Minutes 06-15-21 Minutes of the City Commission Meeting
Held Online Via the GoToWebinar Platform and
In-Person at the City Hall Commission Chambers
100 East Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida
On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at 4:15 P.M.
Present:
Mayor Steven B. Grant Lori LaVerriere, City Manager
Vice Mayor Woodrow L. Hay James Cherof, City Attorney
Commissioner Justin Katz Shana Bridgeman, Assistant City Attorney
Commissioner Christina L. Romelus Crystal Gibson, City Clerk
Commissioner Ty Penserga (arrived during closed door session)
1. Openings
A. Call to Order - Mayor Steven B. Grant
Roll Call
City Clerk Gibson called the roll. A quorum was present for the closed-door session.
Closed-door session held on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at 4:15 p.m. fora private attorney-
client session to discuss pending litigation case of:
Patrick McFadden, Plaintiff vs. City of Boynton Beach, and
Mark Sohn, Defendants — United States District Court,
Southern District of Florida, Case Number: 9:20-cv-81237-RS
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman announced those attending the closed-door session
included the City Commissioners, City Manager Lori LaVerriere, City Attorney James
Cherof, Assistant City Attorney Gal Betesh, and a court reporter. The session was
anticipated to last about 45 minutes. Attorney Bridgeman noted should a Commissioner
who was not currently present arrive during the close-door session, it will be reflected
when the meeting reconvened.
The meeting recessed at 4:18 p.m.
Mayor Grant reconvened the meeting at 5:31 p.m. with all Commission Members
present.
Invocation by Rev. Laurie Durgan, Unity of Delray
The Invocation was given by Rev. Laurie Durgan of Unity of Delray.
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
Vice Mayor Hay led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
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Agenda Approval:
1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections
2. Adoption
Motion
Commissioner Penserga moved to approve the agenda. Vice Mayor Hay seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Other
A. Informational items by the Members of the City Commission.
Commissioner Katz had no disclosures.
Commissioner Romelus had no disclosures.
Commissioner Penserga disclosed that he spoke with Kelly Smallridge of the Business
Development Board (BDB) and Harvey Oyer.
Vice Mayor Hay disclosed that on June 12th he participated in feeding South Florida
and met with the Coalition of Clergy.
Mayor Grant disclosed that on June 3rd, he attended a meeting with the Taipei Economic
and Cultural Office in Coral Gables welcoming the new Director General. On June 5th, he
met with Community Greening regarding the tree planting in Barton Park and he also met
with the Boynton Beach Garden Club. On June 7th he attended the ribbon cutting of the
Pride Flag and that evening he attended the Downtown Business Coalition meeting on
the Sea Mist III. On June 8th, he met with the Transportation Planning Agency (TPA) and
City staff regarding the Boynton Beach Boulevard and 1-95 interchange transportation
improvement project. On June 12th, he attended the Community Redevelopment
Agency's Rock the Block. On June 13th, he met with the National Commander of Korean
War Veterans and also met with the local Boy Scouts. On June 14th, he attended the
Waste Water Treatment Board meeting. He also attended a meeting with representatives
from Faith in Florida, and St. John's Missionary Baptist Church. He also attended the BDB
meeting where the topic was what to do with office space. Later on in the evening, he met
with the Free Masons. He also met with Congresswoman Lois Frankel.
3. Announcements, Community and Special Events and Presentations
A. State Representative Omani Hardy to provide an update on the 2021
Florida Legislative Session.
Omani Hardy, State Representative, provided an update on the 2021 Florida Legislative
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Session. He stated this was his first legislative session. This legislative session was
challenging for everyone involved. The State of Florida was open except for the Capital.
This was a very important session with dealing with Covid and the economic fallout from
Covid. Affordable housing was cut by 50%. This year's legislation passed a $101.5 billion-
dollar budget. Included in the budget was $100 million dollars for the cleanup of the Piney
Point phosphate plant. More than $750 million dollars was allocated for the maintenance
and construction projects for schools, colleges, and universities. A bonus of$100 million
dollars for teachers, police, firefighters and paramedics. $56 million dollars to upgrade
the states DEO system and $500 million dollars to combat sea level rise. HB 1 Combating
public disorder, pushed by Governor DeSantis following the 2020 protest over the murder
of George Floyd, the bill criminalizes free speech and public assembly, creates new
crimes and enhanced penalties for existing crimes committed in furtherance of a riot and
encourages counter-protests by the far-right. SB 90 Elections greatly restricts vote-by-
mail practices, places burden on the Supervisor of Elections office and discourages voter
participation. SB 1028 Education, recently signed by Governor DeSantis on June 1, 2021
expands charter schools, expands the definition for high performing charter schools
sponsored by FCS or SUS. Most notably is the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act" which
bans transgender girls, from elementary to post-secondary schools, from participating in
female sports. District 88 secured $1 million-dollars in appropriations for the community.
