September City Council Mtg and First Budget Hearing on Tuesday 9/10 at 7pm
The first of two City Council meetings in September will be held next Tuesday, September 10th at 7pm at the city hall. Key on the agenda is the first of two budget hearings. The final budget hearing will be held on Thursday, September 19th at 7pm.
Besides the 2013-2014 budget, and 2nd readings on several items, there are new topics, among them:
- City Manager Report – a presentation on the Bridge Refurbishment Program
- Ordinance 13, 2013: The Council in June authorized golf course improvements, construction of new Fire Station #2, plus Fire-Rescue vehicles leased/purchased which have been already received.
- Ordinance 14, 2013 would implement changes to the PBG Investment Policy
- Ordinance 16, 2013 amends the Comprehensive Land Use plan which will exempt all publicly owned lands from the requirement to preserve 25% of native upland plant communities.
“A review of the Land Development Regulations for the City of Palm Beach Gardens reveals multiple references and citations for the application and implementation of the goals, objectives, and policies within the Comprehensive Plan. However, while the preserve area requirement cannot specifically be waived and/or publicly held lands are not exempt, there may be other options available that will allow compliance with the Code and still meet or exceed this standard of development. The proposed text amendment will exempt land owned by the City or other government entities from the upland preservation requirement.”
- Ordinance 17, 2013 – which would allow rezoning to permit a Chase Bank near US1 and PGA Blvd – now defunct Wendy’s, previously Miami Subs location zoned fast-food.
The short form of the agenda can be found here and the long form here.
August Council Approves Briger Tract NOPC
Briger Tract
At the August Council Meeting last evening, modifications for the Briger tract development plan were proposed, providing new detail for the design of two intersections on Donald Ross Road, and a Notice of Proposed Change (NOPC) was approved. As this development is a “Development of Regional Impact” (DRI), affecting other jurisdictions including the county, FDOT and the town of Jupiter, the change was approved to be sent to sent to the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and others.
There are two entrances planned for Briger from the north, both opposite Abacoa – one at Max Planck and the other at Heights Boulevard, affecting the traffic flow east and westbound from Abacoa. These intersections bracket Parkside Drive, the major intersection east of Abacoa Golf Club which currently has a traffic light, and both will require lights in the future, making a “gauntlet” of 5 traffic lights in just over a mile from Military Trail to I-95. These lights will be constructed after traffic conditions require them (as specified in the NOPC) and since the build-out will take many years to complete, may not be soon.
The town of Jupiter has registered some objections to the plan, regarding imprecise language used and the absence of a requirement for the developer to obtain the right of way for widening the intersection at Heights. Jupiter Town Manager Andrew Lukasik and Councilman Jim Kuretski attended the meeting and registered their concerns.
The development, intended as an expansion of the Scripps biotech cluster, plans 2.6M sqft. of industrial/research, 1.2M sqft. of office space, a 300 room hotel, 500K sqft. of retail and 2700 residential units. It was approved by the City Council on April 1, 2010.
Other Items
At the start of the meeting, Kim Delany, Strategic Development Coordinator for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) gave an update on plans for rail expansion in south Florida, including Tri-rail. She noted that many grade crossings will have to be enlarged to accomodate the nortward Tri-Rail extension, several of these in the Gardens, which may have a budget impact in coming years.
Finance Director Alan Owens reported that the Fitch rating agency has upgraded the Gardens debt to AA+ with outlook to positive from stable, citing progress on pension reform among other things.
A report from Carehere – the city’s clinic operator for employees and retirees showed trends of declining costs and improving measures of employee health.
