noting that it shows "0" debt
services. The Mayor explained that the reason is because we do
not have any debt service millage in addition to the ad valorem
taxes. About the parking garage obligation, Ms. Davis explained
that this is not in the budget because it is not part of the
general fund. That expenditure is coming out of revenue that the
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION,
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1 residents are not responsible fora With reference to the $50,000
2 for the merchants, Ms. McCain asked as to why the residents have
3 to be responsible for promoting the merchants. She then
4 expressed concern about the proposed closing of Sunset on
5 Sundays and its impact on the downtown parking situation. She
6 referred to the issue of garbage pick up, suggesting that
7 perhaps one pick up a week would be sufficient. About the
8 Community Center she said that the City is not doing anything
9 about promoting indoor basketball. She then questioned the issue
10 of concurrency. Commissioner Sherar clarified this issue, saying
11 that unfortunately, past administrations did not pay much
12 attention to the importance of meeting concurrency. He said that
13 the reason he is going to vote for the "Y" is because of the
14 City's projects relating to future annexations. Also, this is a
15 way to prevent a developer from buying the ten acres of land and
16 consequently over populate the City. Ms. McCain also had a
17 question about the phase out of the police cars.` She then
18 referred to the "hiring freeze that Commissioner Wiscombe
19 mentioned at a previous meeting. About the Budget and Finance
20 Committee she said that it was put together very late; adding
21 that one of the members is a merchant, suggesting that this
22 constitutes a conflict of interest.
23
24 Mayor Russell explained that the merchant that sits on the
25 Budget and Finance Committee, on the issue that affected the
26 downtown merchants, he stated his conflict and did not offer an
27 opinion, and that he did make that statement on the record. The
28 Mayor then asked the City Manager to talk about the "hiring
29 freeze" and the comments made on employment advertising during
30 the freeze. Ms. Davis said that the way she understands the
31 "hiring freeze" comments from Commissioner Wiscombe at the last
32 meeting is not creating any "new" positions, but she said she
33 was unaware of that. She also said that she imposed her own
34 "hiring freeze" a couple of months ago and that no new positions
35 have been added.
36
37 About the basketball promotion, Mr. Ricke explained that we
38 do have an adult league and a youth league starting on Saturday
39 and that we are promoting both leagues.
40
41 On the reimbursement of the garbage fee to the residents
42 Ms. Davis explained that it would represent $150,000 from the
43 reserves.
44
45 With regard to the police cars, Ms. Davis explained that 17
46 cars were eliminated. As for the rest, she said that it is being
47 discussed as part of collective bargaining and cannot be
48 discussed at the present time.
49
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 4
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1 About the $50,000 to the merchants the Mayor explained that
2 this is not paid directly to them. This is for economic
3 development. She said that the idea is to promote the uniqueness
4 of our downtown, boost the independent merchants' revenues and
5 help make it more profitable for them to stay and continue to be
6 located on Sunset Drive; and all of this is in an effort to keep
7 our downtown the special and wonderful place that we enjoy so
8 much. The money is going into the Manager's budget and she will
9 be dictating how it is spent.
10
11 Commissioner Wiscombe asked as to what has been the
12 response from the merchants with regards to opening on Sundays.
13
14 Ms. Davis said that she had her first meeting with the
15 merchants about three weeks ago and that she did not have any
16 resistance. On the contrary, she said that from the comments
17 that she got from the merchants during that meeting they are all
18 very excited about it. Commissioner Wiscombe said that he and
19 Julio tried to do that several years ago and were not successful
20 on that endeavor. Ms. Davis said that it could be that we have
21 some new merchants who seem much more excited about promoting
22 the downtown.
23
24 Commissioner Sherar referred to the parking garage and said
25 that he does not agree the way we are accounting for it.
26 However, he said that it is an accurate assessment that the
27 garage loan is not going to be coming out of the millage rate.
28 He said that unfortunately things are not moving as fast as we
29 would like with the negotiations, but he believes that we are
30 heading in the direction to resolve it. He also indicated that
31 this Commission has inherited the mistakes made in the past but
32 that they are doing the best they can.
33
34 Mayor Russell indicated that the only consistent "no"
35 against that parking garage for five years was her.
