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Description |
Palatka City Commission Regular Meeting |
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Date |
2/23/2006 |
Location |
Palatka City Commission |
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Time |
Speaker |
Note |
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CALL TO ORDER |
Mayor Flagg. |
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Present |
Mayor Karl N. Flagg; Commissioner Mary Lawson Brown, Allegra Kitchens, James Norwood, Jr. and George E. Sanders. |
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Also Present |
City Manager Allen R. Bush, City Attorney Donald E. Holmes, City Clerk Betsy Jordan Driggers, Finance Director Ruby Williams, Assistant City Clerk Karen Venables, Police Chief Gary Getchell, Planning Director Adam Mengel, Fire Chief Ken Venables, Fire Marshall Mark Lynady, Airport Supervisor Glenn Ball, Mainstreet Director Cathy Butler, Parks Supervisor Jeff Norton. |
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INVOCATION |
The Reverend Sophia Smith, Pastor; Church of God of Prophecy. |
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE |
Mrs. Oliver |
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES |
Commissioner Brown moved to approve the minutes of 1-12-06 and 1-26-06 as read. Commissioner Kitchens seconded the motion, which passed unopposed. |
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PUBLIC RECOGNITION |
PROCLAMATION - Mayor Flagg read a Proclamation recognizing the month of February, 2006 as Black History Month. Vice Mayor Brown accepted on behalf of all the citizens of Palatka. |
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BLACK HISTORY AND HERITAGE RECOGNITION - Mayor Flagg said each Commissioner nominated a specific citizen in this community who has given outstanding service and made contributions to enhance the quality of life in this community. Mayor Flagg and Commissioners Brown, Kitchens, Norwood and Sanders each introduced their choice for this recognition and presented them with a framed certificate and flowers. Mayor Flagg chose to recognize Dr. Andrea Findlater. Vice Mayor Brown chose to recognize Mrs. Julia White. Commissioner Kitchens chose to recognize Vice Mayor Mary Lawson Brown. Commissioner Sanders chose to recognize Curtis Lewis, Sr. Commissioner Norwood chose to recognize Laura Wright Carter. |
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PROCLAMATION - Mayor Flagg read and presented a proclamation proclaiming March 2-5, 2006 as the 60th Annual Florida Azalea Festival Days |
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PRESENTATION - Fire Marshal Mark Lynady presented to Mr. Miller, a representative from the Bingo Palace, a plaque recognizing their support and commitment to provide fire safety education for the citizens of the community. Mr. Lynady said they have received over $5,000 from the Bingo Palace since they began this program. The money goes towards purchasing fire prevention education supplies. |
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STUDENT OF THE MONTH |
Mayor Flagg asked Commissioner Norwood to join him in recognizing the following students for their academic excellence, leadership, citizenship and attendance at their respective schools: Jade Soncrant Beasley Middle School Ian Thompson Browning Pearce Elementary School Vender Rolle Children’s’ Reading Center Charter School Marquis Simmons E. H. Miller School Cedric McCoy James A. Long Elementary Sha’Keshia Session Jenkins Middle School Victoria Robbins Kelley Smith Elementary School Ranease Berry Mellon Elementary School William Barlow Moseley Elementary Eugene Fells Palatka High School David Hill Peniel Baptist Academy DeQuan Green Q. I. Roberts Middle School Hannah Williamson River Breeze Elementary School |
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PUBLIC COMMENTS |
Mrs. Ray Hall, 7300 Crill Ave., said the 5-Year Downtown Redevelopment Team will be meeting with Vestcor Monday, February 27th. She said the one thing that she is interested in is architectural styles and she did not agree with Vestcor's presentation, which was beautiful, but their style is not Palatka. She provided the commission with booklets she composed with pictures and renderings of old hotels and buildings that depict historic Palatka. She felt Vestcor's Spanish architectural style did not reflect Palatka. |
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Mr. Bush said the RFDQ that went out specifically stated that the City retains control of the architectural style. Ms. Hall said she knows that but she wants people to be prepared and to come to the meeting with input. |
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CONSENT AGENDA: |
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a. Introduce meeting call for joint Palatka City Commission/5-Year Downtown Redevelopment Planning Team meeting Feb. 27, 2006 @ 4:00 p.m. at Price Martin Center, for Riverfront Developer Negotiations b. Approve Downtown Palatka Schedule of Block Parties and Parades for 2006/January 2007 c. Appoint 2006 Golf Course Advisory Board (six members – club designees) 1. Kevin Durscher, PMGA President 2. Greg Jungenberg, PMGA Club Designee 3. Joyce Oliver, PWGA President 4. Gen Alvers, PWGA Club Designee 5. Dominic Esposito PSGA President 6. Ward Bair, PSGA Club Designee d. Award bid for electrical services to Oak Hill East Cemetery Maintenance Shed to Preston Electric in the amount of $1,800; item budgeted and appropriated from Better Place Funds e. Authorize execution of the Amtrak lease extension on the Train Depot/Intermodal Transportation Center, to commence May 1, 2006 and terminating on April 30, 2011, and providing for two (2) five (5) year options to renew. f. Issue Class A Special Event Permit No. 2006-16 for 2006 Florida Azalea Festival***
March 5, 2006 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 2. Close St. Johns Avenue from Memorial Drive to 4th Street during festival hours to parking and vehicular traffic.