In other actions, approval was given for:
- The PGA Plaza expansion on second reading
- Ordinance 11, 2013 – A complex “clean-up” to the Land Development (chapter 78) section of the Code of Ordinances
- An exception for larger signage on the upper facade of the Mellon Bank building in Gardens Plaza
- “The Learning Center”, a 10,000 square foot day care center in near PGA National in the LA Fitness Plaza
Also, rezoning was approved for Gardenia Isles, a proposed development next to Trinity United Methodist Church on the north side of Military Trail. The Kolter group plans to build a 21 home development, surrounded by an 8 foot tall vinyl coated fence. The development is adjacent to the Ballen Isles entrance, the plan is supported by that community’s HOA.
These items were approved unanimously 4-0 (Councilman Russo was absent).
City Council Meeting – This Thursday – August 15th at 7pm
The August Palm Beach Gardens City Council meeting is on Thursday, August 15, at 7pm in City Hall. Here is a link to the short form of the agenda.
The agenda includes:
- A legislative update by Andrew Watt – legislative aide to Representative Pat Rooney
- Kim Delaney of Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council with an update on Tri-Rail
- A presentation on employee healthcare
- New FEMA map
- 2nd reading on PGA Plaza modifications
- Revision to Planning and Zoning/Development Code of Ordinances
- Several items related to Scripps/Briger Tract – turn-lane, development, intersections
- Signage waiver for Gardens Plaza tenant
- Amendment for LA Fitness Plaza for addition of a stand-alone day care facility
- Gardenia Isles/Trinity United Methodist – rezoning
- Approving employee insurance benefits – with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Guardian, and Lincoln National for Fiscal Year 2013/14.
- Approving the 2013/2014 Master Fees Schedule
The long form agenda can be found here and it has the detailed descriptions of the items.
We get the government we deserve – and it’s up to us to watch what they do. Hope to see you there.
July Council – FPL Campus and Other Issues
Lasting until well past 10:30 pm, the July council meeting covered a lot of ground, but the most significant was Resolution 35, the approval of the current stage of the proposed headquarters campus for Florida Power and Light.
FPL Campus
Approved were four aspects of the plan:
- Design guidelines (a detailed description of the development standards for the site, including setbacks, height, landscaping, signage, lighting, uses, architecture and screening)
- Maximum building heights (165 feet for 12-15 stories)
- Use restrictions for the site (professional office – more restrictive even than the current light industrial designation)
- Inclusion of a “helistop”
A “helistop” differs from a “helipad” evidently, in that normal use is just pickup and dropoff. No fuel is stored on the site and the helicopter(s) are not parked there when not in use.
It was noted that the change in use restrictions is an improvement, as the current designation would have allowed businesses in the “light industrial” category which could have been more intrusive and less attractive.
A fortune 200 company like FPL locating a headquarters complex in the Gardens is a good thing for the city. It will host many high paying jobs and given the “captive” nature of the workplace (ie. including cafeteria, clinics, etc.), the traffic impact during the work day will not be excessive.
Several residents of nearby areas such as Garden Woods expressed concern about helicopter noise and the height of the buildings but most were appreciative of the project, including the Northern Chamber Chief Beth Kigel and Gary Hines of the County Business Development Board. The Council voted 5-0 to proceed.
Avenir Discussion
During the “City Manager Report” portion of the meeting, the proposed development at Vavrus Ranch came up, as Mr. Ferris is proposing that staff in conjunction with the Treasure Coast Planning Council, solicit input on impact from surrounding communities. Avenir, as it is called by developer WAL Development Group of Coral Gables, would build 7,600 homes, professional office space, a 300 room hotel and a pediatrics center on the site of about 7 square miles. This could amount to 20,000 residents, about 40% of the current population of the Gardens. Many of the council members panned the project, saying they had “never seen the likes of this” (Jablin), and that it was “way too big” (Levy). “we’re not on the same page – not even in the same library.” (Russo) The current master plan for the site would allow about 500 homes and this is a massive change from what was envisioned for the western part of the city. Traffic, drainage, environmental concerns all are problematic.