The Heart of Boynton Beach unfortunately did not make it into the appropriation. HB 1531
Local Law Enforcement Agencies designates criminal justice standards and training
commission as public safety standards, training and accreditation commission. Requires
cities and counties to create public safety departments and limits when law enforcement
may initiate traffic stops. HB 1609 Criminal Justice did not pass.
Mayor Grant inquired what will the State Representative be doing next.
Representative Hardy responded to Google him to see that he is running for another
office.
Vice Mayor Hay inquired if the house bills that failed will be resubmitted.
Representative Hardy replied absolutely, he does not believe in giving up before you start.
The bills will be refiled and they will be better.
B. Report from Chief Stables on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution at the
Ezell Hester CommunityCenter.
Jim Stables, Fire Chief, reported on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution at the Hester
Center. The program ran for eight weeks and over 6,000 vaccinations were administered
to the residents of Boynton Beach. The first four weeks was the first round of vaccinations
and the next four weeks was the second round of the vaccinations. During cycle one,
there was a 65% decrease in vaccinations. News about the Johnson and Johnson shot
causing health issues slowed down the process.
City Manager LaVerriere stated that staff dropped what they were doing to get the
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distribution site at the Ezell Hester Center up and running. She truly appreciated the
sacrifice that was made by staff. A special thank you to John Durgan and Chelsea
Sanabia who made personal appointments for over 100 residents that did not have
access to a computer or needed help with setting up appointments. Without their
assistance, these residents may have not been vaccinated. Also, a special thank you to
Julie Oldbury, HR Director, who turned a current software program used for scheduling
physicals for firefighters into a system that scheduled vaccination appointments for the
community. Everybody pulled together and made a difference in the community. Moving
forward, the City is not stopping the vaccination effort. The City continues to partner with
the County mobile units. The City is planning on having the mobile unit at future events.
Vice Mayor Grant inquired were numbers available on how the City compares to
surrounding cities in the percentage of vaccines to have been distributed.
City Manager LaVerriere responded that she will get those numbers for him.
C. Citation recognizing Mrs. Sue Jones, RN for her volunteerism in
assisting the City with theCOVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts at the
Ezell Hester Community Center.
City Manager LaVerriere stated she met Mrs. Jones sitting in the 15-minute waiting area.
Mrs. Jones was walking around and talking with people on how they were feeling and
what they should do with the vaccination cards. Mrs. Jones brought calm and peace to
the room. Mrs. Jones is an amazing volunteer.
Sue Jones, RN, accepted the Citation and quoted Oprah Winfrey "Don't worry about
being successful but work toward being significant and the success will naturally follow."
This past year has been trying for people in many ways and many people have stepped
up to help those in need. Mrs. Jones is a member of the Palm Beach County Black
Nurses Association and volunteers with them. She works with Dr. T. Leroy Medical
Society, Unified Palm Beach County, The Black Legislative Caucus, the Boynton Beach
Coalition of Clergy and others. This group came together to help those in a time of need.
She thanked the City of Boynton and Fire-Rescue for the work they are doing in the
Community. She then thanked her husband, family and friends for their support.
City Manager LaVerriere thanked Assistant Chief Prince and the Fire-Rescue medics
for all their work as well.
D. Proclamation recognizing June 19, 2021 as Juneteenth Day, a
celebration of freedom. DarrylSanders, Jr. of ChevyDTV Foundation,
Inc. will accept the proclamation.
Mayor Grant proclaimed June 19, 2021 as Juneteenth Day.
Darryl Sanders, Jr., of ChevyDTV Foundation accepted the proclamation. Mr. Sanders
read the history of Juneteenth Day. ChevyDTV and Boynton Strong invited the
Commission and City staff to attend the Juneteenth event on June 12th. Mr. Sanders
asked the City to sponsor and fund the entertainment budget of $1,300 dollars for the
Juneteenth event.