5. Festival Permit fee – staff recommendation; $540 for police security fees (30 hrs @ 18/hr), $200 for Festival Permit Fee ($100/day for two days); stipulate Applicant pays actual landfill tipping fees. Applicant agrees to pay Downtown Palatka for the actual FP&L charges for use of their electrical boxes. ***STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL of all request items. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Sanders moved to pass the consent agenda as presented. Commissioner Brown seconded the motion, which passed unopposed. |
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REPORTS OF DEPARTMENTS AND COMMITTEES |
HURRICANE TABLETOP EXERCISE - Police Chief Gary Getchell briefed the City Commission on the results of the Hurricane tabletop exercise his department conducted in May, 2005. All departments participated. He said they did identify deficiencies and strengths, which are outlined in his review (filed). One of the main questions from the participants was to inquire as to what exactly they were supposed to be doing, which tells him they really do need to have brief job descriptions for employees in the case of a pending hurricane or man-made disaster. As a municipality they all have one job, which is their daily functional job, but they haven’t clearly outlined what each of their roles are as they relate to hurricanes or other disasters that they will “have to rise to the occasion” and deal with as city employees. They are proceeding ahead with putting these things in place, but it takes time. He feels the City is better prepared as a municipality today than they were on the date of the tabletop, and certainly the better than year before, when they did have some recall situations. |
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Commissioner Brown said she would like the information that is passed along during these types of situations given to all the Commissioners. |
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Chief Getchell said during the actual events of the hurricanes of 2004 and especially during the tabletop, they determined that there is a need for a constant flow of information from the command center as it relates to the City’s activities. One of the recommendations that came out of this is the procedural need for updates every 30 minutes. There is technology that can be utilized other than picking up the phone and calling people every thirty minutes, and this is one of the things they will be looking at. |
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Commissioner Brown said she does not need to be updated every thirty minutes, but does need information on where people can go for shelter, so when she gets calls from citizens she can inform them. |
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Chief Getchell said one suggestion was to put an information officer in place. This does not necessarily have to be a police officer; it could be another city employee that is making those contacts. Other suggestions for improvement include conducting skills assessments of all City employees. Every employee should have a preplanned secondary job. They also need adequate space for a City emergency operations center. At this time there is no policy for housing families, plans for feeding City workers, or established procedures for extending Incident Command Operations during recovery. Communication is always an issue and they need to invest in an appropriate number of communications radios for City employees. There is a need to establish procedures for conducting City-wide damage assessments. Many City departments lack depth within the management ranks and need plans for relief and succession. They need equipment redundancy, generators for City Hall and Price-Martin Center, weather monitoring equipment for the City’s EOC, and they need to purchase variable messaging signs to alert motorists of changing events. His department is planning another tabletop exercise this year. He will be attending the Hurricane Conference in May and thinks it is important that other department heads in the City attend and, if possible, a couple of elected officials. The documents he gave the commission include a registration form for that conference, if they are interested. |
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Mayor Flagg thanked Chief Getchell for his review and asked how frequently these exercises would be held. Chief Getchell said one per year or one every other year would be the norm, depending on how many deficiencies are identified and how comfortable people are with it. Last year was the first tabletop, and they did identify deficiencies. They want to go through and do their assessments, equipment inventories and those types of things to have a City wide document outlining these things, and then hold another tabletop exercise and see how well they do with the changes that have been made. Chief Getchell said the 2006 Hurricane Season is predicted to be the worst one yet. |
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Commissioner Sanders said they need to identify school cafeterias that are further away from the river, and need to start looking at surplus outlets for generators. |
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Commissioner Brown said she knows a few people who do a good job of feeding people, who have a large enough kitchen to do so, and they could be asked to take care of feeding City employees. Churches could be targeted as an avenue for feeding large groups. |