What seemed to come across clearly in this discussion was that the developer has really not done due diligence in bringing the council into the loop. Going public with plans of this magnitude before even a courtesy call on the members is a tad arrogant. David Levy summed it up the feeling pretty well: “Ice cubes in Miami in the summer probably have a better chance than that project,” he said. “I think it’s DOA.”
Other Actions
- The modernizing of the 70’s era PGA Plaza at Prosperity and PGA was approved. Home to the coming Trader Joe’s, this site is to get a fresh new look, with design and landscaping improvements and more retail space.
- Parking modifications to Downtown at the Gardens was approved, specifically adding a small strip along Kyoto Gardens Drive near Cabo Flats.
- Zoning changes were approved for development of the Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute Medical Campus on the Klock property on the north side of Burns Road.
- Approval was given on second reading for the erection of the monopole antenna on the city hall municipal complex.
City Manager Annual Review
Toward the end of the meeting, after 10:00pm, City Manager Ron Ferris received his “Annual Review”. This mostly pro-forma exercise is an opportunity for the council members to pile their accolades on the City Manager, who Eric Jablin calls the “finest city manager in Florida if not the country”. David Levy praised Ron’s leadership of the Gardens – “one of the most highly regarded cities in the state”. Marcie Tinsley praised his “out of the box thinking” and said he was “a great problem solver”. Joe Russo mentioned his “great job on the police contract”, and said the city employees “love him and work hard for him.” Finally, Mayor Bert Premuroso, applied four objective measurements: budget, staff morale, open communications, and truth, finding our city manager excellent in all of them.
Mr. Ferris’s contract expires in 2016.
Packed Chamber for June Council Meeting
Residents packed Palm Beach Gardens council chambers until the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 PM. The unusually large crowd received a surprise informational update from District 25 Senator Joe Abruzzo on legislative items worked on in the last session.
He noted talks of a 2nd spring training facility and the benefit it would bring to Florida, our city and county. He said Florida will spend 90 million in charter school funding out of the 74.1 billion dollar budget that they passed. Senator Abruzzo ended with saying how lucky he was when they changed the district boundaries. He ended up with Palm Beach Gardens in his district, and inherited a beautiful city with a reputation of doing things right.
Fire Chief Pete Bergel’s retirement is July 1 2013. Mayor Premuroso and the council recognized the Chief by proclaiming July 1 as Fire Chief Bergels’ Day. The City Manager gave our native Gardens resident a beautiful fire ax in appreciation of his 38 years of service to our community.
Items of Resident interest: Council member Joe Russo updated the council about the IG lawsuit. He acknowledged the papers had misrepresented him and that there was nothing else for him to offer to settle the issue on how to properly fund the IG. He predicted a lengthy court battle. Council members moved quickly through items due to agenda size.
Resolution 39: Passed by council 5-0 Allen Owens went over the numbers and economics for borrowing money (1.6 million @ 1.77%) for the golf course, and (2.6 million @ 1.89%) for Fire Station #2 rebuilding. Information about city debt was released that showed a 50% drop in city debt since 2005.
Ordinance 5: (Trader Joes PUD) was postponed until next council meeting 7/16/13 as the applicant was not ready. Resolution 20 is a companion item that is to be addressed later.
Resolution 41: Signage for the Nicklaus Out Patient Center, a component of Miami Children’s Hospital, at Legacy Place was approved with 3 waivers by council 5-0.
Ordinance 8 and 9: Klock property zoning for the new Palm Beach Orthopedic Institution. Both were approved by council 4-0. Mayor Premuroso did not vote.
Ordinance 7: Franklin Academy 2nd reading. Traffic was the topic and discussed. There were 8 residents that gave their comments in the public forum. Council approved 5-0.
Ordinance 10: (1st Reading) The rezoning of City Hall complex with companion Resolution 40 addition of 120 ft. monopole tower for the EOCC. Council approved 5-0.
