05-02-05_TCRMMinutes

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE LONGBOAT KEY TOWN COMMISSION
MAY 2, 2005 - 7:00 PM

Present: Mayor Johnson, Vice Mayor Webster, Commissioners Rothenberg, Clair,
Spoll, Dawson, Whatmough

Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
The Regular Meeting of the Longboat Key Town Commission was called to order at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall Commission Chamber, 501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, Florida. Commissioner Clair led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Proclamations and Special Presentations
1. Proclamation - Civility Month - May 2005
Town Clerk Spencer read the proclamation designating the month of May 2005, as Civility Month.

2. Proclamation - National Public Works Week - May 15-21, 2005
Town Clerk Spencer read the proclamation announcing the week of May 15-21, 2005, as National Public Works Week. The document was presented to Public Works Director Florensa and James Linkogle.

Dale Carnegie Graduation Honors
Manager St. Denis announced and congratulated James Linkogle who was nominated by his peers and received the Dale Carnegie Highest Achievement Award after completing the Dale Carnegie course.

3. Proclamation - Blue Star Salute Day, An Armed Forces Celebration - May 21, 2005
Town Clerk Spencer read the proclamation to designate May 21, 2005 to pay tribute to the Armed Forces as the servants and protectors of our Nation and known as the Blue Star Salute Day. Dr. Leonard Sirotzki, Manatee County American Legion, accepted the proclamation on behalf of Manatee County Veterans. On May 21, 2005 there would be six points of celebration: Manatee County Beach, one at each end of the Green Bridge, GT Bray Park, Lakewood Ranch High School and DeSoto Speedway; a celebration would be held for armed forces families at McKechnie Field.

Memorial to Leona Sherwood
Mayor Johnson announced that Leona Sherwood, Longboat Key resident and artist, passed away after living to age 90, having taught more than 2,000 students, and holding more than 600 exhibits. A recognized artist, for "memoryscapes," four works of her art were donated to the Town of Longboat Key by her family and will proudly be hung at Town Hall.

Comcast Local Service Plans
Rod Dagenais, Regional Comcast representative, explained Comcast had some national outages as well as local ones as the company was continually working on updating their services. Interference of signals for high-speed Internet users was experienced during the filtering out of the signals; however, no cable services were experienced over the past several weeks. On May 1, 2005 a two and one-half hour outage occurred due to power failure. He advised Comcast would better communicate with users in the future. He requested an opportunity to return in 30 days to give/receive a report card on services at that time.

Al Green, former Commissioner and Comcast user, reported spam email from Comcast requesting Social Security numbers to verify service. Mr. Dagenais confirmed the email was not from Comcast.

Approval of Minutes
4. April 4, 2005 Regular Meeting Minutes
The April 4, 2005 Regular Meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

Committee Reports and Communications
MPO Transportation Report
Commissioner Whatmough reported attending the MPO meeting, MCAT and SCAT were communicating to bridge the gap on Longboat Key concerning public transportation. The Water Taxi, a potential future service may run from the Quay to Selby and Mote or St. Armands Circle and other locations, was being considered; a cost update for the Water Taxi program would be forthcoming at the end of May by Manatee County. Grants for transportation would be sought to augment the County transportation systems.

Economic Board of Development Corporation (EDC) of Sarasota County
Commissioner Dawson invited all Commissioners to an open house in the new EDC offices on Friday, May 6, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM; reported on the EDC meetings primarily concerning affordable housing; the conference center in Sarasota was seeking a new financially viable location. Mayor Johnson commented the EDC was financially sound due to founder donations.

Dedication of the Regina
Vice Mayor Webster attended the dedication of one of ten of the State's underwater archaeological preserves, the only one on the west coast of Florida, located off of Bradenton Beach, known by the sunken molasses ship's name Regina. Brochures were distributed.