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E. Announcement of the City of Boynton Beach's 4th of July - Red, White
& Blue with a WaterfrontView Event, by Eleanor Krusell, Marketing &
Events Director.
Eleanor Krusell, Public Communications and Marketing Director, announced the Red,
White & Blue with a Waterfront View Event. The event will take place at the
Intracoastal Park on Sunday, July 4th, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There will be
live music, food trucks and a hydro flight show. This event will be one of the
largest Zambelli Fireworks display in Palm Beach County. Dress to impress in
your favorite 4th of July outfit. The Mayor and City Manager will select their
favorite attendee to appear on stage for a photo op. Attendees are encouraged
to bring chairs and blankets. Onsite parking is limited. There will be a free shuttle
service to parking lots located at 114 and 222 N. Federal Highway, 3301 Quantum
Boulevard and 715 S. Federal Highway. To learn more about this event, go to
boynton-beach.org/July4.
City Manager LaVerriere announced that Debbie Majors, Grants and ADA Coordinator,
will be retiring after 33 years of service. She thanked Mrs. Majors for her dedication and
hard work and said the City would not be a leader in accessibility for a government entity
without her. Mrs. Majors has made a difference in the City of Boynton Beach.
Debbie Majors, Grants and ADA Coordinator, thanked the City and said it has been an
honor working here.
F. Announce the FY 2021/2022 budget workshops to be located at the
Police Station CommunityRoom, 2100 High Ridge Road at the
following dates and times:
Monday July 12, 2021: 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021: 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, July 14, 2021: 2:00 p.m. (If needed)
The Commission adopts a Preliminary Fire Assessment Resolution and
Tentative Millage Rate Resolution at these workshops.
Mayor Grant read the dates and times for the FY 2021/2022 budget workshops.
G. Presentation by Paola Mendoza, Associate Engineer, Public Works
Engineering Division, on anew initiative that addresses speeding
through neighborhoods, "Drive Safe Boynton".
Paola Mendoza, Associate Engineer, Public Works Engineering Division gave a
presentation on "Drive Safe Boynton".
Commissioner Penserga thanked Ms. Mendoza and Mr. Dunmyer for their work.
This is a very important topic for the residents in his District. In his District there
is a reoccurring problem of drag racing. He asked if there are plans to address
this type of situation.
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Gary Dunmyer, Interim Public Works Director, explained this program is designed
for neighborhood roads and the problem the Commissioner was referring to is
along Lawrence Road. This is a larger issue and he will work with Sgt. Hawkins
to come up with an initiative.
Mayor Grant stated that Palm Beach County controls all the traffic lights in the
County. He requested for a Future Agenda item a resolution from the
Commission requesting that Palm Beach County traffic allows for prioritization of
pedestrians outside of rush hour.
Commissioner Katz requested a presentation before the resolution to educate the
Commission on prioritization of pedestrians outside of rush hour.
Vice Mayor Hay agreed with Commissioner Katz that a presentation with more
information would be helpful.
Mayor Grant stated not having people jaywalking on Boynton Beach Boulevard
and pedestrian safety is a priority. Mayor Grant directed staff to come back with
more information and to have someone from Palm Beach Traffic speak at a
Commission Meeting.
Commissioner Katz requested to have information on other cities who have
already done this and have they been successful.
Commissioner Romelus thanked Ms. Mendoza and said this is exciting news.
She asked that the City look into the traffic flow on SE 2nd where Betty Thomas
Park is located. Drivers cut through these streets with no regards to safety of the
people who live there.
Commissioner Katz requested to add to the list of communities that are not gate
restricted, Leisureville which has been a cut through community for a long time and
Renaissance Commons Boulevard, the section that runs behind Target.
Mr. Dunmyer commented that Renaissance Commons Boulevard is a private road.
Vice Mayor Hay asked that Village Royale is not forgotten in this process; they
also have the same problem.
H. Update on recordings of public meetings.
Crystal Gibson, City Clerk, gave an update on the recordings of public meetings,
especially advisory boards. In the past the recordings were available upon request. The
recordings are now assessible by the public through a link on the City's Advisory Board
Webpage.