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Mayor Flagg said they need to know whether these places are certified by the Red Cross or whomever, because if they are trying to get people to safety they need to know if these buildings are safe and will hold up. |
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Chief Getchell said his concern is not so much where they are going to house citizens, but where they are going to house the Commission, employees and their families. For the most part, the County is responsible for the evacuation of citizens. They already know what buildings are certified and what buildings aren't, and which buildings still need to be assessed. When they do an inventory of assets necessary for disasters, one of the factors that would be considered is whether the building will sustain that 100-year storm. That is the factor that is used when they are looking at putting people in something. Commission Sanders asked if there is a building that will sustain a Category 3 storm. Chief Getchell said the County has an inventory of those buildings, but the City hasn’t gone out and looked at other buildings that would meet the City’s needs for housing and feeding people. The County’s assets are pretty much used up. When people start coming in from other counties, the shelters fill up in no time. |
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Commissioner Sanders said they need to look at places with natural gas facilities because electricity is usually the first thing to go during a storm. Commissioner Kitchens concurred with Commissioner Sanders about the generators and said she’d seen an advertisement on the natural gas calendar for natural gas generators. Chief Getchell said those generators cost significantly more than the diesel. |
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Commissioner Norwood said during the last hurricane there was a lot of confusion over which buildings were certified and where the certified buildings were located. He asked how they are communicating those issues to the citizens, noting people need this information well in advance of any disasters. |
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Chief Getchell said according to state statute, unless the City puts its own emergency plan in place for dealing with disasters, the County is basically in charge. When they declare an emergency, which is pivoted off the Governor’s declaration of emergency, they are the entity that manages and identifies the shelters and get those messages out. The City does need to post a list of shelters and their ratings on its web site. |
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To answer Commission Norwood’s question, Mr. Bush said he is the Emergency Coordinator for the City of Palatka, and under the current plan, all of the departments know what their responsibilities are. Chief Getchell is touching on certain areas like locations for families and additional generators, and each department has looked at this. The Fire Chief is working with FEMA on grants for building security and generators, and the Chief headed up the tabletop exercise. |
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Mayor Flagg asked when they will have a written plan ready for adoption by the City Commission. Chief Getchell said he would like to have this done before the hurricane season begins. This is a very aggressive plan. In the meantime, the City has a plan in place, and they know what works and doesn’t work. Mr. Bush noted everyone has a specific task. The command center dispenses the information to those who need it and it is dealt with accordingly. Mayor Flagg said there needs to be a simulation process that takes place during calm times wherein each employee of the City, regardless of what department they work in, can be catalogued as to their talents and gifts. Chief Getchell is talking about maximizing resources. In the 2004 season, other Mayors were calling him because they didn't know what was going on, and he didn't know anymore than they did; they were all out of the loop. It was not that the County was purposely withholding information, but there were holes in the communications. They need to establish an information chain to a core group of individuals that can disseminate the information to where it needs to go, and all the various municipalities need to be in that loop. Mr. Bush said the responsibility for that lies with EMS, who has the majority of the control of coordination and communications. They are supposed to notify everyone right down to individual municipalities of the communications they receive. |
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Chief Getchell said in the past, after EMS has taken their action, they start calling and asking what their plan of action is. They need do this long before any declaration of disaster is issued because they need to be ahead of the game. When the disaster is 72 hours out and the coastal counties begin evacuation, they are going to begin procedures regardless of what the county does, because the coastal counties are going to impact the city in terms of traffic control, accidents, direction, etc. They have to watch what is going on all over the state and determine how it will impact the City. |
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Commissioner Sanders said he believes both radio stations went out during the last storm. Fire Chief Venables said Putnam County Emergency Management has coordinated with WIYD and WPLK and possibly WHIF, so if they lose towers they have other ways to coordinate so they still have countywide radio communication with residents through commercial stations. |