36
37 Dick Ward said that even though he does not live in the
38 City he has a son who does. He then urged the Commission to
39 purchase the "Y." He also said that the "Y" should pay for staff
40 and also that the current staff should stay in the "Y." He also
41 recommended that the City should approve every program, and that
42 the money should be set aside in a special fund until the
43 Commission is able to review a complete and well detailed report
44 and negotiates an agreement. With regard to the Community Center
45 and the recreation program he said that it takes time for that
46 to take off. He then urged the Commission not to reduce the
47 budget in any way with respect to the Community Center.
48
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 5
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
1 David Tucker Sr. as usual spoke words of wisdom. He said
2 that we exist because of something called trust and that he
3 wanted to express his trust in government.
4
5 George Garcia, a South Miami business owner, spoke in favor
6 of the special events and urged the Commission to keep
7 supporting them.
8
9 John Portuondo, a South Miami commercial property owner,
10 spoke about the increase in property taxes which he said to have
11 increased from 330 last year to 46% this year.
12
13 Mayor Russell explained that there is an administrative 30
14 cap every year where the assessment of a home cannot go up more
15 than 30 of the total property value of the property. The reason
16 for which Mr. Portuondo's assessment and taxes have gone up so
17 high is not something that we are capable of dealing with it at
18 this level, it is a legislative issue, there is no homestead
19 exemption on investment properties and neither there is a cap on
20 the assessment on an investment property. She said that this is
21 something that the Commission will have to tackle, but it will
22 have to be in Tallahassee.
23
24 Lydia White, a South Miami merchant, urged the Commission
25 to continue supporting funding for special events. She said that
26 the South Miami Arts and Crafts Festival is twenty -one years old
27 this year. She then mentioned some of the events that the
28 merchants have sponsored this year such as donating to the
29 holiday food baskets; awarding the police officers of the month;
30 giving away American flags for the 4th of July celebration, and
31 also working there; donating a total of $3,000 to Charrettes
32 which led to the beautification of the downtown of South Miami;
33 they also have donated for holiday decorations and have
34 continued to sponsor "Safe Streets Halloween."
35
36 David Fry said that he would like to see a long - range
37 planning for the City. He then referred to the "Y" deal saying
38 that it sounds too good to be true.
39
40 Donna Mason spoke on behalf of Chamber South urging the
41 Commission to continue to support the special events. She also
42 urged to approve the proposed budget towards economic
43 development
44
45 Shantee Wells started to address the Commission by asking
46 how many directors there are in the City and how many of them
47 are part- time. She asked this to make the point that an
48 educational full -time director is needed.
49
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 6
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
1 Ms. Davis offered to sit down with Ms. Wells to explain as
2 to why that position does not require a full -time director. Ms.
3 Davis also explained that she has met with the Education
4 Director for the After- School Program. They discussed the
5 Director's concerns and by the end of the meeting she was happy
6 and feels that the changes that the City is making will resolve
7 her issues.
8
9 Ms. Wells continued to outline a number of her own concerns
10 with regard to the After - School Program which in her opinion
11 have not been addressed.
12
13 Mayor Russell said that she will personally arrange a
14 meeting with her (Ms. Wells), the Parks and Recreation Director
15 and the City Manager to sit down and discuss the items that Ms.
16 Wells is concerned about.
17
18 Dan McCrea, former Commissioner and president of the Rotary
19 Club of South Miami, urged the Commission to continue supporting
20 the Arts and Crafts Festival as well as the economic development
21 effort.
22
23 Commissioner Sherar then exchanged some ideas with former
24 Commissioner McCrea as to the possibility of having a variety of
25 special events as opposed to having the same ones every year.
26
27 Al Elias said that he is in favor of all the festivals but
28 that he does not want to pay for it. He said that he is a
29 successful business person because he works hard and nobody
30 gives him money to keep him in business. With regard to the
31 millage he said that the solution is not to lower or raise it
32 but rather to control business growth. Mr. Elias then referred
33 to the parking variance request by Dr. Colsky which failed to
34 pass at a previous meeting and urged the Commission to revisit
35 that issue. Commissioner Sherar said that he will be putting a
36 motion at the next meeting for reconsideration on that.
37
38 Lew Sellars said he would be addressing the Commission as a
39 resident of the City. He said that it will be up to the
40 Commission to weigh all pros and cons and make a decision based
41 on what they consider what will be best for the City as a whole.
