Next City Council Mtg on August 2nd at 7pm

• Purchase Award – Life Insurance, AD&D, and Long-Term Disability  – 3 year contract with option to renew for 3 years – openly bid with estimated annual amount $112K
• Purchase Award – Group Health Insurance Plan (Self-Funded) – Stop Loss Insurance Coverage – annual renewal – but representing a 35.5% increase over last year’s rate, for $579K
• Purchase Award – Group Health Insurance Plan (Self-Funded) – taking option to renew for 3 years, no additional options to renew – $1.045 Million for the 3 years.
• Purchase Award – Property Maintenance Services for Code Compliance – openly competed – 5 year contract total $100K
• Purchase Award – Police SWAT Support Vehicle Unit – Piggyback/Access Contract – $123K
• Purchase Award – Modifications to Johnson Dairy Road (Amendment No. l) – piggyback/access contract – $108K

City Manager Report:  Nothing listed

Public Hearings and Resolutions: 

• Resolution 37, 2018 –  Adopting the Fiscal Year 2018/2019 Fees and Charges Schedule. This schedule includes recommended changes from departments to ensure that fees charged are sufficient to cover the costs of providing services.
• Resolution 38, 2018 – A City-initiated application to submit the One-Year Annual Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. The City must submit an Annual Action Plan and application for grant funds that confirm the projects on which the current year’s grant allocation is proposed to be spent during the upcoming year. The City is eligible to receive approximately $221,943 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018.
• Resolution 44, 2018 – A request from Avenir Holdings, LLC for approval of an amendment to the Avenir PCD to make modifications to the approved parcel configurations, internal roadway network, development standards and conditions of approval. 
• Resolution 47, 2018 – Approves an lnterlocal Agreement (Agreement) between the City and Palm Beach County to annex portions of the Northlake Boulevard Right-of-Way (ROW) adjacent to the City’s Municipal Boundary west of the City’s Sandhill Crane Golf Club. This Agreement will authorize the City to provide traffic enforcement and lifesafety services along the entire section of  Northlake Boulevard from Grapeview Boulevard at the western boundary of the Avenir PCD to the eastern boundary of Carleton Oaks.
• Resolution 45, 2018 – Aware that several employees are considering leaving the City’s Police Department to join another law enforcement agency, on June 22, 2018, staff requested meeting with the PBA to address this salary issue as quickly as possible. The City and PBA representatives met on July 3, 2018, specifically to open Article 32, Salaries, in the current collective bargaining agreement. During this meeting, the parties successfully reached a Tentative Agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to amend the Salaries Article, to provide all bargaining unit members a 12 percent salary increase effective the first full pay period following ratification, and to increase the salary ranges for each bargaining unit position. As a result, upon approval and ratification, all bargaining unit members will receive the 6 percent wage increase scheduled for October 1, 2018, under the current  contract, plus an additional 6 percent wage increase for a total of 12 percent, starting August 6, 2018, which will be reflected in their paychecks dated August 24, 2018. These salary increases are projected to cost approximately $1,665,000 in FY 2018-2019, and an additional $277,443 in the current year’s Police Department Budget. Because this MOU amends salaries for the last year of the existing contract, there would not be an additional wage increase for FY 2018-2019.

Items for Council Action/Discussion:   

• None listed

Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting here.

August 28 Ballot has 3 PB Gardens Referendum Questions

Whether one has a partisan or non-partisan ballot when you vote by mail, early voting or on the Primary Election Day on 8/28, there will be 3 questions pertaining to the Palm Beach Gardens City Charter at the end of your ballot. Please get familiar with the questions and VOTE.

The City has once again come out with an updated flashy website entitled Fix Our Charter. Here, however is a link to the unenhanced Elections Page which includes images of the sample ballot questions, Notice of Elections (as to be published in the Palm Beach Post in upcoming weeks) and a link to Exhibit A, Ordinance 8, 2018 – which is referenced in Question 2 and is the existing Charter annotated with the proposed changes in Question 2.

