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Minutes 12-13-01CITY COMMISSION/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, AT 5:00 P.M. LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Gerald Broening, Mayor Ron Weiland: Vice Mayor Commissioner Mike Ferguson Commissioner Charlie Fisher Commissioner Mack McCray Kurt Bressner, City Manager Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant City Manager Jim Cherof, City Attorney Bonni Glinski, Deputy City Clerk CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Diana Johnson, Presidenl Mike Bottcher, Vice Chair Economic Development Rick Lewis, Vice Chair Education Ken Kaleel, Director Stormet Norem, Director Jeanne Heavilin, Director Buck' Buchanan, Member Brian Edwards, Member Lew Dbctor, Director Mayor Broening opened the workshop and welcomed all in attendance. I. Sister City Program Mr. Stormet Norem, a Chamber of Commerce member, gave a slide show presentation on the September trip to Qufu, China, Boynton Beach's sister city. Mr. Nomm explained the Sister City Program and showed slides of the trip's highlights The delegation from Boynton Beach thoroughly enjoyed their experience ~n Qufu. A copy of that presentation is attached to the original minutes in the City Clerk's office Mr. Norem remarked on the need of the Chinese to develop a personal relationship with those with whom they do business and that the relationship usually takes several meetings to develop to the fullest extent. As a result of lhe delegation's experiences, it was felt that the City of Boynton Beach needed to come up with a fuller agenda for the next visit from Qufu to Boynton Beach, to be in line with the extensive agenda the Boynton Beach delegation enjoyed on their visit to Qufu. Mr. Norem showed slides of a Trade Fair the delegation attended and noted that Qufu had reserved two spaces for the City of Boynton Beach. The delegation was unaware of this until the last minute, when it was impossible to put anything together. Qufu ~s hoping that Boynton Beach will have a booth in their Trade Fair next year. Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, FIodda December 13, 2001 Ms. Jeanne Heavilin a Chamber of Commeme member, discussed the sister city relationship with Qufu, noting that Qufu was extremely interested in developing the relationship with Boynten Beach. She stated that they need our expertise, especially in management and engineering services. A point in common between Qufu and Boynten Beach is a dependence on tourism. She said they had some products that we might want to import also, Ms. Diane Fenton, a member of the delegation and a teacher, laid the groundwork for a Pen Pal program between the elementary schools in Qufu and Boynten Beach. Eventually, the delegation hoped to see the City pursue a student exchange program between the two cities. Ms. Heavilin expressed the strong desire of the Chamber of Commerce to work with the City in the establishment of a Sister City Committee. Mayor Broening inquired about the type of enterprises that were displayed at the Trade Show and Ms. Heavilin remarked that both foreign and local companies, technical and non-technical, had participated in the Trade Show. There were booths with technical exhibits, booths with flowers, and many booths with bicycles, the prime means of transportation in the area. She took pictures of every booth but had not developed them yet. Mr. Bressner hoped that this discussion would lead lo the estabIishment of a working committee that would 1) assess the sister city program with Qufu, 2) explore economic development opportunities, and 3) evaluate the viability of establishing a sister city program with a community in another country. He believed that the development of a more extensive and well-coordinated reception process for visitors coming in from Qufu was very important. This committee would have the responsibility for coordinating events and activities with the City, the Chamber, and other interested parties on future visits from Qufu or any other sister city, The committee members volunteered and are as follows: Mayor Gerald Broening Jeanne Heavilin Commissioner McCray Stormet Norem Mike Bottcher Mr. Bressner advised that Dale Sugerman and Dan DeCarlo would act as staff liaisons. II. UPDATE ON THE CITY PERMIT AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROJECT Mr. Jeff Livergood, Public Works Director, gave a status report on Strategic Initiative 2.10 from the 55 nitiatives developed last year, and [ocused on the six areas thai required study. His report is attached to the original minutes in the City Clerk's office. Mr. Livergood was very enthusiastic about the Strategic Initiative Team that had been meeting weekly since June, saying that they had deepened their understanding of all the issues involved and that the team members were all actively contributing to the solutions of the recognized problems. They focused primarily on permits and the permit process Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida December 13, 2001 since this area was the most troublesome