42 He said that obviously keeping a low millage rate through the
43 years was one of the driving forces behind the financial
44 hardships the City went through last year. For this reason, he
45 said, he has been inclined to allow the Manager to make the
46 necessary decisions to bring the City back on track and sound
47 financial grounds. He said that by next year's budget cycle he
48 will be able to assess the management approach over the period
49 of two years. About the "Y" property, he said although he was
50 skeptic in the beginning, that through the process of the last
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couple of weeks he has seen that there are probably more
benefits associated with it and that in his opinion as a
taxpayer of the City they should go forward with it. About the
Van Smith property, he said that he voted against it in the past
and still is not quite sure about the benefits of that purchase.
On the economic development he said that he heard both arguments
and that he believes that it is too late in the game and that we
should put them on notice now; next year they will need to come
in and explain to the Budget and Finance Committee how the money
was spent. He said that the millage should stay where it is, and
that the $50 removal of the garbage fee is going to get offset
by the savings we are going to have on the debt service.
Commissioner Wiscombe said that he concurs with the idea of
having the merchants come in and explain after the festivals
what they have done and how the money has been spent. He said
that he would like to see that process revisited and restarted.
Mayor Russell at this point read a letter from Subrata Basu
in support of the Arts and Crafts Festival.
After no further comments or discussion, the public hearing
was closed. Mayor Russell announced a 5- minute recess.
After the recess, the meeting reconvened and the Commission
discussion started.
Mayor Russell indicated that the Budget and Finance
Committee points to an additional $23,500 in contingency this
year, and that is a good point, she added. She started by
referring to the request from the Seniors. She said that the
proposed budget is $2,000 for the Seniors; $2,000 for CRB; and,
$2,000 for the Commission for Women. The CRB held a retreat
which Commissioner Sherar and she attended; they have some great
plans and some great ideas. When we first funded them, the
funding was over $5,000 and that was one of the things we cut
last year in order to bring the special events expenses down.
About the Commission for Women, the Mayor said that they will be
hosting the National Association of Commission for Women in Dade
County this year; they also sponsor the Jr. Commission for Women
who are also very active and doing a lot of good things. She
also asked for the Commission's support towards the Royal
Poinciana Fiesta which was a real success this year and it does
not block the streets. She also recommended that we create a
separate account for the "Y" funding.
Commissioner Wiscombe also recommended that not only the
money for the "Y" but also Mr. Scurr's pension be set aside.
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION
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i
1 About the Farmer's Market Commissioner Wiscombe said that
2 the Manager will be meeting with Levy and Penny to discuss the
3 future of this event; therefore, the Manager recommended that
4 the money should stay in the budget. Commissioner Sherar is of
5 the opinion that the right place for the Farmer's Market is at
6 Madison Square. Commissioner Wiscombe does not think that the
7 place is right due to lack of participation and visibility. The
8 main problem of `Madison Square Saturdays' is the location,
9 Commissioner Wiscombe added.
10
11 Mayor Russell said that she is satisfied and confident with
12 the majority of this year's budget. For the last several years I
13 have been the only person who have suggested that we might be
14 pinning ourselves into a corner by keeping the millage rate
15 where it was and deferring all these capital expenses. For the
16 first time I have agreed, she said, taking care of some of these
17 deferred expenses, because we have been deferring expenses to
18 keep our millage rate low, and we had a battle between us this
19 year over spending out of the reserve which is unacceptable to
20 all of us in principle and philosophy because this items were
21 not budgeted and we had a need for them. Therefore, what we have
22 done is to present a real budget with all of our real needs met
23 so that there will be no need for those long late night
24 discussions that require 4/5 votes to spend money out of cash
25 reserves to buy items that we really need, because somebody
26 deferred it to keep the millage rate low to make everybody look
27 good politically.
28
29 Commissioner Wiscombe said that the reason why he has
30 pushed to keep the millage rate down or to reduce it, rather
31 than to increase it, is because the City Manager at the time was
32 over spending.
33
34 Mayor Russell said that her point in saying that was not
35 meant to be critical of anybody. She said that Commissioner
36 Wiscombe had a good point and it was well taken at the time and
37 understood.