Here are the 3 questions as they appear in the Notice of Election:

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CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REFERENDUM QUESTION NO. 1

SHALL THE PALM BEACH GARDENS CHARTER BE AMENDED TO CHANGE FROM THE EXISTING TERM LIMIT WHICH PROHIBITS A COUNCIL MEMBER FROM BEING ELECTED TO MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE FULL TERMS TO A TERM LIMIT THAT PROHIBITS A COUNCIL MEMBER FROM SERVING FOR MORE THAN THREE CONSECUTIVE FULL TERMS AND MAKING THE CHANGE APPLY TO ALL SITTING COUNCIL MEMBERS?

SHALL THE ABOVE DESCRIBED QUESTION NO. 1 BE ADOPTED?

YES

NO

CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REFERENDUM QUESTION NO. 2

SHALL THE CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED TO REMOVE PROVISIONS THAT ARE OUTDATED, UNNECESSARY OR CONFLICT WITH STATE LAW INCLUDING MUNICIPALITY, CITY CLERK, AND CITY TREASURER SPECIFIC POWERS/DUTIES; OATH OF OFFICE; MERIT SYSTEM; PROCEDURE REMOVING COUNCILMEN, QUALIFICATION OF ELECTORS, COUNCIL MEETING AND PROCEDURE, AND OTHER PROVISIONS; REVISE COUNCIL-MANAGER RELATIONSHIP; CHANGE FILLING OF VACANCIES; LIMIT INITIATIVE/REFERENDUM; DEFINE “FULL TERM”; REMOVE COUNCIL CONFIRMATION OF EMPLOYEES AND OTHER CHANGES; AS PROVIDED IN EXHIBIT A, ORDINANCE 8?

SHALL THE ABOVE DESCRIBED QUESTION NO. 2 BE ADOPTED?

YES

NO

CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REFERENDUM QUESTION NO. 3

SHALL THE PALM BEACH GARDENS CHARTER BE AMENDED TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE CITY MANAGER BE A RESIDENT WITHIN ONE YEAR OF APPOINTMENT AND INSTEAD PROVIDE THAT ANY RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR THE CITY MANAGER BE DETERMINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE CITY MANAGER’S EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT?

SHALL THE ABOVE DESCRIBED QUESTION NO. 3 BE ADOPTED?

YES

NO

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Points to consider:

• See our position on Question 1  entitled  Vote NO on PBG Q1 – Two 3-Year Terms Are Enough!
• Question 2 is a complete rewrite of the City Charter – which is its Constitution.   The wording of the question now reflects all the areas of the charter which are modified and/or deleted.  Now is a good time to refresh yourself on the charter itself and read the proposed charter with all modifications annotated.  Not all of the changes are a result of state statute.  The proposed charter retains the requirement for future charter reviews on a 5-year cycle.
• Question 3 – City Manager Residence  – the current charter requires that the City Manager become a resident of the City within 1 year.  A YES vote on this question will remove the requirement and make City residence a contract negotiation – which means a City Manager in theory could be hired without ever having to live in the city and leaves the decision up to the then seated Council.  Proponents argue that a most qualified candidate for the position shouldn’t be rejected just because they live outside the city boundaries and shouldn’t be forced to move, depending on house, family or other situations.  Opponents argue that the City Manager should live in the area they manage and be impacted by the same decisions they impose on others, as well as be in the city during emergencies (eg hurricanes).

 

Vote NO on PBG Q1 – Two 3-Year Terms Are Enough!

The Palm Beach Gardens City Council – none of whom have yet served a single term, are asking you to expand the definition of term limits to mean 3 consecutive 3-year terms (9 years), rather than the 2 consecutive 3-year terms (6 years) to which they are currently limited. Over 16000 residents, 80% of those voting, approved the existing 2 3-year term limits in 2014.

A form of the question was to be on the ballot in March and was pulled by the judge reviewing the language. It has since been rewritten to at least inform the voter that term limits already exist and what the change would be. But the City’s ‘Fix Our Charter’ website does not inform you about the landslide nature of the election in 2014. It does state that:

“In the March 2018 Municipal Election, Palm Beach Gardens voters approved two amendments to the City Charter. These amendments improved ** local elections by ensuring the candidate with the plurality (highest number) of votes wins the election and that any Council member who is termed out must wait a three-year period before running again for City Council.”