5. Citizens Tax Oversight Committee Annual Report
Finance Director Sullivan gave the annual report as Liaison to this committee. The audit showed that $2,161,293 was expended or committed to identified projects: beach nourishment, streets and drainage, potable water interconnect, canal dredging, parks improvements. The One-Cent Sales tax currently totals $5.2 million. The committee recommended a review by the Town Commission of allocations and recommended use of the funds to insure appropriate continued use of these funds. The committee recommended the remaining funds be allocated for street flooding issues identified in FY 2004.

It was suggested the Recreation Center and land acquisition be added to the approved project list.

There was consensus to forward a review of the project list to a future workshop.

The Sarasota County gas tax distribution is based on population, the Town's portion was equal to 1.57% of the total tax.

Ordinances - First Reading
6. Ordinance 05-09, Budget Transfer in the Amount of $221,000 for In-Line Booster Ordinance 05-09 was placed on first reading.

It was moved by Whatmough, seconded by Webster, to pass Ordinance 05-09, Budget Transfer in the Amount of $221,000 for an In-Line Booster, on first reading. Motion carried unanimously on roll call vote: Whatmough, aye; Webster, aye; Rothenberg, aye; Spoll, aye; Dawson, aye; Clair, aye; Johnson, aye.

Ordinance 05-09 was forwarded to the 06-06 Regular Meeting for second reading and public hearing.

Resolutions
7. Resolution 05-07, Establishing Policy for Town Commission E-Mail
Manager St. Denis announced Resolution 05-07 provided for an e-mail policy for Town Commissioners; e-mail received on matters that could be reasonably foreseeable as Town business shall be forwarded to and answered from their business account; e-mail concerning potential Town business among Town Commissioners shall be sent exclusively by using the Business Account, and a copy would automatically be provided to the Town Clerk for public record and retention; State Public Records Law or Sunshine Law requirements would not be waived; requests for copies of emails, governed by this Resolution, must be submitted to the Town Clerk.

It was moved by Spoll, seconded by Dawson, to pass Resolution 05-07, Establishing Policy for Town Commission E-Mail.

Commissioner Rothenberg opposed the formal adoption of an email policy stating Commissioners were responsible and would comply without one. Manager St. Denis explained that a formal policy would provide the Town with procedures that would protect the Town and Town Commissioners regarding Sunshine and Public Records Laws.

Motion carried 6-1 on roll call vote: Spoll, aye; Dawson, aye; Clair, aye; Whatmough, aye; Johnson, aye; Webster, aye; Rothenberg, nay.

8. Resolution 05-09, Establishing a Policy for Commissioners to Hold Informal Forums on Town Property
Manager St. Denis discussed Resolution 05-09 allowing Town Commissioners to hold informal forums with constituents on Town property.

It was moved by Clair, seconded by Whatmough, to pass Resolution 05-09, Establishing a Policy for Town Commission to hold informal meetings on Town property.

Discussion to amend the Resolution to include a trigger for the starting period for Commissioners running for election and having an opponent from the time an opponent has filed and March 30th during the election year resulted in an amendment to Section 1 (A).

It was moved by Spoll, seconded by Webster, to strike between January 1st and insert when an election becomes contested until the conclusion of the election. Motion to amend Resolution 05-09 carried 5-2: Spoll, aye; Webster, aye; Rothenberg, aye; Dawson, nay; Clair, nay; Whatmough, aye; Johnson aye.

Al Green suggested Commissioners hold public meetings instead of informal forums.

Motion on Resolution 05-09, as amended failed 4-3 on roll call vote: Clair, nay; Whatmough, aye; Johnson, nay; Webster, aye; Rothenberg, aye; Spoll, nay; Dawson, nay.

9. Resolution 05-10, Supporting an Interlocal Agreement to Create Uniform Growth Management Standards for Manatee County as Reflected in "The Accord"
Mayor Johnson gave a brief history of the Resolution to resolve issues between the municipalities and Manatee County. Town Attorney Persson added that the County requested support to strengthen the Accord.