Resolution 28: Charter Schools USA (Renaissance Charter School at Gardens West)
Traffic and intensity of project discussed. The applicant recently scaled back the number of students and said he was willing to work with city to do what was needed to get the building process going. 30 resident comment cards were submitted. Each resident was limited to 1 minute due to the late hour. After residents were heard by the council, the council also started a discussion. Planning and Zoning opposed project due to intensity and traffic concerns. As 11:30 PM was approaching and time running out to vote the applicant approached the council. He withdrew the site building request. He mentioned 3 cities that want the charter school built there. He stated he would not consider another school again in Palm Beach Gardens again, until there were some major changes in city operations and policy.
Council Meeting Thursday June 6
Here is a quick summary of Thursday’s agenda:
The overview agenda can be found here. The complete agenda is over 800 pages long and will take awhile to download – but is especially useful for background and understanding.
Brief summary of topics on regular agenda for Thursday:
- Recognition of Pete Bergel, Fire Chief, Fire Rescue
- Resolution pertaining to Legacy Place PUD amendment to commerical part signage
- Ordinances and related resolution regarding Klock Property PUD – pertaining to proposed Medical Office Building at 4215 Burns Rd.
- Ordinance and related resolution rezoning City Hall complex property to allow a public safety communications monopole 120 feet in height
- Ordinance and related resolution pertaining to PGA Plaza PUD – allowing the city council to modify the site plan via resolution, and then a resolution allowing for a 3253 square foot expansion of the shopping center
- 2nd reading of Franklin Academy PUD rezoning ordinance/resolution
- Resolution regarding PGA National Commerce Park PUD to allow for a 1140 student charter school
- Discussion and action by the city council on two City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Public Improvement notes for improving the golf course (not to exceed $1.7M) and to build a new fire station (not to exceed $2.6M).
In addition – but not listed on the agenda – recent news articles included the PBC Inspector General Funding lawsuit as well as the building of a stadium, so it’s possible either or both of these could be discussed.
Please plan to attend – it’s your city and the council only meets once per month!
May Council Meeting – Charter Schools
Announcements/ Presentations
- The Cleveland Clinic of Florida is opening in Donald Ross Village.
- Scott Fetterman, Deputy Chief, Fire Rescue was recognized for 31 years of service.
Items of Resident Interest
- Amanda Buckley golf tournament was well attended.
- Nothing was resolved with the Inspector General lawsuit.
- Bert Premuroso gave a State of the City speech before the PGA Corridor Association.
- PBG is hosting a Youth Soccer Tournament from May 10-12th.
- A Florida Judge James Peterson III denied Florida Regional Medical Center’s Tenet Hospital to build an 80-bed hospital at the Briger Tract.
The meeting was very well attended.
The big topic of discussion was two charter schools – The Renaissance School and the Franklin School. Several people spoke for the Renaissance School. This school will appear before the Planning and Zoning Board on their May meeting.
The Franklin Academy School was passed with a 5-0 vote on first reading in Ordinance 7, 2013. The school is on Hood Road at the former Batt location. The school is projected to have 1300 students. Several area residents commented on the traffic situation. To mitigate the traffic situation the applicant proposed staggered start times, an automated pick-up/drop-off system, additional turn lanes, additional parking spaces, hiring of off-duty police officers, and regular meetings and dialogue with concerned area residents. Part of the complication is due to the fact that Hood is a county road. Several councilman recommended that the County accelerate the Hood lane widening that is part of the 5 year plan and Marcie Tinsley recommended the construction of an additional right turn lane on Central Boulevard turning west on Hood Road to eliminate a crucial bottleneck.
April Council – A New Mayor and a Proposed Roof Over Veteran’s Plaza
New Council Sworn-in
New Mayor
Bert Premuroso
The first Council meeting since the March election featured the swearing-in of returning Councilmen Joe Russo and David Levy, and the election of Bert Premuroso as Mayor and Eric Jablin as Vice-Mayor – both chosen unanimously. Mayor-elect Premuroso, first elected in 2008, is a Vice President at SouthTrust Bank, and has been leading the Council as Vice-Mayor since David Levy left the Council to run for County Commission last year. Jablin is a 21 year veteran of the Council and served as Mayor four times before and Vice-Mayor twice.