What they also didn’t tell you (nor sadly did the Palm Beach Post) – was that the results of March’s question 3, allowing term-limited council members to run again, is being appealed in the courts. The issue will not be resolved prior to the August 28 elections, and the March election results stand: term-limited council members can run again after sitting out a term (3 years)

IF QUESTION 1 PASSES, A COUNCIL MEMBER, ONCE REACHING THEIR FIRST TERM LIMIT (9 years in office) CAN RE-RUN AND BE IN OFFICE IF RE-ELECTED FOR 18 YEARS OR MORE.

Please consider why you voted for term-limits in 2014 and keep the two 3-year term limits intact – VOTE NO On August 28!

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CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS REFERENDUM QUESTION NO. 1

SHALL THE PALM BEACH GARDENS CHARTER BE AMENDED TO CHANGE FROM THE EXISTING TERM LIMIT, WHICH PROHIBITS A COUNCIL MEMBER FROM BEING ELECTED TO MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE FULL TERMS TO A TERM LIMIT THAT PROHIBITS A COUNCIL MEMBER FROM SERVING FOR MORE THAN THREE CONSECUTIVE FULL TERMS AND MAKING THE CHANGE APPLY TO ALL SITTING COUNCIL MEMBERS?

SHALL THE ABOVE DESCRIBED QUESTION NO. 1 BE ADOPTED?

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(** the City is making an editorial comment on the results of the March 2018 election)

Palm Beach Gardens Looking to the Future, and in the News

Optimally timed to coincide with his annual evaluation, City Manager Ferris had a comprehensive City Manager Report including an update on a subset of the $54.5 million in Capital Improvement Projects (covering key projects in the City’s budget as well as those funded by the Sales Tax Surtax), a set of news clips from WPTV (click here to watch them) covering a variety of subjects – baseball tournaments, electric cars for Fire/Rescue, free smoke alarms), and an update on the ability for those needing to call 911 to do so by texting when unable to make a phone call. There are definite limitatons to texting including no location provided. Please see this article for more on the ability.

Each of the Council, towards the end of the meeting, gave Mr. Ferris a glowing evaluation with the concensus being that they hoped he stayed as long as he wishes.

The Council also came to agreement on Resolution 26, 2018 – Firearm Legislation – after spending another 30 minutes discussing changes initiated by Council Member Litt to the current draft. They passed the resolution 5:0. Prior to their discussion, resident Paula Magnuson gave heartfelt and patriotic support for the Second Amendment. Mayor Marino once again demonstrated that some are indeed ‘more equal’ than others, by encouraging the members of Moms Demand Action to applaud the passage of the resolution while at the same time exclaiming that they should understand why she sent them emails telling them why they can’t applaud. (The rules, time and again, clearly seem to apply only to those with whom the Council disagrees.)

City Attorney Lohman gave an update on the Rustic Lakes legal challenge to the Annexation which occured in March, 2018. See Rural Rustic Lakes Just Annexed Sues...  Mr. Lohman explained various techicalities and missed deadlines by Rustic Lakes.  Council Member Litt inquired into the status of the appeal of Question 3 from the March 2018 referendum. Mr. Lohman said that he filed for an extension and the City must reply by August 22, after which Mr. Dinerstein has an opportunity to repond. He also expected that another lawsuit would be filed on an emergency basis right before the August 28th referendum.

Another item first brought up at last month’s Council Meeting was the Security Agreement with the School Board of Palm Beach County. Resolution 42, 2018, passed 5:0, allows the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement for the City’s police to provide security at the Palm Beach Gardens elementary schools – where the police providing the security would be paid overtime and do so on their time off, complying with their maximum hours allowed. Council Member Lane recommended that, if feasible, all public schools within the City be covered in the same manner. Staff’s response is that it could be evaluated at a future time, and cost and man-power would definitely be an issue.

