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Minutes 03-10-14 MINUTES OF THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD O MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014, AT 6.00 P.M., IN THE CITY LIBRARY, ROOM A 208 S. SEACEST BLVD., BOYNTON BEACH, FLO PRESENT: Jeffrey Grady, Vice Chair Tim Howard, Finance Director Fakhry "Ed" Boulos Dolores Schlesselman Christine Stella ABSENT: Steven Grant, Chair 1. Call to Order Vice Chair Grady called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. Roll call followed. A quorum was present. 2. Approval of January 27, 2014, Minutes Mr. Howard received two corrections from the Assistant City Manager, Carisse LeJeune as follows: Page two, first paragraph — "The City received a grant from the Department of Energy in 2009 allowing them to put solar panels at Fire Station 5 for a water heater." Page three, paragraph four — Ms. LeJeune commented it was inferred that she said the Foundation wanted to complete the Barrier Free Park before taking on new projects, but she did not and she thought perhaps the Chair had. The members decided to end the sentence after the word "Park." Chair Grant 5449 explained the Foundation wants to complete the Barrier Free Park before- taki-y c^ ��•• ��••- ��n�� Motion Ms. Schlesselman moved to approve the minutes as modified. Ms. Stella seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 3. Other Business Updated List of Committee Members MEETING MINUTES FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE BOYNTON BEACH, FL MARCH 10, 2014 Mr. Howard provided the updated Committee list and asked the members to review it for accuracy. There were no changes noted. • List of Study Topics Vice Chair Grady commented there were items left over from the last meeting and he found some lots on his list in residential areas. The size of the lots ranged from one -fifth of an acre to five -one hundredths of an acre. One lot was a viable building lot and he did not know if the City wanted to hold the lot. The Committee could recommend the possibility some lots could be developed if the City was not holding them for other reasons. This particular lot was located at 1100 NW 1 St and it was valued at $75K. Another lot north of Fire Station No. 5, on the corner of Gateway and High Ridge Road, was nearly 5.5 acres. It was a valuable piece of industrially -zoned land. Mr. Howard explained when the City acquired that land, the intent was to place a fire and police station there. The City Commission revisited that issue last year and was looking into space needs for a police station at that site. Other lots were mostly for utilities. One housed only a sprinkler block and a meter. There were a few lots in Cherry Hills that may be buildable, but they seemed narrow and they may have been to accommodate an easement. The lots west of Fire Station No. 2 appeared to be for utility purposes. Vice Chair Grady explained the old landfill was about 40 acres and it was outside the City limits. The property is not flat nor was it a 500 foot hill like the current day landfills. In his research with FPL and the Department of Energy, it would support - a wind power device, but the Department of Energy indicated areas west of 1 -95 do not have enough wind to justify the expense of a wind turbine. The only successful turbines were the one by the nuclear power plant in St. Lucie because it was on the ocean. Vice Chair Grady found good examples of photovoltaic power, which was connected to electric, across the country. In New Jersey, a school district installed almost 30 acres and it paid for nearly all the electric for a large campus. He will continue to work on a recommendation for this. Solar energy is a possibility with new advances in technology. Thirty acres would produce about six megawatts of power. Obtaining a permit for any development on a landfill is challenging. Utilities are somewhat open to municipalities entering into green energy production for small amounts of energy. Vice Chair Grady explained all they had on parks was Pioneer Canal Park consisting of three acres. Quantum Park was several hundred acres and discussion followed the Park was an industrial park that evolved into having multiple zoning designations which accommodated a brewery, retail and a school. Florida Power & Light uses 80 meter turbines and they choose not to put turbines within a mile of another structure. Their guidelines are drafted to avoid any liability or conflicts. 2 MEETING MINUTES FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE BOYNTON BEACH, FL MARCH 10, 2014 As to the old landfill, there is a lack of wind and solar energy would be a more realistic alternative due to the size of the land. Additionally, when generating a lot of electricity, the intent is to use the power and policies would be needed. Testing and monitoring are ongoing at landfills. Vice Chair Grady explained the Committee has to determine if the vacant piece of land could support another function. Ms. Stella confirmed she will not be at the next meeting, but had received Mr. Dunmyer's tasks and will begin working on them. There was agreement the Committee, at the next meeting, would finish the vacant lot portion of the tasks. Ms. Schlesselman commented Wilson Park was finished. The vacant land behind the Park was part of the park. Vice Chair Grady explained vacant land was a recurring expense to maintain. Discussion ensued it was unknown what the objective was in acquiring the parcels. Mr. Boulos explained Public Works Director, Jeff Livergood, offered to come to a meeting and they had discussed electric and fuel costs. The City is considered a commercial account so the usage rate varies. The City uses 26M kilowatt hours annually. The