for small business owners and homeowners. Their goal is to enhance and improve the permit process and reduce the complaints from developers and homeowners about permits and the permit process. They identified a need to assist the homeowner with education that would help protect them against contractors that might not be providing them with the service they deserve. The following summary shows the six areas targeted for further work in their June status report and updates those areas, Summary Update Develop an inventory of existing City permits to determine the validity and value of each. Make recommendations concerning either the elimination or modification of same. The team compiled an inventory of al/permits. Currently the team is reviewing a draf~ document outlining the applicable statutes, type of permits, fees and recommendations for each area. The team will prepare a final documenf and review the recommendations with each department/division. The final recommendations will be forwarded to the City Commission in early 2002. Mr. Livergood related that this item accounted for 80% of the team's discussions. They had met and talked with representatives of the Building, Occupational License, Fire, Engineering, Utilities, and Planning-& Zoning departments. Areas currently under discussion: Should the building permit fee be based on building size or value? Is the occupational license fee being assessed appropriately? Expansion of the permit program, via the Code, that would offer more protection to the public. Capital facilities charges - purpose? Premise? How to accurately assess without inhibiting redevelopment in the community. Cut plan review fees in half for buildings having fully automatic sprinkler systems? Commissioner McCray asked what the average time was from application to receipt of a permit. Mr. Livergcod responded that it could be a matter of days or weeks, depending on the permit in question. He also commented that the speed of a review is based on the quality of the plans that are submitted, Developers sometimes do not follow staff directions and this adds time to the process, pointing up the need for education Mayor Broening asked if the team was considering any models for fundamental changes in the process. Mr. Livergood responded that they were looking at models for changing the process and that this related to one of the other six items "creating an enhanced staffing structure to accommodate liaison activities. The team emphatically believes that a liaison process needs to be created. They began using the term "shepherd" to help people through the process. This person would greet the applicant and offer to be his contact pointthroughout the entire process, from application to occupancy. The contact 3 Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida December 13, 2001 person would give the applicant the status of his project on an ongoing basis. They were in the process of reconfigudng the space in the Development Department to facilitate the liaison process. Review Land Development Regulations. The City should consider contracting this work so that an independent review is conducted. It would be desirous to develop regulations that are, to some degree, consistent with the direction of surrounding communities. The team's recommendation was to redo the Land Development Regulations and this work is underway. Develop educational materials and programs for customers and staff. The Planning staff is currently revising the development manual. The team is discussing several ideas for information dissemination to the target group. The team will focus on education after finalizing the permit component. Identify specialized customer service training for City staff. Foster consistency and customer understanding among staff. The team is discussing the feasibility of having a Customer Service Center in the Development Department. This "one-stop shop" concept would provide the public with a central location to obtain planning/zoning.permitting information. It would also provide an opportunity to cross-train staff. Research by the team is on-going. Mr. Livergood commented that for many years employees had been told to "do their own thing and that thing only," and that people had mastered the individual components of their jobs but did not have a good understanding of the whole process and a recognition of how that process affects the development community. The team believes there is a definite need for training of customer service staff. Ms. Diana Johnson asked Mr. Livergood if any improvements had been instituted so far. Mr. Livergood responded that they were trying to streamline their own internal staff review of plans. They were looking at phasing.out the Environmental Review committee. They have experimented with the liaison ssue by assigning liaisons to the larger projects such as Quantum and the Marina. Ms. Johnson asked if the same people handled residential and commercial. Quintus Greene said that they were structured along functional lines. There are electrical plan reviewers, plumbing and mechanical reviewers, structural reviewers, and planners who are focused on zoning compliance. What is necessary in the case of Quantum and the Marina specifically, is to have someone who cuts across ail of those functional lines. The vertical things still need to be done, but they need to function horizontally and this is the direction in which they are starting to move. 4 Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida December 13. 