The tentative maximum millage rate for the 2018/2019 Fiscal Year Budget was set at flat operational millage of 5.55, and a decrease in the debt service millage for a total millage of 5.6003 which is down from the current millage of 5.6678. The rates can be lowered during the budget hearings but not raised. The first Public Hearing will be on September 6, 2018 at 7pm. Resolution 31, 2018 passed 5:0 with no discussion.

Nick Uhren, Executive Director of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency, explained who the TPA is, it’s transition from Metropolitan Planning Agency (MPO) and the two related Resolutions 39, 2018 and Resolution 40, 2018 before the Council, which passed 5:0. Mayor Marino currently serves as TPA Board Vice-Chair; County Commissioner Valeche serves as Chairman. A subset of the municipalities in the Councy are participants on the board, and those cities are agreeing to pay per capita member dues to the agency starting in 2019 and into the future. In addition, the Council approved an interlocal agreement for administrative services for the TPA. For background on the TPA see this PB Post article on the decision to transition from under the County to an independent agency, Clerk Bock’s assessment of pros/cons of the move and a link to the TPA website). The TPA has in impact on all things transportation related and thus impacts everyone in the City.

Public Comment was made by resident Paula Magnuson, as President of her HOA, about a dumpster on an adjacent community which was not meeting code.

The Palm Beach Gardens Police Explorers were recognized for their first place finish in regional competition, and the Gardens Spirit Team presented a $500 check to the Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program.  Congratulations to both!  Electric Cars and the Fire/Rescue Mobile Training Facility were on display outside the building prior to the meeting.

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday, July 12th

The next City Council meeting will be on Thursday, July 12th at 7pm in City Hall. 

Highlights: setting of the maximum millage rate for 2018/2019 budget; security agreement with the PBC schoolboard; city manager evaluation; gun control resolution; city manager update on capital improvement projects

• RECOGNITION OF THE PALM BEACH GARDENS POLICE EXPLORERS COMPETITION
• GARDENS SPIRIT TEAM “JEANS FOR MEANS” CHECK PRESENTATION- FLORIDA GUARDIAN AD LITEM PROGRAM.

• Purchase award for Irrigation Maintenance Services – openly competed, 5-year contract with no option to renew – $263K

City Manager Report:  

• UPDATE ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
• EMERGENCY TEXT MESSAGING TO 911 CALL CENTERS.

Public Hearings and Resolutions: 

• Resolution 36, 2018:  A request by GK, LLC requesting approval to allow the existing gas station canopy to be illuminated and to allow additional signage in order to rebrand the Northlake Sunoco Gas Station to a BP Gas Station. The gas station is located at the northwest corner of Northlake Boulevard and 1-95. 
• Resolution 31, 2018: The City is required to file with the County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector a proposed millage rate that will be sent out on the Notice of Proposed Taxes in August. The proposed operating millage rate is 5.55, and debt service is .0503, for a total millage of 5.6003, which is less than the current year total rate of 5.6678.  Once the tentative millage is filed with the County, these rates can be lowered at the budget hearings, but they cannot be increased.  The detailed proposed line-item budget will be distributed to Council and the Budget Oversight Review Board under separate cover.
• Resolution 39, 2018:   Authorizing payment of per capita member dues to the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency commencing in fiscal year 2019.
• Resolution 40, 2018:  Approving an lnterlocal Agreement with the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, doing business as the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (the “TPA”), to provide advance funding to the TPA for the TPA’s access, use, withdrawal, deposit, and reimbursement through federal, state, or local grants during the initial term of this Agreement and any renewal terms. 
• Resolution 42, 2018:   Security Agreement between The School Board of Palm Beach County, Florida, and the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, acting under the 2016 Palm Beach County Law Enforcement Agencies Combined Operational Assistance and Voluntary Cooperation Mutual Aid Agreement (“Mutual Aid Agreement”), to provide municipal police officers on non-charter public school campuses. 

Items for Council Action/Discussion:   

• City Manager Evaluation
• Resolution 26, 2018:  Calling on the State of Florida and Federal Government to implement sensible gun control legislation, enhance mental health programs, and increase school security measures in order to help prevent future gun violence and mass casualties. 

Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting here.