Veteran’s Plaza
Most of two hours were then dedicated to a discussion of the plans for “artistic shade structures” (functionally a cover for the stage and seating area in Veteran’s Plaza), commissioned by the Art in Public Places (AIPP) board. Two vendors were chosen to bring forth plans, G.H. Bruce, LLC of Tucson, Arizona, and Mark Fuller Functional Arts of West Palm Beach.
Bruce Design
The incoming assumption was that if chosen, a design would be constructed using about $450K from the AIPP funds which originate from impact fees on high end developments (> $1M). These funds are defined by ordinance to be limited to art and culture projects only and contain no ad-valorem tax dollars.
The Bruce design, called “Callinectes” after the indigenous crab family which includes the ubiquitous blue crab and is Greek for “beautiful swimmer”, consists of overlapping canopies floating above a structure of curving steel tubes. Seating under the canopy can be configured to accomodate 250 to 400, depending on arrangement.
Fuller Design
The Fuller design on the other hand is a six sided tent-like structure supported by sweeping tubular steel support pillars with a web-like mesh fabric membrane. Its design accommodates 208 in the theatre seating arrangement or 170 at banquet tables.
Discussion by the Council was mixed.
Joe Russo wondered if something this large would be appropriate for the institutional space that attaches to the City Hall and Police headquarters. “Way too massive”, he said later.
Marcie Tinsley, who describes herself as a believer in “functional art” and supported the controversial bus stop shelters, thought they should move with caution on this one. She has studied the issue in some depth, including checking with other projects like the fairgrounds to ascertain their maintenance costs.
David Levy questioned whether it should be done at all, suggesting that a stage covering like in the Meyer Amphitheatre may be an alternative. He went on to suggest holding a workshop to gather public input.
Eric Jablin, a supporter of the concept, recalled that the “… camel was a horse designed by committee …” suggested that soliciting public input would be like seeking the camel. He further suggested that the Council should not rely on public comment at this meeting since there are supporters out there who did not come to the meeting..
Public comment was actually muted, with only four making comments. Joel Chandler of the PGA Corridor Association was supportive but had some thoughts on the design and decision process. Pat Hughey thought the design “looked great”. Barbara Grossman thought the money would be better spent on veterans. And a Jupiter designer showed a drawing of his own concept for the space.
There are many technical issues to resolve, such as hurricane hardening, drainage, fabric choice, pillar construction, footers and maintenance. Both vendors stated that no engineering work was done in support of the designs and as such a true cost estimate could not be given at this time.
The segment ended with the Council deciding to go off and “think about” the issue and take it up at a later date.
Reminder – April City Council meeting on Thursday, 4/4 at 7pm
The overview agenda can be found here. The complete agenda is almost 700 pages long and will take awhile to download – but is especially useful for background and understanding.
Brief summary of topics for Thursday:
- Certifying election results and the return of David Levy to the council
- Nominations and vote for new mayor (presumed to be Mr. Premuroso)
- Fiscal Year 2012 audit report (worth reading in the full agenda along with the CAFR – comprehensive annual financial report)
- Art in Public Places presentation on artwork selected for Veteran’s Plaza
Several public hearings:
- Signage change in Donald Ross Village
- Bring Firefighters Pension Fund into compliance with IRS changes
Changes of status and development master plan and zoning for Gardens Mall/Downtown at the Gardens/Kyoto Gardens area
Board Appointments for Budget Oversight Committee and Firefighters Pension Board
Please plan to attend – it’s your city and the council only meets once per month!
Council Votes 3-1 to spend $1.6M on Employee Raises, Bonuses and Capital Projects
At the March City Council Meeting, Ordinance 1, 2013 passed on second reading with a 3-1 vote. A routine adjustment of budgeted initial fund balances, the $1.6M “surplus” reflecting higher revenues collected or lower actual expenses than budgeted, was wholly targeted to new spending.