4. Public Audience
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Individual Speakers Will Be Limited To 3 Minute Presentations (at the discretion of the
Chair,this 3 minute allowance may need to be adjusted depending on the level of
business comingbefore the City Commission)
Susan Oyer, 140 SE 27th Way, thanked Mr. Dunmyer for addressing the street drag
racing problem. She has been complaining for years about what is going on in Seacrest
Estates and not to leave SE 2nd Street out of this program. Ms. Oyer suggested that the
City starts fining the non-electric cars that are parked in the electric car charging lot. She
also stated it is time to get rid of the fanning palm trees; they are not trees, they are grass.
Tory Orr, 106 NE 7th Avenue, on behalf of ChevyDTV and Boynton Strong, invited all to
attend the Juneteenth event on Saturday, June 19th. Mr. Orr also commented on the City
sponsoring the $1,300 for the entertainment at the event.
City Manager LaVerriere stated that the City will fund the$1,300 dollars for the Juneteenth
event.
!mon Kareem, 214 NE 3rd Street, stated he is very excited to hear about what the City
has decided to do with monuments. His good friend is with him tonight to talk about why
it is important to have something that honors the people of Boynton Beach and throughout
the Nation that have fallen.
Santiago Vasquez, 213 NE 3rd Avenue, an army veteran who served in Operation Desert
Shield, Desert Storm and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He is also a retired Broward County
Sheriff Sergeant. He is currently the President and COO for Global Accountability Core.
Places like Washington, D.C., and other cities to remind of the past that we have here in
our American history. Statues of past leaders, even some that come with controversy still
stand before us, before you and me. This is the American history that we all have to
accept. American history that whatever happened in the past, we can control our outcome
and denials and errors to protect our future and the mistakes of our past. He is proud of
his country in which five generations before me, myself, my brother, and now my son
serves our country looking forward to America's success without regrets. People are killed
in wars, act of terrorism, act of domestic violence and worldwide pandemics. My
condolences go out to all those families that lost someone early. This happens. That is
something that our government and our people and our future must change to better
serve not only this generation but many more that are still to come. We mourn by going
to cemeteries, going to churches, a temple, synagogue or even a mosque to reflect on
those who are taken from us early. Some people do not like to go to places like that.
Some do not have a special place. Boynton Beach leads the way for caring for its
community, its businesses and everyday people that travel in and out of the City. As a
traveling man, he communicates with hundreds of your business owners and residents,
and he can say they are all in agreement they love this City. Thousands of people have
passed defending countries, beliefs and their own family.
5. Administrative
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A. Ratify the selection of Trevor Rosecrans as the Chair and Butch Buoni
as Vice Chair of the Planning & Development Board.
Motion
Commissioner Hay moved to approve. Commissioner Penserga seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
B. Ratify the selection of Dr. Valerie Valcourt as the Chair and Lori
Wilkinson as the Vice Chair ofthe Education & Youth Advisory Board.
Motion
Commissioner Katz moved to approve. Commissioner Romelus seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
C. Ratify the selection of Golene Gordon as Board Chair and Angela Cruz as
Vice Chair of the CRA Advisory Board.
Motion
Commissioner Romelus moved to approve. Commissioner Hay seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
D. Discuss Art Advisory Board Request to conduct workshop meeting.
Glenn Weiss, Public Art Manager, stated that the Art Advisory Board has wanted an open
workshop to talk about the future of the public art program and Art in Public Places
program and make recommendations back to the Commission.
Mayor Grant inquired if this was different from their regular scheduled meeting?
Mr. Weiss replied yes, it is. The Board would like to have a longer session and have it on
a Saturday at place where the public can attend also.
Mayor Grant asked if the Board has a specific place they are looking to have this meeting?
Mr. Weiss responded that the Board was waiting on approval from the Commission before
choosing a place to hold the workshop.
Mayor Grant stated that he is in favor of this. The Public Art Committee does a lot for the
City, determining what is okay and what is not okay. We want to make sure they have
control of what is acceptable in our City. He said he thinks that it is a good idea to give
them the opportunity.
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Commissioner Penserga inquired about the what topics will be discussed at the
workshop.
Mr. Weiss replied that they requested to have an open-ended discussion. The subjects
that have been discussed previously have to do with changes to the mural ordinance but
also what kind of programs the City should have. What should be the extent of the Kinetic
Exhibition, what kind of work should we be purchasing for the City, and where should they
be placed in the City.