38
39 Mayor Russell then proceeded to make a motion.
40
41 Moved by Mayor Russell to take $4,000 from the $23,500 that
42 is excess in contingency this year and place $3,000 in the Mayor
43 and City Commission's budget: $1,000 for the Commission for
44 Women; $1,000 additional for the Seniors; $1,000 additional for
45 CRB; and, $1,000 to the Non- Departmental budget for the Royal
46 Poinciana Fiesta. To take $19,500 and place it towards the
47 reduction of the millage rate. The motion, seconded, by
48 Commission Wiscombe, passed by a 5 -0 vote.
49
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 9
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1 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
2 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
3 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
4 Commissioner Birts - Cooper: Yea
5 Mayor Russell: Yea
6
7 Mr. Oshikoya explained that the total amount of proposed
8 "one time" expenditures, $357,370 to be funded through cash
9 reserves shown on page XI of the Proposed Budget, will be
10 disbursed through different accounts, for instance, the
11 settlement for $107,000 is under Non- Departmental, page 65,
12 line 2213.
13
14 Mr. Oshikoya also explained about the amount of $245,000
15 shown also on page 65, line 2215, which $143,000 is for both
16 the "Y" and the Van Smith property; the remainder $102,000
17 constitute the savings mentioned by the Manager in her
18 presentation of the "Y" earlier tonight, based on the lower
19 appraisal received.
20
21 Commissioner Sherar recommended that the amount of $245,000
22 or portion thereof, be set aside for the purchase of the YMCA,
23 shown on page 65, line 2215 of the Proposed Budget, be put back
24 in the reserve until is needed to purchase the property. Ms.
25 Davis said that the reason she recommends to have it as proposed
26 is because once the YMCA is purchased, it will become a
27 recurring expense. This will be representing an artificial
28 increase of the reserve and subsequently an artificial reduction
29 in the mill since we will need to raise it back the following
30 year. Commissioner Sherar said that he feels better by keeping
31 that money in the reserve because otherwise it is like asking
32 the residents to finance the Commission's decision. Ms. Davis
33 said that she is recommending what she believes is best but that
34 it is really up to the Commission to decide.
35
36 Commissioner Sherar said that he wants to see the Van Smith
37 purchase happen and Mayor Russell said to concur with that. He
38 said that maybe we can get Mr. Van Smith to write us a three -
39 year mortgage. He said that he sees the Van Smith deal as a
40 reality; however, there are many contingencies with the YMCA. He
41 said, put it in the reserve and if we need to do anything, pull
42 it out of the reserve and that he will explain it to the
43 residents that the reason for raising the mill is because he
44 reduced it the year before.
45
46 Mayor Russell said that by putting it in the reserve it
47 will still be encumbered. The request was to put it as a
48 separate line item, separate from the Van Smith property, so
49 that we can all look at it and know that it does not fluctuate
50 or change. If we just move it to the reserve now and put it in a
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 10
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1 separate line item is not going to affect the bottom line of the
2 millage rate.
3
4 Commissioner Sherar recommended to take that $143,000 out
5 of the budget; if we go through with the deal knowing that we
6 are going to take it out of the reserve, that is a 1.5 mill that
7 we can give back to the taxpayers this year and if next year it
8 becomes a true recurring expense then we raise back the 1.5
9 mill.
10
11 Mr. Oshikoya explained that right now we have $245,000 for
12 the purchase of both the Van Smith and the YMCA properties.
13 Because of the low appraisal that the City Manager was able to
14 get, which is much lower that the original appraisal that we had
15 when we prepared the budget, we now have a savings of $102,000.
16 That $102,000 savings can be used to reduce the millage by .114
17 mill. Out of the $143,000 left, $39,000 of that is going to be
18 for the Van Smith property, leaving a balance of $104,000 for
19 the YMCA. This is based on a 30 -year loan using the information
20 received from the League. We are not going to be able to do this
21 through the League because they require a minimum of $1 million
22 loan, but we will look for another loan. We can put the $104,000
23 in the reserve, raising the reserve from 1.3 to 1.4. When we get
24 all the information on the YMCA and we are ready to purchase
25 that property, we then take that money from the reserve.
26
27 Commissioner Sherar said that he is looking at putting the
28 $143,000 into the Van Smith property purchase. Mayor Russell
29 said to concur with that idea, however, this year we are not
30 prepared to make that decision.