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Airport Supervisor Glenn Ball said he received some very good information regarding hurricane preparedness last year while attending a conference. They are in the process of building an 8,700 sq. foot terminal building, and one of the things discussed is that the entire building will withstand a category 5 storm so that it can act as a command center during emergency situations. The airport will have the necessary infrastructure to operate a command center, such as fiber-optic lines & capabilities etc. Chief Getchell said they have identified a need for satellite phones; there are ways to acquire them cheaply. |
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Mayor Flagg said the Commission would like advance notice of the next tabletop exercise and would like at least one elected official to attend the Hurricane Conference held in May. He asked Chief Getchell to get some figures to go with the items for inclusion during budget hearings. Chief Getchell said they plan to rely on the department heads to include these items in their individual budgets. |
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Mr. Bush said the generators for the water plant proved to be a problem during the 2004 storms; they started losing some water pressure, so those generators were purchased from this year’s budget. FEMA would not them, so the city took the initiative and bought them, as water supply is critical. |
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Chief Venables said they currently have seven hazard mitigation grant applications pending with FEMA for storm shutters or panels for seven city buildings for storm protection. They tried to get generators for these buildings also, but FEMA said no to the generators, saying there is another grant program that hasn't opened yet to address those. Mr. Bush said the chances of obtaining funding for these from FEMA is slim to none, and they should be looking at budgeting these things. Mayor Flagg said he is also concerned about radio communication between departments even when there is not a storm. Chief Venables noted the ability to communicate is critical during any emergency. |
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REQUEST FOR INDICATION OF RECEPTIVENESS |
Proposal to Partner with Ride Solutions on an Intermodal & Public Transit System, and the Relocation of Ride Solutions administration to the Palatka Intermodal Transportation Center (Train Depot). Mr. Boyd Thompson, Director of Operations said he was here to request a letter of interest or some indication from the City of Palatka as to its receptiveness to a partnership between the City of Palatka and Ride Solution to develop and further the multimodal potential that exists at the Palatka Train Station. He has had discussions with City Staff and he thinks it is possible to relocate Ride Solution administration, or a portion of that staff, to the train station so as to keep the train station open for Amtrak passengers. As a result of the transportation meeting that Congressman Mica held back in September, he has had some very promising discussions with FDOT and Greyhound regarding the opening of a St. Augustine/Palatka/Gainesville Greyhound link, with them functioning as a subcontractor to Greyhound. |
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Commissioner Brown said they need to do whatever will facilitate keeping the trains coming to Palatka, so they need to move this process along. Mayor Flagg noted Ride Solutions is a private corporation. Mr. Thompson said they are a private, non-profit, spin-off of the Association for Retarded Citizens of Putnam County, which is their parent corporation. As to the designation of Mr. Thompson as the Community Transportation Coordinator, Mr. Thompson said that is a state function that is a result of 1979 legislation. |
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Mayor Flagg said the request is for an indication of receptiveness and at this point he thinks there needs to be a specific group that represents the City of Palatka so that this can continue to move forward. The City will rely upon its Attorney to make sure that any documents that are prepared on the City's part meet the standard that is appropriate for the City of Palatka. |
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Mr. Bush said he needs to provide Mr. Thompson with a letter stating the Commission has discussed it and is interested in sitting down and discussing an agreement. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Brown moved to direct Mr. Bush to compose a letter of interest to Ride Solution, Inc.'s Board of Directors indicating the City Commission’ receptiveness to their proposal. Commissioner Sanders seconded the motion, which passed unopposed. |
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PRESENTATION OF PROPOSAL FOR 2008 AIR SHOW |