2001 Ms. Johnson inquired whether the CiTy had invited the developers to any of their weekly sessions. Mr. Livergood responded that they had done so and that the deve opers had given them ideas. Before the team actual y institutes their recommendations, they p an t~ g~ back to the development community that they originally met with and ask their opinion of the proposed changes. Ms. Johnson inquired whether the developers were from in or outside the community because the community had a reputation to overcome Mr. Greene commented that the Development Department has had a customer comment card system for nearly a year and they found that 9~% Of the comments about s~aff and comparing Boynton Beach to other communities had been Good to Excellent. Mr. Bressner reported that a year ago he had received a number of complaints from the development c~mmunty re~lardin~ processing perm ts and a lack of coordination between the occupational license and zoning departments ,P,e,o, ple buy a piece of property and the occ, uPatonal license says the owner can do X, and then they get underway' and are told that the zoning does not allow for that. Those calls have stopped. He has had complaints, usually from people who have not followed the rules and have already built something and want dispensations for their case. Mr. Wilfred Hawkins stated that he hoped the rules addressed the issues of the development community as to what they are allowed to do and what the City wants them to be allowed to do in light of the City's long-range plans. The process cannot be changed without changing the rules that help facilitate the process. Ms. Johnson commented that when she gets comments from the public about the permitting process, they are pleased £o know that there is a task force studying the issue. She emphasizes that if they do not get satisfaction, they should call her back and they are not calling her back. Mr. Bressner expressed appreciation for the Chamber's role of acting as the initial receiving point for complaints. Mr. Bottcher asked when they would be seeing hard copy educational materials, updated web sites, and a rollout of the new permitting procedures. Mr. Bressner said they were looking at the first quarter of 2002 for web-enabled permitting but were still searching for money. The regulations for the occupational licensing should be ready by the second quarter of 2002. The environmental licensing is done and is just coming to the Commission. Research electronic tools and software applications to facilitate both internal and external permit monitoring. The Development Department ~s currently working with the vendor to update and enhance the HTE system capabilities. Mr. Livergood realized that educational materials are important but in spite of that importance, this would probably be one of the last things done because the process had to be put in place first. 5 Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida December 13, 2001 Create an enhanced staffing structure that will accommodate liaison activities. The team has discussed this concept at length. Some form of liaison activity is recommended to assist the target group. The team is drafting a job description for the "liaison" position. Research by the team is ongoing. Mr. Bressner reported that they were already experimenting with the liaison activity. The liaison for Quantum is Tim Large, Building Code Administrator. The liaison for the Marina is Nancy Byrne, Ass slant Director of Development. Their insights and feedback will be ir~valuable Jn assessJn§ the success of the program. I11, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR THE CITY AND HOW THE CHAMBER CAN BE iNVOLVED Mr. Bressner disp ayed a map that-had been picked up Dy Quintus Greene while he was on vacation. The cities of Delray Beach and Lake Worth were on the map, but Boynton Beach was not. The map was produced in Canada and is handed out at tourist areas throughout Florida. The key fact concerning economic development was the need to make sure that Boynton Beach gets on the map. Staff had been working on a variety of economic development activities. Of the 55 Strategic Initiatives that the City Commission adopted by Resolution last year, seven touch on topics of economic development. There are already seven staff teams working on components of economic development but the missing elemenl has been a contact person for economic development in the City. The contact person will be Dale Sugerman, who will be responsble for economic deveopmenl in addition to his responsibilities t~or Utilities. :Jeff Livergood has taken over Engineering and Proiects Planning, formerly handled by