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Minutes 10-25-05 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING HELD IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT THE EAST WATER TREATMENT PLANT 124 E. WOOLBRIGHT ROAD ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2005 AT 2:00 P.M. Present Gerald Taylor, Mayor Mack McCray, Vice Mayor Bob Ensler, Commissioner Carl McKoy, Commissioner Kurt Bressner, City Manager Janet Prainito, City Clerk Absent Mike Ferguson, Commissioner 1. Call to Order Mayor Taylor called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. for the purpose of updating the City Commission on the status of the emergency. City Manager Bressner requested an amendment to the agenda to change Item 5b from "Discussion Regarding Removal from Private Communities" to "Discussion Regarding Removal from Private Streets". Motion Vice Mayor McCray moved to approve the agenda as amended. Commissioner Ensler seconded the motion that carried unanimously. 2. Condition ReDort on City ODerations and Facilities - DesDite major damaae. we are oDeratina. a. Water system is fine and safe to drink desDite damaae to both water Dlants. Water Plant staff Derformed maanificentlv in storm. Utilities Director Kofi Boateng and his staff were commended for their performance in operating the water plants. The Utilities staff were able to keep the operation running on standby generators. The water is safe to drink and water pressure is good. Discussion ensued regarding the number of cities that either have no water at this time or are on a "boil water order". This is the third storm we have encountered where we were able to maintain our system. While we are doing well at this time, we have no backup and we probably will not have FPL power for some time. 1 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2005 b. Police and Fire communications durina/after storm - Inaenuity at work The radio system is not functioning properly and we do not have full communications. Staff was able to maintain contact using CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch). The 911 system is working. For the edification of the Mayor and Commissioners, Chief Immler explained how the CAD system works, stating that there is car-to-car compatibility. We are currently taking information and disseminating it verbally. c. Three (3) Fire Stations damaaed - one station (Fire Station #1) out of service Three fire stations have been damaged. Fire Station #1 at City Hall is out of service. Fire Stations #2 and #3 are damaged, but are operational. Fire Station #4 is fully operational and has no storm-related issues. d. Damaae assessment for Dublic buildinas underway Commissioner Ensler remarked that the destruction we are experiencing should make the City think about what should be done in the future and he questioned at what point the City would stop putting good money after bad. Discussion ensued about Fire Station #4 and how it compares to the other City facilities. e. No Dower at all City facilities - EyerYthina that is ODen is on aenerator City Hall is without power. Communications and Police are working from an emergency generator. There is no power at any City facilities. Civic Center is being used for food service for working City employees. 3. Status of Recoyerv Efforts in Boynton Beach a. Intersection traffic control beina deDloyed by Police DeDartment "STOP" signs have been placed at all intersections and cones have been placed on the 1-95 overpasses to prohibit left-hand turns. Police Officers are directing traffic at the intersections of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Congress Avenue and Woolbright Road and Congress Avenue. The Police Department went onto an enhanced operation during the storm. The Department is now on Alpha/Bravo. When the officers go on Alpha/Bravo shift, one- half of the force works a 12-hour shift and then the remainder of the force comes in to 2 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2005 work the other 12-hour shift. There are 70 officers on the street. There were five looting arrests during the storm. Commissioner Ensler requested that the Police Department check Congress Avenue from SW 23rd Avenue to SW 30th Avenue. There are downed lines that are blocking all of the lanes except the left lane. He recommended that barricades be placed in the roadway. Since Congress Avenue is a County road, Chief Immler will contact them. Commissioner Ensler asked if anything could be done about the telephone poles on Golf Road that are hanging over the houses in Leisureville. It was agreed by the Mayor, City Manager and other Commissioners that this is the situation throughout the City. Mayor Taylor commended the Police for their very visible presence throughout the City. He felt this sent a good message to the citizens. Commissioner McKoy arrived at 2:20 p.m. and announced that he had just received notice of the meeting. b. Q8tA Information Sheet for residents beim~ uDdated for distribution to media. Drinted and yia AM 1670 Wayne Segal will prepare a fact sheet for residents that will be distributed as described above. c. Lift Stations beina brought back on-line yia aenerators