Michael Heeb, President, Florida Air Attractions, said the concept for this show grew out of suggestions from Palatka Mainstreet as a concept for economic development for the city. Air shows are very popular, they draw large sections of the population, commonly have attendance of 50,000 to 1000,000 people, who will travel approximately 60 miles by car and 200 miles by plane to attend them. They showcase the community and will support the city’s revitalization efforts. It also stimulates the economy by promoting local merchants and community participation. It attracts a sophisticated public with higher incomes. The airport fly-ins also demonstrate the airport’s capabilities, and serves as a recruitment tool for the city. It can draw in people who will want to use the airport as a business center. New aeronautical businesses help the city’s tax base and provide new jobs paying higher than average salaries. Palatka has a first class airport that is well maintained with up to date airport facilities. The 6,500-foot primary runway provides greater safety for performers than most municipal airports and it has a large ‘air box,’ approximately 2 times the size of most municipal airports. It has 3 auxiliary runways, which provides ample ramp space for preparation of performing aircraft and space for static displays of aircraft, antique autos and vendor booths. Undeveloped land to the west and south provides air space for performers to prepare for show. He proposes to hold an air show at Kay Larkin Field in 2008, and is asking that the City approve the use of the airport for an air show to be conducted through a non-profit (501-C3) he will form. The City and volunteer service organizations would participate in the profits of the air show. He will ask the City to assist in conducting the air show by providing certain services and technical support. |
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Mayor Flagg said asked when he will be prepared to be more specific about what support the City of Palatka would need to provide. There is an application process for special events, and that should be tendered in whatever chronological time frame that Mr. Heeb sets, so that the City can have the proper people come in and look at his plans, so they will know what he expects from the City. At this point, the only thing that the Commission could do tonight is give him an indication of receptiveness |
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Mr. Heeb said he has been meeting with various representatives of city government, and he has met with Cathy Butler, who coordinates special events, and has been briefed on those requirements. He is trying to get his 501-c3 designation. There will be an executive board of directors and a board of advisors that will help. They will be looking into all the various aspects, such as meeting with the various departments of the City that are needed to hold the show. Originally he was coming tonight to ask permission to have the air show, but because it is going to be delayed a year, he felt it would be a good thing to advise the Commission as a group that he is still moving forward with it. He would like to get some indication of acceptability. |
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Commissioner Kitchens said she had met with Mr. Heeb and thought it was an interesting proposal. She understands the City sharing the profits, but understands he also would like the City to share in the losses, if any. She said Mr. Heeb mentioned other festivals, and to her knowledge the City does not donate any money to these festivals, or at least not a huge amount. The City does not share in any loss the festivals incur, so Mr. Heeb might want to look at other sponsors to help with the expenses. |
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Mr. Heeb said they are doing that. The kind of things they would ask the City to participate in would be organizational in nature. They will have to deal with traffic patterns and setting up blockages in certain areas and things like that. These things would be paid for from the proceeds of the show. Mr. Bush said these people do not come in and put on air shows for free. They will have to pay a fee just like the festivals do. He asked how they will offset costs in the event they don’t make enough money to cover them. Mr. Heeb said they will solicit sponsors to underwrite the show, and will obtain rainout insurance. They will do whatever it takes to make the show a success. Mayor Flagg said it seemed there was a consensus on an indication of receptiveness and asked him to provide updates to the City Manager. |
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PUBLIC HEARING |
County Road 309C - Planning Board Recommendation to Annex, Amend the Land Use Map from County Urban Reserve to City Low-density Residential and Rezone from County A (agricultural) to City R-1 (single-family residential) Ben Bates, Jr. and Marc Spalding, owners - Mayor Flagg noted the Commission received a letter (filed) that was sent to Adam Mengel, Planning Director from Marc Spalding in reference to 309-C, annexation and variances, which states that, in view of new developments, they would like to continue this request to the next regular meeting of the City Commission. They would like time to explore more options concerning the availability of Public Services. Mayor Flagg said he did not see the need for discussion other than the Commission responding to the request to continue this public hearing to a time certain, which would be the March 9th meeting. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Brown moved to continue the Public Hearing for 196 County Road 309C on annexation, land use amendment and rezoning until March 9, 2006 at petitioner's request. Commissioner Sanders seconded the motion. |
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Roll Call Vote |
Commissioners Brown, Kitchens, Norwood, Sanders and Mayor Flagg, yes; Nays, none. |
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REQUEST FOR SUBDIVISION VARIANCES |
Proposed subdivision on 196 CR
309 C Property – Ben Bates & Marc Spaulding, owners: a.
To Increase the maximum length of a dead end street from 600 feet to
810 feet – (Sec.74-13j) b.