Mr. Sugerman. Capital Mr, Bressner stated that the Development Department had some implementation gemuses. Ms. Hanna Matras was working on development of an economic development model that .will be used to evaluate the impact of projects as they come n and also target the type of Projects the City wants, to go after. This model is a key element for any economic development strategy. They had already talked about making the development process more user friendly. That also means re-doing the Guide to Redevelopment. Mr. Bressner referred to a Development Guide from Arlington, Texas that was one of the best Guides to Development that he had ever seen. It is in layman's terms and it was just posted on the Innovations Group web site this week (www.ia,org). The City has done a Heart of Boynton Study and this was an economic development tool as well as a redevelopment engine. They also looked at the neighborhood overlay districts and the Visions 20/20 Plan Review, which was nearly finished. They had talked about the development process and annexation. Boynton Beach is not Boca Raton but they do need to look at annexation where it makes sense on the basis of the City's ability to provide quality police, fire, and utility services. He believed that by the end of the Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida December 13, 2001 second quarter of 2002, the City would have a very cohesive economic development policy which will include an incentive package that staff is developin§ at this time. Mayor Broening suggested that the City arrange a meeting with the development community to unveil the new y mproved processes. If lots of people were invited like the Florida Real Estate Board an~l others, there might be a chance to make some news with some of the trade magazines like Florida Trend. He also suggested getting Mr. Wayne Segal involved at the start. Mr. Bressner referred to a document containing very basic criteria for successful redevelopment efforts and specifically, coastal communities. He read from the list of criteria. "The successful communities capitalized on their best assets. They defined what that was, whether it was the waterfront, the arts community, or whatever. They hired additional police to make their downtown safer. They sponsored free, family- orier~ed events to get people to return. They spent millions on streetscapes, landscapes, and face-lifts to improve their appearance. They built pul~lic projects such as libraries and parks. They persuaded other government agencies such as courts and count[es ~o stay downtown. ~hey paid for,parking garages. '~hey extended staff aid and Offered PUbl c ncentives to lure business to th~ downtown. They sought and helped developers build houses, condominiums and apartments in the City center They allowed for. density and h~ght n the C ,,ty center. They elected strong political leadership committed to revitalizing ~downtown Those were ihe elements in the coastal communities that were successful in redevelopment. In additio~ [o considering the core area referenced in the above comments about redevelopment, the City had to decide what to do if Motorola leaves. He thought the City should be mak ng some centingency plans with the Business Development Board and the State of Florida to keep that property occupied and productive as part of the tax base. The City will need a lot of help from the Chamber. The Chamber has been involved with economic development and pemaps the Chamber Board can come up with their "wish list" of economic targets. They could work with the City on an enhanced economic development agenda for 2002. He hoped to have closure to this issue by the end of the first quarter of 2002. Ms. Heavilin asked if there were any other Chamber representatives on the seven Strategic Initiative items that had to do with economic development and the rep~y was that her involvement with the development review process was the only instance of it. Mr. Bottcher commented that it seemed that the Chamber was always looking for funds to really get something going on economic development such as what Delray did with a $20M bond issue. He asked if this community would ever consider such a step. Mayor Broening felt that they might, but not right now. Mr. Hawkins said the question m~gnt be whether we want to be able to do that in the future and the economic development plan will show the pub c that this is what we can have, and this s what it will take, and that there will be an end to it. In the other areas like Delray, a plan was put together first, before they made the ~mprovements. Meeting Minutes Joint City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida December 13, 2001 Ms. Johnson said that the CRA was also making some strides and everyone agreed Mayor Broening was hearteneG to see some forward progress in this area. Vice Mayor Weiland questioned whether there was enough of a deman~ for enhanced amenities in Boynton Beach. He said that a certain number of people will go to CityPlace and others will go to Delray Beach. Who would be left? Mayor Broening pointed to a larger