Staff rotated the generators to bring the Lift Stations on-line and they are doing fine. The Utilities Department has 16 generators above and beyond the six stationary generator units for the Master Lift Stations. All of the generators are being used at the present time to operate 170 Lift Stations. A question was raised regarding how long operations can continue on the fuel we have available. Mr. Livergood advised that we have a 31/2 week supply for fleet only, but with the generators, we have approximately 2112 weeks of fuel. City Manager Bressner advised that if the generators at the East or West Plants fail, we will have problems. There is one generator for the West Plant and the new project will bring onboard a second generator. If the generator fails, it would be necessary for us to contact FEMA to request a generator. The East Plant has one generator and a second that will be purchased shortly. 3 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2005 d. Street access beinG assessed and clearinG has started This item was discussed earlier in the meeting. e. Curfew Hours - currently 7:00 D.m. to 5:00 a.m. toniGht DOssibly extended The curfew hours have been confirmed by the Sheriff's Office from 7:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. We are continuing with the same curfew hours imposed by the County. The majority of cities have committed to this curfew. 4. AnticiDated City Work Schedule and State of EmerGency City Manager Bressner reported that we are on an emergency work schedule. He does not anticipate that we will be on a regular work schedule for the balance of this week. 5. Remoyal of LandscaDe Debris a. City's ProGram yia City Forces and Outside Contractors Staff is running modified MondaY/Tuesday routes. Full garbage pickup will resume on Thursday. Solid Waste Authority is not accepting recycled material until Thursday; therefore, recyclable pickups will be back to normal on Thursday/Friday. Some bulk pickup has begun. The County anticipates the debris sites will be available on Friday. Landscape materials and household materials must be separated. Contractors Phillips & Jordan will be here on Thursday to assist us. It is anticipated that it could take as long as three months to clean up from this storm and could cost $5 million for debris removal. Mr. Livergood will put together a notice for the public to let the people know when the bulk pickup will take place. He reminded everyone that things happen to affect the schedule. He preferred to provide an "outline" rather than a schedule of what the public can expect in terms of pickup. He advised that each neighborhood would have four or fives passes. At Vice Mayor McCray's request, the Mayor and Commissioners will be kept abreast of the schedule. Discussion ensued about how well received the newsletter was last year. It was agreed that the newsletter would be prepared and placed in stores as they begin to open. This newsletter will provide answers to many of the residents' questions. 4 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October2S,200S Wayne Segal, Public Affairs Director, made a pOint during discussions with the news media of getting the message across that the public must keep debris separated. The public should be listening to radio station 1670 AM for information updates related to the City of Boynton Beach. b. Discussion reGardinG remoyal from Priyate Streets . Commercial & Industrial ProDerties Mr. Livergood advised that from a policy perspective, in the past we have not provided service to commercial and industrial properties. It was Mayor Taylor's opinion that in this instance, we should pickup the debris for public safety purposes. Mr. Livergood is also of the opinion that it is the City's responsibility to pickup the debris. According to FEMA, if the material is taken to a public street, it can be hauled away. City Manager Bressner pointed out that this pickup will easily be a $1 million issue. Bill Mummert, Finance Director, said last year's storm resulted in a $350,000 expenditure that has not been reimbursed since no decision has been made to date by FEMA. Mr. Livergood questioned whether the City is willing to haul the material generated by the communities on private streets. Vice Mayor McCray feels the City should "bite the bullet" and continue to pickup. Discussion ensued with agreement that citizens should not be penalized because of where they live. It was felt that the storm was an "Act of God" and all citizens should receive the same treatment. Motion Vice Mayor McCray moved that the City will proceed with the removal of landscape waste from public and private streets and commercial and industrial properties, but exclude private recreation facilities. Commissioner McKoy seconded the motion that carried unanimously. 6. .t.i.tx MeetinG Schedule and Alternate Location if City Hall Still Closed There was discussion regarding possible locations for the City Commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 1st. Since food service is being provided to working employees from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Center, a decision was made to conduct the meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Center. If the curfew remains in effect, other arrangements may have to be made. The Agenda Preview Conference will be held on Friday, October 28th at 10:00 a.m. in the EOC at the East Water Treatment Plant. 