Eliminate Sidewalks (Sec. 74-14 &
74-21) c. Eliminate Curb & Gutter (Sec. 74-20 and 74-22) |
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Motion |
Commissioner Norwood moved to continue the requests for subdivision variances on 196 CR 309C until March 9, 2006, per the petitioner’s request (filed). Commissioner Sanders seconded the motion, which passed unopposed. |
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PUBLIC HEARING |
SW Corner of the Intersection of Reid Street (SR100) and N. Moody Road - Planning Board Recommendation to Annex, Amend the Land Use Map from County Urban Service to City Industrial, and Rezone from County IL to City M-1 – Palatka Lodge 184, Loyal Order of Moose, owner; Gordon Brooks, Representative. Mayor Flagg opened the Public Hearing for Annexation. Mr. Gordon Brooks was present on behalf of the Palatka Lodge 184, to answer any questions. There being no further discussion, Mayor Flagg closed the Public Hearing. |
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ORDINANCE No. 06-13 |
Annexation - The Clerk read an ordinance entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALATKA, FLORIDA ANNEXING INTO THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PALATKA, FLORIDA CERTAIN ADJACENT TERRITORY IN SECTION 03, township 10 SOUTH, RANGE 26 EAST, PUBLIC RECORDS OF PUTNAM COUNTY, FLORIDA CONTIGUOUS TO THE BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY OF PALATKA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Brown moved to adopt Ordinance No. 06-13 as presented. Commissioner Kitchens seconded the motion. |
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Roll Call Vote |
Commissioner Kitchens, Norwood, Sanders, Brown and Mayor Flagg, yes; Nays, none. The ordinance was declared adopted. |
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ORDINANCE No. 06-14 |
Land Use Amendment - The Clerk read an ordinance entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALATKA, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP AND FUTURE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE ADOPTED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WITH RESPECT TO ONE PARCEL OF LAND (LESS THAN 10 ACRES IN SIZE) AS DESCRIBED HEREINAFTER, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Norwood moved to adopt Ordinance No. 06-14 as presented. Commissioner Sanders seconded the motion. |
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Roll Call Vote |
Commissioners Norwood, Sanders, Brown, Kitchens, and Mayor Flagg, yes; Nays, none. The ordinance was declared adopted. |
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ORDINANCE |
Rezoning – 1st Reading - The Clerk read an ordinance entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALATKA, FLORIDA PROVIDING THAT THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF PALATKA, FLORIDA BE AMENDED AS TO THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY IN SECTION 03, TOWNSHIP 10 SOUTH, RANGE 26 EAST; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Brown moved to pass the ordinance on first reading as read. Commissioner Kitchens seconded the motion. |
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Roll Call Vote |
Commissioners Sanders, Brown, Kitchens, Norwood and Mayor Flagg, yes; Nays, none. The ordinance was declared passed on first reading. |
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COMMISSIONER APPOINTMENTS |
The City Clerk said the City of Palatka lost three members of the Palatka Better Place Plan Oversight Committee. Originally each Commissioner was assigned a zone and asked to submit a name of someone who either lived in or was closely associated with that geographical area to serve on the Committee. Mayor Flagg, vice Mayor Brown and Commissioner Kitchens should be prepared to appoint someone or continue it to a time certain if they do not have anyone in mind. Commissioner Brown and Commissioner Kitchens said they were prepared to appoint someone tonight. |
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Commissioner Brown said she would like to appoint Sandy Ward as the Zone 3 representative. |
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Commissioner Kitchens said she would like to appoint Arlene Huber as the Zone 4 representative. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Norwood moved to accept the recommendations for appointment of Sandy Ward as Zone 3 and Arlene Huber, Esq. as Zone 4 representatives on the Palatka Better Place Plan Oversight Committee, and to table appointment of the Zone 5 representative until March 9, 2006. Commissioner Sanders seconded the motion, which passed unopposed. Mayor Flagg said the vacancy for Zone 5 will be advertised for applicants. |
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VIDEO AND DISCUSSION |
The City Clerk noted the Commission and staff will be viewing this video, produced by the Florida League of Cities and entitled “Public Officials Liability,” in response to Vice Mayor Brown's request to agenda this video for discussion. The video itself is in four parts runs about 30 minutes. |
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There was consensus to address the remainder of the Orders of the Day and to view the video as the final Order of the Day. |
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: |
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City Manager Allen R. Bush |
Results of Riverfront Concession Stand RFP - Mr. Bush said a memo was sent out regarding the RFP on the use and operation of the riverfront concession stand. They put this out for proposals, and two proposals were received. He recommends that the Commission appoint a five-member committee to review the proposals and award the lease. He recommended the appointment of himself, Susan Player, one commissioner, the City Manager and Jeff Norton, the parks supervisor. |