issue that would come into play in ten to twenty years. If the City does not upgrade itself in every respect, from education to recreation to business, it will ~)ecome a dumping place for those seeking the least expensive place to live. Mr. Greene' said that-the 1913 Schoolhouse Museum was a first-class tourist facility and one that wou~d actually justify having signs on 1-95 telling peopte how to get to it. Mayor Broening thanked everyone for coming. There being no further business to come before the City Commission ane the Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was duly adjourned at 6:30 p.m. CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH ATTEST: Recording Secretary (one tape) C~mmissio, ner (12/18/01) \\ch\main~shrdata\cc\wp~'ninutes\comm\jt cornmission chamber workshop 121301.doc MINUTES OF THE AGENDA PREVIEW CONFERENCE HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2001 AT 4:00 P.M. Present Gerald Broening, Mayor Ronald Weiland, Vice Mayor Mike Ferguson, Commissioner Charlie Fisher, Commissioner Mack McCray, Commissioner Call to Order Kurt Bressner, City Manager James Cherof, City Attorney Bonnie Glinski, Deputy City Clerk City Manager Bressner began the agenda review at 4:01 p.m. VI.B.3. "Piggy-back" a Palm Beach County bid (Palm Beach County Annual Pathway and Minor Construction Contract) in the amount of $28.224.90 to Charles S. Whiteside, Inc. for the Hester Site Traffic Modification project at Ezell Hester Park City Manager Bressner advised that this was a cooperative effort with the County to ease traffic congestion at Ezell Hester Park. Completion is scheduled for February or March of 2002. Vl.C.6. Proposed Resolution Accepting Letter of Credit No. 2001- 04lA from Ohio Savings Bank in the amount of $363,836 as surety for the installation of the water and sanitary sewer systems serving the project known as Jonathan's Creek Commissioner Ferguson requested the location of Jonathan's Creek. City Manager Bressner advised that it was on Lawrence Road between Gateway and Old Boynton Beach Boulevard and that it was in the County. Since City utilities are being installed there, they must provide the City with a surety. Commissioner Ferguson thought this could be used to buttress the City's request for more water from the South Florida Water Management District. City Manager Bressner agreed that it would be part of the argument. VI.C.12, Proposed Resolution transferring funds from the General Fund to the CRA for the Promendade, Parking and Proposed ClubHouse at Intracoastal Park City Manager Bressner noted that the City was still reseamhing the alleged City funding for rebuilding a seawall. He suggested delaying this item until the January 2, 2001 meeting. MEETING MINUTES AGENDA PREVIEW CONFERENCE BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DeCember 13, 2001 Commissioner Fisher suggested separating the City Club (Proposed ClubHouse) from the PropoSed Resolution. The consensus of the Commission was to eliminate City Club from the Proposed Resolution and go forward with the fundS for the Promenade and Parking at this meeting. · Vlll,A. Dakota Lofts - 3010 South Federal Highway Reclassification and ReZoning City Manager Bressner requested that the public hearing be postponed until January 15, 2001, tO allow for res0iU~i°n of Outstanding Water issues With the residents. Quintus Greene explained that the developer had made some concessions but the City does not have confirmation that those concessions are acceptable to the community. He als0 stated that it would have togo back to the cRA before it would come before the City Commission. VI.G. Approve two funding requests by Commissioner McCray: (A) $2,000 to PUrchase books for the Boynton Beach Public Library; (B) $1,000 to 1913 Schoolhouse Museum for HeadStart students to be able to use the MUseum and have the learning experience without paying the admission fee Vice Mayor Weiland and Commissioner Fisher inquired about funds that had been allocated from their discretionary funds last year and requested a status report. Assistant City Manager Hawkins reported on the pavilion, for which funds had been allocated, saying that it was a joint project with the County and would be on the agenda for the January 2~ 2002 meeting. The clock is expected to arrive next week. City Manager Bressner offered to provide the Commissioners a status report on the discretionary fund spending. · VII,B, City Manager's Report -- Report on Interim Financial ASsistance to Chamber of Commerce City Manager Bressner recommended giving the Chamber of Commerce $24,000 for interim financial asSistance. Vlll. B. Federal Highway Corridor Plan Proposed alternatives for implementing the Zoning Code amendments as recommended in the Federal Highway Corridor Redevelopment Plan, including review of recommendations by CRA as heard in Cases REZN 01-003, REZN 01-004 City Manager Bressner brought up a cost issue about this item. The City was considering the potential impact to the City Of zoning challenges from affected property owners. 