So what is the context for this apparent relaxation of austerity? Has the local economy turned the corner?
The details of the proposal were first proposed in February by Vice Mayor Premuroso – a 2% across the board raise for all employees, a 1.5% one-time bonus on top of that, and $783K of capital spending, including $611K for golf course irrigation modernization.
Cautionary comments were made by residents. John Chaplik cautioned that the economy has not improved enough to raise spending levels and thought should be given to returning some to the taxpayer. He also suggested that there be a review of how surpluses are handled. Kevin Easton suggested that performance based raises made more sense than across the board increases. Iris Scheibl pointed out that the county property appraiser is projecting a meager 1.5% increase in valuations and that the economy has not turned the corner. She also mentioned that last years’s move to raise the communications tax was based on the threat of declining reserves which we are now apparently spending. Two others spoke in favor of the ordinance.
In discussion, all the Council Members were in favor of the raises, and some wanted to increase the bonus to 2%. “Our employees are the best in Florida, if not in the country” said Eric Jablin. “We will lose these people if we don’t reward them”, said Joe Russo. Marcie Tinsley agreed we should proceed with caution, but the staff has done a good job without complaint. These three were less supportive of the capital spending and Joe Russo went so far as to vote no on that basis, as he believes the normal budget process is the time to consider things like golf course improvements.
The Vice Mayor sealed the deal with a well prepared and somewhat eloquent pitch for his proposal as presented. In his business (Bert Premuroso is a banker), he is seeing an uptick in the economy and across the board raises. He does not favor merit based increases as “some people don’t like them”, and foresees this level of raises as being a normal thing for the next few budget cycles. He reminded us that they have committed to flat millage for five years (instead of reducing it as valuations climb), and the increased property tax revenue that will result will let us continue to improve employee compensation and capital improvements.
With Mr. Premuroso’s closing, only Joe Russo maintained objection (only to the capital projects) and the ordinance passed 3-1.
It should be noted that the 2% increase applies to the Council as well as staff, although they turned down the bonus. A 2004 ordinance described by Eric Jablin as “making it easier to raise our pay”, requires that any cost of living increase given to employees must also be given to the Council. The City Attorney confirmed that to forgo the raise they would have to repeal the ordinance.
Since Mr. Premuroso signalled his intention to offer raises again next year, it may be useful to examine how the city employees are compensated relative to their peers in the county and other municipalities. We will be analysing this in a future article, but for now consider:
1. In the 2013 budget, the average employee compensation (salary and benefits) was $111,488, with an average salary of $73,681. This compares to about $67K for county government employees, and a county-wide average income (all employers) of $51K.
2. The current average city employee salary is 45% higher than the county average income. In 2006, when the average city employee salary was just $61K, it was only 27% above the county-wide average income of $48K.
3. In 2011/2012 a 3% employee increase was implemented for all FRS (Florida Retirement System) employees (not police and fire/rescue) to compensate for the fact that a state law mandates that they would now have to pay 3% in salary toward their pensions annually. It was justified by the Council
4. In the text of the 2012-2013 budget it states:
…
– No salary increases for any employees
– 0% increases for FY2013-2015 under the new IAFF contract”
In the last three budget years, the beginning balance adjustments have been considerable – an increase of over $5M in 2012, $8M in 2013, and this year’s $1.6M. Perhaps in the future it would be wise to project during the budget cycle how such a “surplus” would be spent if it materializes. That would be useful information when the discussion turns to “spending” or “saving” the revenue expected from increasing valuations in the next few years.
* Note:
1.Employee average salary is obtained by dividing budgeted salary by number of employees. Total compensation contains salary, retirement, FICA, Health Insurance and Workers Compensation.
2. County-wide income is taken from PBC budget documents.