5 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2005 7. Community Outreach Efforts a. Points of Distribution (PODs) at Palm Beach Community ColleGe and POmDey Park in Delray Beach (Ice and Water) The County announced there would be a POD in Pompey Park in Delray Beach and at Palm Beach Community College. Unfortunately there is a delay in the operation and only the Palm Beach Community College site is in operation at this time. b. TarDs - Wednesday at FairGrounds Tarps were supposed to be available at the Fairgrounds tomorrow; however, we are not certain they will be. c. Outreach to Faith-Based Community for Subsidiarv Relief Centers The Fire Department will work with St. John's Missionary Baptist Church to set up a relief center. City Manager Bressner will allocate two of the City's small spare generators for use in that facility. These generators will be used for refrigeration and power. A question was raised about extending help to at-risk people in nursing facilities. Chief Immler advised that the Police Department had received more than 100 calls and they conducted welfare checks. The facilities are running on generators. It was agreed that if a problem arises, they will call the City for help. With respect to power, Max Macon of FPL said it could be up to four weeks before power is restored. There are 3.25 million customers without power which is 90% of the area south of Port St. Lucie. Power was restored to 18,000 customers in Palm Beach County last night. The major reason why there is no power is that the transmission system to the substations is down. Alt~ough we do not know which transmission lines were down, it appears catastrophic. There has been catastrophic damage done to Fort Lauderdale. Winds of 118 mph were reported in Boynton Beach. A question arose about whether the City could get involved with the criteria for the !TV towers since they came down during the storm. Quintus Greene, Development Director, advised that the School District is not required to consult with us since they are a governmental agency. It was pointed out by Commissioner Ensler, however, that they must follow our Codes. 6 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2005 8. FEMA Site and Federal Disaster Declaration UDdate City Manager Bressner is not aware if assistance will be provided. FEMA is not taking calls at this time. It is anticipated there will be a declaration and a request for a site. City Manager Bressner would like to offer a site, but he does not want it to be a City facility. He will work with the Chamber of Commerce to try to locate a site they can rent or lease. A few vacated restaurant sites were mentioned as well as the Woman's Club. 9. New Business · Mr. Greene advised that Code Compliance staff will be going out tomorrow issuing "red tags" and many people will be displaced. Once the red tag is issued, people have 72 hours to vacate the premises. The Mayor and Commissioners requested that staff be judicious about their use of red tags. However, an egregious situation must be dealt with. · When Commissioner Ensler inquired if there were any other authority the City Manager needed from the Mayor and Commissioners, City Manager Bressner initially responded that he had been provided with the policy direction he needed to move forward. He reminded the Commissioners that he had authority to sign for purchases of up to $25,000 without going to the Commission. He suggested the Commissioners grant him the authority to sign for purchases up to $100,000 for a four-week period. Motion Commissioner Ensler moved to approve $100,000 purchase authority for a four-week period. Commissioner McKoy seconded the motion. Mr. Mummert said staff would take back to the Commission for ratification anything purchased between the $25,000 and $100,000 so the Commission is aware of the expenditures. The motion carried 4-0. · Commissioner Ensler inquired if the Commission should authorize the purchase of a second generator for the East Water Treatment Plant at $300,000. City Manager Bressner responded that staff would work on a lease arrangement for a truck-mounted generator. 7 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2005 . Mayor Taylor asked if arrangements had been made to allow employees to purchase fuel for their personal vehicles and generators. City Manager Bressner said a decision had been made to not make fuel available to employees because problems arose last year when this program was put in place. Chief Immler suggested reconsideration of this option for Police who will be coming to work every 12 hours. 10. Ad10urnment There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting properly adjourned at 3:45 p.m. CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH ATTEST: Vice Mayo Z . ~ ~~ 12~ ~... . J7v Commissioner 11 7JLr-~ L ~m. p~ lJiv-aerk m.P~ Ja et M. Prainito, CMC ity Clerk (102605) Commis . .-'..,.,.~.~ .",-'"''''' S:\CC\WP\MINUTES\COMM\year 2005\102505 - Special Meeting.doc 8