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Motion |
Commissioner Brown moved to appoint a committee of Allen Bush, Susan Player, Commissioner Norwood, Jeff Norton and City Attorney, Don Holmes to review bids and make the award. Commissioner Kitchens seconded the motion |
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Mr. Holmes said he is in agreement with Mr. Bush and his concept, but technically he thinks the City Commission has to award the bid. |
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Mr. Bush said the commission has delegated bid review committees with the authority to go ahead and make an award many times; this is nothing new. They should let the committee review it, and if Mr. Holmes then feels it needs to come back to the commission, they will bring it back. |
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Mr. Bush read his memo of recommendation on the appointment of this committee into the records (filed). The two bids were from Calvin Close, an individual, and Downtown Palatka, Inc., through its president, Leonard Freeman. |
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Mayor Flagg concurred with Mr. Holmes, and suggested Commissioner Norwood bring the recommendation back to the Commission. |
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Commissioner Brown said this has gone back and forth for several meetings; she would like to have the matter settled and get the stand opened up. There are festivals coming up and they need to get this underway. Pride of Palatka was thinking of taking some of the funding they were going to get for the boat and do improvements for the waterfront with it. She said they are talking to people who could do this for them, which would enhance the riverfront a make it user-friendlier for people at this time. |
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Commissioner Kitchens said she thinks the appointment of this committee is a step forward and the decision could be brought back to the commission in the next few weeks if that is what Mr. Holmes decides needs to be done. Mr. Bush said there is precedence for appointing a committee with the authorization to award a bid. There are some questions that need to be resolved in one of the proposals. Commissioner Brown said it is time to move on. Between Commissioner Norwood, the City Manager and City Attorney, they should be able to get this done. Mr. Bush said if the Commission would like to look at the recommendation of the committee, this could be done. Commissioner Sanders said the members of the committee are certainly capable of making a decision. Mr. Holmes said he did not think it was unlawful or illegal for the committee to make the award, it is just a matter of preference. |
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Mayor Flagg said, in reference to the memo that was attached to Downtown Palatka's bid, which made reference to a meeting that reportedly took place at the riverfront, in the spirit of disclosure, and on behalf of himself and Jeff Norton, this had nothing to do with the bid. It was just information that was shared. He does not want anything going in there that is going effect the overall plan of the downtown riverfront redevelopment. Commissioner Kitchens it wouldn’t affect it since the riverfront park has been specifically excluded from both of the developer’s plans. Commissioner Brown said whomever gets the bid needs to know that if they are not in step with what is going on then those adjustments will have to be made. |
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Vote On The Motion |
There being no further discussion on the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed unopposed. |
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City Clerk Betsy Driggers |
Said she hopes to see everyone at the Mayors Reception next Thursday night. |
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COMMISSIONER COMMENTS |
Commissioner Sanders said he has been driving up and down the city and took note of the sidewalks, which are looking very good. People are talking about it. |
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RECESS |
There was consensus from the Commission to take a short recess to set up for the video. Mayor Flagg called the meeting back to order at 8:41 p.m. |
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VIDEO AND DISCUSSION (Agenda Item 11) |
The City Commission and staff viewed a video produced by the Florida League of Cities entitled “Public Officials’ Liability.” After viewing it, the Commission held a question and answer period with the City Attorney, City Manager, Clerk and other staff. Commissioner Brown said the Commission should do this type of thing more often. |
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Commissioner Kitchens noted in the video it stated City Attorney represents the entity and not the individual official, and anything you say to the city attorney can be used as testimony against you in court. She believed that when the commission talks to the attorney as officials it was a privileged conversation. Mr. Holmes said if a commissioner comes to him and tells him, for instance, that they violated the Sunshine Law, that conversation is not protected information because he represents the entity. |
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There was a short discussion regarding executive session. Mr. Holmes said he has not yet found a statue that he could cite that would justify holding an executive session. |
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ADJOURN |
At 9:36 p.m. upon a motion by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Kitchens. |
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