31
32 Vice Mayor Palmer with regard to the YMCA purchase said
33 that at the beginning she was concerned with the impact that it
34 would have on the taxpayer, and also, she did not have enough
35 information and too many questions unanswered. She was also
36 concerned about the financial situation the City had gone
37 through and did not want to get into further debt. She was also
38 looking forward to reducing the millage somehow. However, based
39 on the information she has now after meeting with the City
40 Manager, she now agrees with the reasoning behind this
41 acquisition. She then recommended that the money be placed in a
42 separate account. She also said to agree with finalizing the
43 purchase of the Van Smith property. The Vice Mayor then again
44 referred to the garbage can fee reimbursement to the residents.
45 Ms. Davis said that the money will have to come out of the
46 reserves and it will be about $150,000.
47
48 Commissioner Sherar asked if the residents have paid for
49 the garbage cans. Ms. Davis explained that some people have paid
50 and some have not because WASA bills in cycles and in order to
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 1 1
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1 mitigate the burden, we told them to break it down into two
2 different cycles, $25/$25. Mr. Oshikoya said that he believes
3 that the people that have paid are the ones that the City bills
4 because they are on well water. Ms. Davis said that the
5 residents have been billed because the Mayor has gotten hers,
6 adding that evidently the County has billed the residents before
7 we finalized the Interlocal Agreement.
8
9 Vice Mayor Palmer then asked as to how long it will take
10 for the refunds to be made. Ms. Davis said that we need to
11 identify those residents that have been billed and _then work it
12 out with WASA to see who they have billed to date and refund
13 those residents. She then referred again to her decision to
14 support the purchase of the YMCA. Ms. Davis said that we need
15 park space, we need green space for concurrency, and that she
16 believes that this is going to be a catalyst for economic
17 development in our business district. She added that we are
18 getting the ten -acre property at a great price and that she does
19 not see a downside. Vice Mayor Palmer concurred saying that
20 there is no place in the whole County where we can buy ten acres
21 of land for that price, needless to say in South Miami.
22
23 Mayor Russell then asked Mr. Oshikoya as to whether we are
24 clear on the "Y."
25
26 Commissioner Sherar then referred to the issue of impact
27 fees and Mr. O'Donniley explained the concept.
28
29 Mr. Oshikoya then explained that because of the lower
30 appraisal received on the "Y, instead of $245,000 originally
31 projected we will only need $143,000 for both the "Y" and the
32 Van Smith properties, and out of those $143,000, approximately
33 $39,00 will be for the Van Smith property, based on a 30 -year
34 loan as per the index received from the League; therefore, the
35 remainder $102,000 can be placed in the reserve, raising the
36 reserve from $1.3 to $1.4.
37
38 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Mayor Russell,
39 the motion to set aside $143,000 and put it under a "Park -
40 Purchase Account," passed by unanimous acclamation.
41
42 Hakeem then verified with the Commission that we are
43 banking the $102,000 towards the .114 reduction.
44
45 Moved by Commissioner Sherar to eliminate the amount of
46 $107,000 on page 67, line 2277. The motion died for lack of
47 second.
48
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 12
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
1 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
2 Wiscombe, on "Contribution- Special Events:" to reduce S. Miami
3 Arts. Festival by $840; Art Expo by $840; S. Miami Arts & Crafts
4 by $840; and Footworks Fun Run by $480.
5
6 Mayor Russell said that Footworks put a lot of effort into
7 their event this year in conjunction with the Japanese Festival
8 and they brought a lot of people, it was a great event. She said
9 that she does not know what they can do for $1,000.
10
11 Commissioner Sherar said that he understands that the event
12 is pure commercial.
13
14 Vice Mayor Palmer said that they should defer these
15 reductions until the next time around so that they may be
16 notified ahead of time.
17
18 Commissioner Wiscombe said that they are looking at a
19 minimum reduction compared to other times where they have been
20 cut in half.
21
22 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to reduce
23 $2,920 from line 2273 on page 67, Account No. 210 - 519 -9910 passed
24 by a 5 -0 vote:
25
26 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
27 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
28 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
29 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
30 Mayor Russell: Yea
31
32 Ms. Davis made the clarification that Footworks had donated
33 $3,000 to the After - School Program this year.
34
35 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
36 Wiscombe to put back $480 plus $20 to the Footworks line item.
37 The motion passed by a 5 -0 vote:
38
39 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
40 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
41 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
42 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
43 Mayor Russell: Yea
44
45 Commissioner Wiscombe asked about the conditions of the two
46 Cushmans. He said that they use to be around downtown but he does
47 not see them any more since they got the new car, and that is not
48 good because that means that they are not rotating the vehicles.