It was moved by Webster, seconded by Rothenberg, to pass Resolution 05-10, Supporting an Interlocal Agreement to Create Uniform Growth Management Standards for Manatee County as reflected in "The Accord."

Discussion confirmed the Town was supporting the strengthening of The Accord; the Town Mayor attended meetings among the municipalities and the County; the Resolution was a response to a County request for support.

Motion carried unanimously on roll call vote: Webster, aye; Rothenberg, aye; Spoll, aye; Dawson, aye; Clair, aye; Whatmough, aye; Johnson, aye.

New Business
10. Appointments/Reappointments to Town Boards
Town Clerk Spencer polled Commissioners as follows:

Pat Arends was unanimously reappointed to the Planning & Zoning Board, Seat 4, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Allen Hixon was unanimously appointed to the Planning & Zoning Board, Seat 5, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Walter Hackett, Jr. was unanimously reappointed to the Planning & Zoning Board, Seat 6, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Phineas Alpers was unanimously reappointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Seat 3, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Laurin Goldner was unanimously reappointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Seat 4, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Albie Frank was unanimously reappointed to the Code Enforcement Board, Seat 3, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Having received the most votes, Beverly Shapiro was appointed to the Code Enforcement Board, Seat 4, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

Applicant	Clair	Rothenberg	Webster	Johnson	Spoll	Dawson	Whatmough
CEB Seat 5
Fuller	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Hullinger

Claudia Fuller was unanimously reappointed to the Code Enforcement Board, Seat 5, for a three-year term expiring May 2008.

David Brenner was unanimously appointed to the Citizens Tax Oversight Committee with a term expiring May 2009.

12. Budget Transfer in the Amount of $25,000 from Town Commission Contingency Funds for St. Armand's Stormwater Improvement Project Grant
The Commission forwarded consideration of a grant of $25,000 to Sarasota County as a contribution to the St. Armand's stormwater improvement project grant from the April 21, 2005 Regular Workshop.

It was moved by Rothenberg, seconded by Whatmough, to authorize the budget transfer in the amount of $25,000 from Commission Contingency Funds. Motion carried 6-1: Rothenberg, aye; Clair, aye; Johnson, aye; Webster, aye; Spoll, aye; Dawson, nay; Whatmough, aye.

13. Request to Donate 1999 Ford Van to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Bureau of Environmental Investigations
It was moved by Dawson, seconded by Webster, to authorize donation of the van to FDEP Bureau of Environmental Investigations. Motion carried unanimously.

14. Budget Transfer for Sidewalk Project - Funding for Re-Landscaping for Affected Properties
The sidewalk project for the West side of Gulf of Mexico Drive was forwarded for consideration from the April 21, 2005 Regular Workshop.

It was moved by Webster, seconded by Spoll, to authorize a budget transfer in the amount of $102,970 from Commission Contingency Funds.

It was noted that the motion did not include the additional $9,880 requested by the Islander.

Discussion concerning whether all parties were to agree to the terms of reimbursement prior to Commission approval, a disagreement between landscape architects as to the project costs took place, $232,000 Enhancement Grant funding and the Town's lack of vision in the additional cost of landscaping. It was recognized that the sidewalk was important as well as the landscaping. Based on current direction from the Commission, the project was to move forward. Commissioner Dawson stated the Town could not protect all of its citizens from themselves, he felt there was an inequity in that the north end of the Island was not included and that he opposed the transfer.

Motion carried 4-3: Webster, aye; Spoll, aye; Dawson, nay; Clair, aye; Whatmough, nay; Rothenberg, aye; Johnson, nay.

15. Bay Isles Association, Inc. - Acceptance of Easement and Provisions for Grant
Town Attorney Persson recommended amending page 2, item 3, third line, fourth word to delete the word accrued and insert expended; on page 3, item 5(g) the agreement be amended to clarify costs related to the project to include engineering services and permitting fees. A budget transfer from Commission Contingency Funds in the amount of $330,000 was recommended.

