Minutes 04-28-14 MINUTES F THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE TI
HELD IN THE CITY LIBRARY CONFERENCE ROOM
208 S. SEACREST BLVD., BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
ON MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2014, AT 6.00 P.M.
PRESENT.
Steven Grant, Chair
Jeffrey Grady, Vice Chair
Fakhry "Ed" Boulos
Dolores Schlesselman
Christine Stella
1. Call to Order
Chair Grant called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Roll call established a quorum was
present.
2. Approval of April 1, 2014, Minutes
Motion
Ms. Stella moved to approve the minutes. Vice Chair Grady seconded the motion that
unanimously passed.
3. Other Business
• Discussion of Vacant Lots
Chair Grant commented recommendations for vacant lots should be to: keep as is;
auction the property; or do something productive with it for the City's use such as a park
or community garden. He suggested these recommendations be presented at the next
meeting.
Chair Grant offered to show the locations of the lots on a map and code the lots based
on the Committee's recommendations. In this manner, the City Commissioners would
know if the lots were contiguous and how to move forward with them. Ms. Stella noted
her lots were in Rolling Green Municipal Complex and it appeared the property could be
used for something productive, but she did not know what. She suggested a study be
done to determine the best use for each lot.
• City Services Survey — Review Draft and finalize
The survey was edited in accordance with the comments received from the previous
meeting. Chair Grant suggested reordering questions as 8, 11, 9 and 10 because it was
Meeting Minutes
Financial Advisory Committee
B oynton Beach, Fl April 2, 2014
better to ask for information last and since the survey was shorter, the survey participant
would be more likely to complete it. Ms. Stella inquired about question 4 and how
important the City's location was. Discussion followed it would reveal if the City has an
advantage over other areas.
The members discussed questions 4 and 5 pertaining to City's services and changing
some of the scoring terms. There was agreement to change the word "Important" in the
rating terminology in the chart, to "Satisfied" and have the following rating options:
Extremely Satisfied, Very Satisfied, Satisfied, Unsatisfied, Extremely Unsatisfied and
n /a.
Similarly, the rating choices in question 6 would be changed the same way. The word
"Important" would be changed to "Reasonable" and have the same options. In question
6, the category of "Rescue" would be changed to "Rescue /Ambulance." The "Trash
Removal" category would include a separate line for "Recycling."
The members agreed to eliminate the n/a columns and Vice Chair Grady offered to
email the changes to the Board Liaison. The members could approve the survey at the
May 12th meeting.
• Review assigned tasks
Mr. Boulos sent an email to PGA Golf Course asking about their experience with
alternative green energy and they did not respond. He was unsure how he should
move forward with alternative energy since there were many avenues to pursue. He
thought smaller, more manageable projects would be easier for the Commissioners to
understand and he left his research with PGA open until he received further direction
about which issue to focus on from the Committee.
Chair Grant explained once information is received, it should be reported and a
recommendation made; however, Vice Chair Grady pointed out the Committee was not
required to make a recommendation. If they conducted research that was inconclusive,
they could issue a memo of their findings without a recommendation.
Jeff Livergood, Public Works Director, had indicated to Mr. Boulos the City is in the
business of utilizing energy, not producing energy and pursuing this technology was a
policy decision, not an engineering decision. He provided a great deal of information.
Mr. Boulos researched streetlights and learned the amount of energy used was
significant.
Chair Grant suggested Mr. Boulos report how many bulbs are used, how much energy
is used and how long they are used. Since Mr. Livergood had the information, Mr.
Boulos questioned the need for it. Chair Grant responded the strategy was to conserve.
Mr. Boulos pointed out Mr. Livergood advised that every project, whether it was a
replacement, upgrade or demolition, was automatically reviewed for energy savings. He
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Meeting Minutes
Financial Advisory Committee
Boynton Beach, Florida April 2, 2014
was aware Fire Station No. 5 had solar panels installed, and he agreed to research that
further if needed, but felt much of his task was a duplication of efforts.
Chair Grant asked if there was a way to present the data he had. Mr. Boulos responded
there was, but he reiterated Mr. Livergood had the information as well. Chair Grant
inquired if there were any suggestions that could be made about making changes and
the associated savings. Mr. Boulos reiterated there was, but when there was a project,
staff reviews it. Mr. Boulos thought there should be a focus on one item such as a
streetlight or fleet vehicles and his task should not be open ended.
Chair Grant thought there was an opportunity to save with streetlights, and Mr. Boulos
agreed. A solar cell could be used and he agreed to meet again with Mr. Livergood. At
the next meeting, a recommendation could be made to study the issue to determine if
there is a savings compared to the expense of converting the streetlights.
Chair Grant commented once the draft survey was ready, he would advise the City
Commission it was ready and hopefully it would be advertised. Vice Chair Grady
explained he contacted FPL and they have many alternative energy programs available.
He tried to ascertain which project was the most popular or the newest that was being
used by other like -sized municipalities. He learned FPL often contacts municipal
engineering departments when new programs became available so it was possible the
Engineering Department already knew about them. Vice Chair Grady would try to
summarize the three most prominent opportunities they have.
There was agreement the alternative energy and vacant lot recommendations would be
made at the May 12, 2014 meeting. As for vacant lots, a recommendation could be to
increase the frequency of maintenance or propose volunteers or volunteer program, be
used to do so.
Adjournment
There being no further business to discuss, Vice Chair Grady moved to adjourn. Ms.
Stella seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at
6:59 p.m.
Catherine Cherry
Minutes Specialist
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