Attorney Cherof clarified that this topic is on the agenda because when the request first
came through in terms of it being an open-ended workshop, it was his opinion that does
not give the public enough information about the scope of items that are to be discussed.
That is an important element of an agenda. Mr. Weiss did provide a list of items after the
agenda was sent for publishing to indicate more specifically what kinds of issues the Art
Board would like to discuss in that workshop. He thinks it would be important to build an
agenda around that list.
Mr. Weiss responded that generally within that list as per the ordinance today for the Art
in Public Places program is that the Board has the opportunity to recommend to the
Commission a master plan, master planning issues and locations for art within the City.
Attorney Cherof asked to go through the list so the Commission knows precisely what
those items are. The discussion would be regarding temporary exhibits such as the
Kinetic Biennial, special projects such as the lifeguard stations. Projects related to racial
and social equity. Themes and locations of murals, that is an item on the agenda later for
discussion in more detail, promotion and community engagement in public art. Mr. Weiss
added collaboration with city agencies, park, public works, sustainability, economic and
the CRA, all of which touch upon essentially at this particular point an unspecified list of
projects for those agencies which are really the departments of the City with the exception
of the CRA. It is a broad list, some of it specific, some of it general, such as the ones that
jump out at him as particularly general in nature would be social and racial equity themes
and location of murals. He said he thinks the mural issue, Mr. Weiss will be presenting an
item later on the agenda. He thinks the agenda for the workshop is needed.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that he likes the idea of the workshop. He asked for clarity on
whether the Board is an Advisory Board to the Arts Board.
Mr. Weiss responded the Board is an Advisory Board to the City.
Vice Mayor Hay stated he would prefer to see the Art department talk about workshops,
be the one to put these workshops on, not the Advisory Board. The way he sees it, the
Advisory Board makes recommendations to the art department and then they make those
recommendations to the City Commission. He did not see this as necessary, but adding
another layer. He commented that if you are going to start talking about location of exhibits
and murals and special projects, that is not the Advisory Board's job to put workshops on
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to discuss those things, that is the art department's responsibility.
Mayor Grant commented that the problem with having our Arts Commission is they cannot
discuss with each other what our arts committee can do. That is why they are asking for
this workshop that is within the limits of the Sunshine Law.
Mayor Grant pointed out that Commissioner Romelus was having an issue with her
microphone.
Commissioner Romelus stated that if Board is willing to take the initiative to do the
background work and the due diligence to do research around our Community to find
things that are representative and reflective of our residents and put that in a way that is
clear and defined and creates a plan to move forward and really showcases what our
Community has to offer in the way of art, she sees nothing wrong with that. If anything,
she commends them for that. As long as we are within our bounds of staying clear of what
the law dictates that we are supposed to do in terms of properly noticing the public,
making sure there is an agenda. Mostly following that agenda and making sure that the
conversations are relevant to that and give the public ample notice to participate in the
workshop, let them go forward.
Mayor Grant stated that he agreed with Attorney Cherof, we need to have a specified
agenda for the public. Looking at our ordinances, powers and duties of the committee,
they are allowed to make amendments to the Art in Public Places program. They are
tasked with adopting a public arts master plan to identify locations for public artworks and
establishing a priority order. He feels if they want to update the master plan, they should
make those recommendations to the City Commission regarding that update, and that the
Board recommends expenditures for Art in Public Places programs. If they would like to
say how the City should try to focus our expenditures in certain aspects including kinetic
or different types of sculptures, that is important. Based upon my understanding, he would
like the Art Commission to come back to us with an agenda to ratify to allow them to have
their workshop. It is not an open-ended workshop, it is based upon the agenda that they
agreed to have. He understands Mr. Weiss' time is valuable as well, so make sure it is
not using too much of your time and it does not become a weekly event.
Mr. Weiss explained that he has managed a great deal of workshops about public art both
for the City of West Palm and the City of Delray Beach and other South Florida cities. The
City has a very good Art Board in terms of their thinking and dialogue and discussion. He
commented that he thinks not only that, but with other people who will join that workshop,
you will see some good results making the program more meaningful to the Commission
and to the City. The Art Advisory Board will create a recommended agenda to bring back
to the Commission.
Commissioner Katz inquired why these items cannot be added as discussion items to the
Art Board agenda.
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Mayor Grant responded because they have other items they have to discuss. The Board
wants it on the weekend to get more of the public involved.