There was consensus to amend Item 5(g) to include engineering services and permitting fees.

Richard Weber, Bay Isles Association President, clarified the cost of the dredging was $594,000 additional costs brought the total of the project to $630,000. Manager St. Denis requested criteria include certification of each project segment up to $330,000 in matching funds, and that costs be documented.

Discussion regarding the related costs and the procedure for reimbursement be per section followed. Town Attorney Persson confirmed that no change to the agreement was necessary. Mr. Weber displayed a map indicating the locations of the inflow and outflow of the desilting program on the driving range. The reimbursement timeframe questioned as to how to determine when the 30-day period was. Approximately $100,000 remained in the FY 2005 funding for canal dredging; Finance Director Sullivan recommended the FY 2005 General Fund Reserves for reimbursement; unallocated funds in the amount of $230,000 were earmarked for this project including $140,000 for additional Seagrass mitigation, mangrove trimming and buoy maintenance could be considered in FY 2006 funding.

There was a consensus to approve the budget transfer; an ordinance would be forwarded for adoption in this regard.

The Manager raised the question of exactly what was included in the easement. Town Attorney Persson explained the easement was worded to include all canals within the Bay Isles Association; there were no private canals as to rights of navigation. The easement conferred rights of navigation to all salt-water canals from the Perimeter Channel from behind Buttonwood all the way down through Bay Isles including all canals within Bay Isles Master Association. Manager St. Denis stated the Harbour section was not included and required clarification prior to acceptance of the easement. Mr. Persson advised a title search would be required to determine the exact canals affected in order to make an opinion.

Claudia Fuller, Winslow Place, reported a lack of maintenance of the Weston Pointe canal impacted Buttonwood; asked if the shore and riprap would be repaired.

Commissioner Clair recommended legal descriptions of the canals be included in an amended document and come before the Commission for further consideration. Town Attorney Persson requested a timeframe for the funding. He suggested accepting the easement as is and would clarify exactly what was included at the following Regular Meeting. A map could be included as an Exhibit to the Easement.

It was moved by Spoll, seconded by Dawson, to accept the easement. Motion carried unanimously on voice vote.

16. The Islander Club Erosion Control Discussion
It was moved by Dawson, seconded by Spoll, to authorize the Town Manager to contract a fourth party for a peer review of the project.

Commissioner Rothenberg requested the issue be revisited to confirm understanding of the discussion. He disagreed with a fourth party peer review. The Commission heard from three consultants who all agreed that the first choice was to overfill at the Islander; consideration of authorizing semipermiable structures was a secondary consideration; geotextile tubes were in place; the question at hand was whether or not to nourish and overfill or build structures. He introduced Gordon Haglund, a former Town Commissioner and 1993 Beach Committee member, who studied the beach program recommendations and requested he answer questions regarding the history of the program.

Gordon Haglund, 7580 Alister McKinsey, Sarasota, stated he would be glad to provide a history of the program but the current Commission was making current decisions. Professor Dean and Applied Technology and Management (ATM) were the Town's consultants. Dr. Cliff Truitt was brought on board for an unbiased opinion at that time. The Colony's groin was being considered for removal in 1993. Derelict wooden groins were in place up and down the Island and were removed in the 1993 project. Attorney Persson stated that although the State recommended removal of the Colony groin ATM, the Town's then consultant, recommended the Colony groin remain. Professor Dean was impartial due to not being connected with a dredging firm, was not interested in structures but in overfill as the sand would remain within the system; hot spots were anticipated. The Islander, a part of the system, was always considered a hot spot. In 1996, several hot spots were recognized and a portion of the beach from Bayport to the Islander was nourished three times in interim projects. Geotextile groins were put in place in 1996, three at the Diplomat, still functional, and the two at the Islander with one alongshore near Bayport. The original renourishment called for overfill at the Islander. Subsequent beach committees considered alternatives for the hot spots. Professor Dean, Dr. Truitt and Engineer of Record Karyn Erickson (ATM) were used in the initial beach nourishment program.