2 MEETING MINUTES AGENDA PREVIEW CONFERENCE BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 2001 Quintus Greene responded that the lack of an Economic Impact Model in Boynton Beach was hindering their efforts to determine this but that he favored a different approach. He suggested the option of adding MU and MU-L to the Code as zoning district classifications that would not be specifically applied to any given area. The classifications would exist in the Code merely as options for developers who might wish [o take advantage of the provisions in those districts. Mayor Breening reiterated his understanding that any rezoning would take place on request and would be subject to certain parameters. Mr. Greene advised that staff had aroduced some appropriate landscaping ~mprevements that would help mitigate the appearance of some of the existing uses. The City would not be impacting any of the people who had expressed concern at the public hearings since it would not be actively applying the new designations to any specific areas. Another alternative would be to go with the first alternative and in addition, address the C-4 zoned uses along Federal Highway. The input from the public and the City Commission indicated that it was realIy the C-4 areas along Federal Highway that were at issue. Quintus Greene commented that if the Commiss~on chose the first option, staff would begin to come up with some minimum parcel sizes for rezon~ng. They did not wish to do spot zoning. City Manager Bressner stated that the issues of height and density were not addressed by Mr. Greene's first option and would have to be handled through something like an overlay district. He felt it would be inadvisable to establish a MU or MU-L category, with the same density and height provisions originally proposed for the Federal Highway Corridor, that would be applicable Citywide. Mr. Greene stated that this was an issue and gave a hypothetical example. When they looked at the MU-L category, they considered whether the height parameter could be applied to Federal Highway and Boynton Beach Boulevard in the same manner. Theoretically, this was possible but he questioned whether 75 feet in height would be appropriate on Boynton Beach Boulevard. The three alternatives were 1) the CRA recommendations, 2) adopt MU and MU-L in the Code but apply only on request, 3) combine option #2 with addressing the C-4 uses on Federal Highway. Commissioner McCray felt that the citizenry were concerned about the changes and he hoped that there would be a concerted effort on the part of staff and the Commission to provide them with the reassurance they were seeking, City Manager Bressner felt that it was important that this issue be portrayed as a zoning improvement that would protect and enhance the residential properties and allow redevelopment. He suggested that the increased land use options and increased property values be highlighted. Commissioners Fisher, McCray, and Vice Mayor Weiland had been hearing concerns from people who feared that the Federal Highway Corridor changes would bring 3 MEETING MINUTES AGENDA PREVIEW CONFERENCE E]OYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 2001 developers ~n, similar to the Heart of Boynton, to buy up large pieces of property. The Commissioners believed that the two projects needed to be separated in people's minds and that the City should be candid about its plans and the reasons behind them. · XII.A.6. Proposed Ordinance No. 01-63 regarding Fire pension optional transfer of accumulated leave balances City Manager noted that this was a zero-cost option to the City. He requested that the Commission consider adopting the Ordinance in 2001 so that it could be effective this year. He also met today with representatives of the Fire and Police Pensions and explained the position of the City relative to the costs of the 9ension modifications. The Police Pension appears to be funded solely from the Chapter 185 insurance funds. The Fire Pension will come from the City but other cost savings will offset this to the point of zero-cost to the City. Those changes will not be in front of the Commission until the second meeting in January. · XII.B.1. Proposed Ordinance regarding establishing an Arts Commission City Manager Bressner advised that the number of members on the Arts Commission had been reduced from 9 to 7. XlI.B.4. Proposed Ordinance regarding Annexation of an 8.84-acre contiguous parcel to be master planned for a church campus (calvary Chapel) Commissioner Fisher asked why the City was annexing a church since they did not pay taxes. Michael Rumpf, Planning and Zoning Director, responded that it was a total enclave and the City needed to even up the boundary for service delivery reasons. The Agenda Review meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. 4 MEETING MINUTES AGENDA PREVIEW CONFERENCE BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 2001 ATTEST: Recording Secretary (one tape) CITY OJ;~i3OYNTON BEACH Vice Mayor ~ '---~Ce m m~..~-~ ~"~ ~ /~¢~ommissioner Commissioner (12/14/01) \\ch\main\shrdata\cc\wp\minutes\comm\agenda preview 121301 .doc 5