49
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 13
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
1 Ms. Davis said that the Cushmans were down a lot and that
2 she was amazed to see the time that we lost last year because of
3 that.
4
5 Commissioner Wiscombe asked Ms. Davis that he would like to
6 see that accounting, to please provide it to him. Ms. Davis said
7 that she will be happy to do so.
8
9 Commissioner Sherar said that he had seen them and that he
10 was surprised that they run at all.
11
12 Commissioner Wiscombe inquired about the Proposed Revenues
13 under General Fund, page 002, on the dropped of $20,000 for
14 parking revenues. Ms. Davis explained that the amount was reduced
15 because of possible construction next year, in the event that we
16 construct a parking garage, there will be a down time. Then, he
17 referred again to page 002, under General Fund, line 98 (Tennis
18 Membership- Non - Residents" with `0' amount on that line item. Ms.
19 Davis said that we are under a contract now, but she said that
20 she did not know about the membership. She said that also the
21 expenditure of the Tennis Court instructor was cut by $17,000.
22
23 Commissioner Wiscombe then inquired about the contract on
24 the old inspection station asking when it will expire. Ms. Davis
25 indicated that it already did and is now on a month -to -month and
26 that she is working on putting it back out to bid. She said that
-27 they are looking at two different models: one, to rotate with
28 several different vendors; and the other one is to rent to the
29 vendor with the highest bid. She said that she is not happy with
30 the revenue we are getting now.
31
32 Commissioner Wiscombe then referred to page 004, line 34,
33 under Departmental, and inquired about the increased amount of
34 $33,000 from 03 -04. Ms. Davis said that the raise that she
35 requested is in there and any merit increase for the two
36 individuals in her office. He also referred to the increase on
37 line 45 of the same page.
38
39 Moved by Mayor Russell, seconded by Commissioner Sherar the
40 motion to extend the meeting beyond 11:00 p.m. passed by
41 unanimous acclamation.
42
43 Staff continued to explain to Commissioner Wiscombe the
44 revenues from solid waste on page 002.
45
46 Moved by Commission Sherar, seconded by Vice Mayor Palmer
47 and Commissioner Wiscombe, the motion to strike $4,000 from line
48 item 170, page 009 under `City Clerk' passed by a 5 -0 vote:
49
50 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 14
MINUTES — September 28, 2004
1
Commissioner Sherar:
Yea
2
Vice Mayor Palmer:
Yea
3
Commissioner Birts- Cooper:
Yea
4
Mayor Russell:
Yea
5
6
Moved by Commission Wiscombe, seconded
by Commissioner
7
Sherar, the motion to strike $800 from line item 752, page 028
8
under `City Attorney' passed by a 5 -0 vote:
9
10
Commissioner Wiscombe:
Yea
11
Commissioner Sherar:
Yea
12
Vice Mayor Palmer:
Yea
13
Commissioner Birts- Cooper:
Yea
14
Mayor Russell:
Yea
15
16
The line item for `Travel and Conference' under `City
17
Attorney' in the amount of $1,200 was discussed
and explained by
18
the City Attorney as to the type of conferences
that they attend
19
which are mainly about municipal law. The item
was left as
20
proposed.
21
22
Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded
by Commissioner
23
Sherar, the motion to strike line item 2281 on
page 67 in the
24
amount of $3,000 for `Red Sunset Holiday Events'
passed by a 5 -0
25
vote:
26
27
Commissioner Wiscombe:
Yea
28
Commissioner Sherar:
Yea
29
Vice Mayor Palmer:
Yea
30
Commissioner Birts- Cooper:
Yea
31
Mayor Russell:
Yea
32
33
At this point Ms. Davis explained to Commissioner Sherar
34
that the reason for moving line item `Consultant
-Labor Attorney'
35
to Non - Departmental is because that is an expense that she incurs
36
rather than the City Attorney. Commissioner Sherar said that he
37
would like to see that item under `City Attorney.'