water treatment plant uses 8.5 million kilowatt hours, mostly for the lift stations. The second largest use were street lights. The City pays $12.5 dollars per month for each light. There are 8,000 lights and they pay $600,000 per year for them, but the electric use is known. The light poles could be converted individually. The lights run on high pressure sodium fixtures and they could be LED lights. The conversion of each pole to LED; however, may be cost prohibitive. The Golf Course uses 103K kilowatt hours for the building and carts, not the pumps. The pool has a geothermal heat pump which extracts heat energy from the ground. The City always considers ways to save energy when replacing equipment. The four -day work week saved $75K per year and 300K kilowatt hours. The City uses about 40K gallons a year in fuel for vehicles. Half the vehicles are gas and the others are diesel. Natural gas was considered, but it did not progress. Mr. Livergood's feeling was that cities were not to produce energy and use it, but rather to save on energy uses, whether it is alternative energy or not. The City's Green footprint is not an engineering issue, it was a policy issue. Vice Chair Grady found one example of a successful alternative energy project in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. A company came in and installed a photovoltaic solar farm, through a lease agreement and sold the power to the power company and then repurchased through the power company at a discount. Vice Chair Grady thought this was a possibility with some of the alternative energies. While Florida Power & Light strives to have more renewable sources of energy, he was not able to get an answer if the landfill became a solar farm, whether the City had to go through the expense to 3 MEETING MINUTES FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE BOYNTON BEACH, FL MARCH 10, 2014 establish it, or if a private company would lease land from the City for a set period of time, and sell power to Florida Power and Light. There is much that could be done with energy where the City would not be the producer of energy and where all the technical know -how and maintenance expertise lay with the lease or manufacturer. Mr. Boulos was familiar with a company that harnessed energy. They invested in the equipment, had a long -term contract and harnessed the energy and sold it, and they put the funds up front. Vice Chair Grady also noted much of the current legislation allows for power to be sold back per meter. Individuals may have installed solar panels which drives their meter backwards, but another meter across the way may use a ton of power and the meters are not linked to one meter. The energy producer would receive 10 cents and the energy user is paying 30 cents. There are many complications and the City has much less leverage in the matter than the State. It was also noted that while alternative energy may not be economically viable, it would be effective in reducing carbon footprints which is a policy decision the City must make. • City Services Survey Vice Chair Grady thought the survey would be split between business owners and consumers. Mr. Howard explained the economic development survey was already mailed and he provided a copy of last year's City Services Survey so the members could start updating the questions and identifying which questions were still valid. As to when the survey would be closed, Mr. Howard believed it would be closed next month and he would check on the due dates. The consumer /resident survey is driven, to some extent, by the City Manager. Vice Chair Grady was unaware if there were any specific questions to be included. Mr. Howard was unaware of any. Discussion followed not all the questions would be relevant with the budget survey. The business questions could be removed. After a review and discussion of the survey, the following was decided: • The number of questions would be reduced • The qualifying question asking if they are over 18 years old and if they reside in the City will remain • The survey privacy policy will remain • Question two will have fewer choices in how long they lived in the City • Question three relating to owning a business would be eliminated • Question four would be divided into two parts: asking for their zip code and which area of the City they live in. 4 MEETING MINUTES FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE BOYNTON BEACH, FL MARCH 10, 2014 • Question five would request information about the cost of living and housing in Boynton Beach, and generally keep the idea of the question • Question six will be removed • Question seven will add the Utilities, Development and Building Departments and give examples. A larger list should be provided. The question should be reversed • Question eight and nine were budget related for fire and police and were removed • Questions 10, 11 and 12 were removed. • The survey will permit brief suggestions at the end • Question 16 was removed • A question asking the residents about energy and how the City compared to other cities would be added • The survey would be online and hard copies distributed to the Library, Recreation Centers and City Hall lobby • The cover page done by the City will remain Vice Chair Grady agreed to review the survey and make adjustments for a draft for the next meeting at which time the survey can be finalized. Mr. Howard will also email the revised survey to the members. Members in the interim could think about questions. 4. Adjournment Motion There being no further business to discuss, Ms. Schlesselman moved to adjourn. Ms. Stella seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:29 p.m. Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 940206 5