Al Green, former Commissioner, stated he was not impressed by Dr. Dean initially and stated the current consultants were good people.

Jim Brown, former Mayor and Commissioner, gave a brief history of the beach program and the Special Districts. Dr. Dean did a peer review of ATM's program and recommended some implemented changes. He agreed the current engineers were qualified.

Mayor Johnson stated that although he voted to bring Dr. Dean in he would not do so again. Vice Mayor Webster acknowledged past Commissions' decisions and that the Town's current consultants were eminently qualified to make recommendations that the Commission should accept.

David Brenner, 2295 Gulf of Mexico Drive, stated the agenda item related to the beach and to selection of a fourth party engineer. The public beach in front of the Islander was not a private beach. The Town had an obligation to maintain the public beach. He requested alternatives be considered to preserve the beach in front of the Islander to protect the property at that location. Having an adequate beach protected the Islander from erosion and citizens walking the beach that currently trespass and could be injured walking on the seawall. He did not agree that overfill would work at the Islander location in preserving the beach and addressing the hot spot. A structural approach would retain the beach at the Islander. He recommended a peer review. Mayor Johnson stated a major overfill had not been done at the Islander. Town Manager St. Denis stated the current approach was a combination of overfill and structures. State policy was cyclical over time and permits may be available for the hot spots and it may be appropriate.

Commissioner Clair outlined his understanding of the current considerations; preservation issues as well as aesthetic ones were to be reviewed. Hot spots would be addressed again in the future, the Town's consultants recommended t-head groins and requested the engineers be directed to move forward with this alternative.

Commissioner Rothenberg stated the Commission agreed on the subject of renourishment, beach renourishment was an ongoing program; the Commission should opt to replace the geotextile groins. As far as other types of groins, he felt it was premature to make that determination. He was opposed to hiring an additional consultant.

Commissioner Whatmough asked for a clear definition of what the Commission was being asked to approve; the consultants were the experts and should provide project details clarifying what needed to be done.

Discussion regarding qualifications of the Town's consultants, beach renourishment and the definition of a peer review continued.

Town Manager St. Denis clarified that a peer review was a review of the data provided by the engineers to make sure a good design was recommended; a design or new recommendation would not be given. T-head groins were recommended in 1999 and that recommendation had not changed. All three engineers confirmed this at the April 21, 2005 Regular Workshop.

It was moved by Dawson, seconded by Spoll, to hire Dr. Dean for a peer review. Motion was defeated 4-3: Dawson, aye; Spoll, aye; Whatmough, aye; Johnson, nay; Webster, nay; Rothenberg, nay; Clair, nay.

A discussion of the engineers recommendation to start the design and permitting phase would be forwarded to the May 26th Regular Workshop.

Town Commission Comments
Beach Renourishment North End
\Whatmough requested a discussion of the North Shore hot spot. Manager St. Denis stated based on Commission direction a modification to the contract was made by CPE that was being reviewed by the Department of Environmental Protection and that the north end was included.

Change in Board Appointment
Mayor Johnson requested his Sarasota Bay National Bay Estuary Program Board position be reassigned to Commissioner Clair.

Commission Travel
Mayor Johnson suggested some Commissioners attend the National Hurricane Conference each year and the others to go to the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Conference. The budget would reflect the recommendation.

Commission Attire
Casual wear was announced to be in effect from now until September.

Maintenance
Vice Mayor Webster requested a sign be considered to be placed close to the tunnel. Roads in Joan M. Durante Park were being repaired; Public Works Director stated granite rocks were used for the current maintenance.

Town Manager Comments
The Historical Society requested assistance with the rent for their location; both the Historical Society and the Chamber were always intended to pay rent in the original arrangements with the Chamber paying $2000/month and the Historical Society $1000/month.