38
39
Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded
by Sherar the
40
motion to take off $10,000 from line item 2217 on page 65 `Street
41
Beautification' passed by 5 -0 vote:
42
43
Commissioner Wiscombe:
Yea
44
Commissioner Sherar:
Yea
45
Vice Mayor Palmer:
Yea
46
Commissioner Birts- Cooper:
Yea
47
Mayor Russell:
Yea
48
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 15
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
Commissioner Wiscombe then inquired about the `Economic
Development' item. Ms. Davis explained that one of the
expenditures there would be for the six marquees. She said that
they will be leased and we are waiting for estimates; printing
brochures; hiring musicians and other entertainment. She said
that for the cost of blocking the streets, she is planning on
coming out of the Police and Public Works budgets; that is not
coming out of the $50,000 which is for promoting downtown. As for
the brochures, they will be distributed at the airport, hotels,
etc. Ms. Davis said that she will keep the Commission informed
about all the expenditures incurred for Economic Development.
Commissioner Sherar then referred to the $200,000 in this
year's budget for deferred pension which should had been spent
two or three years ago. Mayor Russell urged Commissioner Sherar
to attend' the next Pension Board meeting so that it can be
explained to him how that works. He also inquired about the rent
that Chamber South pays the City for using the facilities at
Fuchs Park; Ms. Davis said that she made a note of that. Mayor
Russell asked Ms. Davis to respond to Commissioner Sherar on that
and copy the rest of the Commission for their information.
Commissioner Wiscombe also asked for a copy of the contract to be
placed in their mailboxes.
Mayor Russell recapped the above amendments: $102,000 for
the "Y;" $19,500 out of contingency; $2,540 for contributions to
Special Events; $4,000 for elections; $800 for City Attorney
membership; $3,000 for Red Sunset Holiday Events; $10,000 for
street beautification. For a total of $141,840 (Hakeem clarified
that he had $142,800) indicating that with all these reductions
they will be able to reduce the millage by 1.60.
Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
Wiscombe, the motion to table item no. 2 passed by a 5 -0 vote:
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar: Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Vice Mayor
Palmer, the motion to bring item no. 1 back on the table passed
by unanimous acclamation.
1 AN
Ordinance No. 09 -04 -1816
ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, LEVYING THE MILLAGE OF
7.373 7.213 WHICH EXCEEDS THE ROLLBACK RATE OF 6.524 BY
SPECIAL 'CITY COMMISSION
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
16
1 13.0% 10.56% AND RESULTING IN O-W 2.17% 3WORMASE
2 DECREASE IN PROPERTY TAX RATE IN THE CITY OF SOUTH
3 MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2004/2005;
4 PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT AND
5 AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
6 (City Manager)
7
8 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
9 Wiscombe to approve this item.
10
11 At this time Mayor Russell opened the floor for public
12 hearing.
13
14 Yvonne Beckman referred to the comparison chart that she had
15 presented for the Finance Department saying that all the
16 departments at Pinecrest are lower. She also noted that the Risk
17 Management Department is included in the Finance Department in
18 Pinecrest.
19
20 With no more speakers, the Mayor closed the public hearing.
21
22 Moved by Mayor Russell, seconded by Commissioner Wiscombe to
23 approve the amendment provided by the Finance Director: levying
24 the millage of 7.213 which exceeds the rollback rate of 6.524 by
25 13.0% 10.56% and resulting in U- 2.17% decrease in
26 property tax rate in the City of South Miami. The motion to
27 approve this amendment, and this item as a whole, passed by a 5 -0
28 vote:
29
30 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
31 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
32 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
33 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
34 Mayor Russell: Yea
35
36 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Commissioner
37 Wiscombe the motion to bring item no. 2 back on the table passed
38 by unanimous acclamation.
39
40
41 Ordinance No. 10 -04 -1817
42 2. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
43 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A BUDGET OF
44 $14r242 r $14,099,817 AND PAY PLAN FOR THE 2004/2005
45 FISCAL YEAR; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; ORDINANCES IN
46 CONFLICT; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
47 (City Manager)
48
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 17
MINUTES - September 28, 2004
1
Moved by Commission Sherar, seconded by
Commissioner
2
Wiscombe to approve this item.
3
4
Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by
Commissioner
5
Wiscombe, the motion to amend this item and to adopt
a budget of
6
$4;2422617 $14,099,817, and to approve this item
as a whole,
7
passed by unanimous acclamation.
8
9
10
3. Adjournment
11
12
13
COMMISSION REMARKS
14
(None)
15
16
17
There being no further business to come before this Body,
18
the meeting adjourned at 11:52 P.M.
19
20
Approved
21
Attest
22
23
24
Maria M. Menendez Mary Scott Russell
25
City Clerk Mayor
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION 18
MINUTES - September 26, 2004