Commissioner Katz stated that he shared some of the sentiment of Vice Mayor Hay. As
stated in the agenda item, conducting workshops by advisory boards is unusual. He said
he worries that opening that door means that every advisory board could decide to
schedule workshops at their whim, once we allow this. He said he has no problem with
the members of the Art Board being at noticed meetings to talk to each other in the
Sunshine, but would feel more comfortable with staff having a Public Arts meeting,
noticed in accordance with rules of Sunshine. The open-ended part scares him. Even if
an agenda is put together, he still would not want the board deliberating over topics
outside their purview that were never verified by the City Commission. He said he feels
more comfortable with staff running this type of workshop because they would stay 100%
within the bounds of the agenda. Members on the Art Board might have ideas that are
not on the agenda, stray from the agenda and no way to moderate or stop a discussion
that is off track. He is not opposed to people putting in extra effort to have a meeting and
thinks that is great. He wants to make sure that by approving this, the City Commission
is not ceding authority or creating new authority for an advisory board that could be
interpreted as a precedent for all advisory boards to conduct meetings on broad ranging
topics.
Commissioner Penserga commended the Art Advisory Board. When people want to be
proactive and want to do more things, that is a good problem. He thought the real
difference was that the advisory board agenda is set by staff. They are not set by actual
advisory board members. The meeting may be run by the Chair but they are generally
regulated by an agenda set by staff. The conversation we should be having is this the
kind of advisory board we want. Right now, advisory boards take lead from staff and staff
takes lead from the Commission. There is the idea that they are on their own "going
rogue," coming up with ideas and proposals and action steps, that are not something that
staff asks for or the City Commission asks for. How do we want our advisory boards to
work, which of the two? There is a compromise. If the topic is something that this
Commission has supported, whether it is racial equity or topics about mural programs,
that seems to be quote, unquote, "blessed by the Commission already." We also want to
make it clear what the process would be for advisory board members to add agenda items
that may be off the beaten path. Those situations, He would recommend that advisory
board members come to a Commission meeting and present their ideas to the
Commission directly. He does wish more boards would come speak during the meeting
and give updates, and then from there decide if that is a direction that Commission wants
to give to staff.
Mayor Grant stated that we have a 3-2 vote or consensus to not have the public workshop.
If any of the board members want to talk about an item, that they would come to the City
Commission meeting so that the Commission can direct staff to put it on their agenda. Is
that what the Commission is looking to do?
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Commissioner Katz responded he thought so. The way it is described reminds me of the
CRA Advisory Board where we set the agenda by virtue of their actions by agenda and
staff, we can add items to their agenda. As the Mayor said, if someone comes in and says
I am an Art Board member and want to discuss this topic we can say yes add that to the
agenda. Or as Commissioner Penserga said if it is a topic we do not want to explore, we
could say no and it would not get on the agenda. Treating it more like the way items get
on the CRA Advisory Board agenda would make me more comfortable. He said if an
advisory board is going to talk about stuff and it is a topic he does not support, he would
want an opportunity to say he did not want that board to stray in that direction and the
majority rule would dictate.
Vice Mayor Hay inquired if Mr. Weiss has considered being on the Arts Commission
Board rather than on the Advisory Board.
Mayor Grant remarked they are the same thing.
Vice Mayor Hay commented that Mr. Weiss stated that he worked at Palm Beach County
Arts Commission.
Mr. Weiss responded prior to coming to Boynton Beach, he was a consultant in Public Art
in Florida. He has managed a lot of workshops and programs to develop public art
programs throughout the state. He said he felt that as the City's staff person he was
comfortable with controlling and focusing the discussion and making it valuable to the
Commission and to the City.
Mayor Grant commented that it is similar to what he said earlier. If any of the board
members want to talk about an item, they would come to the City Commission meeting
so that we can direct staff to put the item on their agenda.
Commissioner Penserga reiterated again if it is a topic that the Commission has already
given blessing to, then absolutely they should have a workshop on that topic. They are
trying to be helpful and it is in service of the direction the Commission has given. For
example, later today, if we support the exploration of a mural arts program and they are
requesting for a workshop on the very same topic that we are supporting that is in service
to us. He said he sees no issue with that.
Mayor Grant noted that there is difficulty in understanding what the board can and cannot
have a workshop on.
Commissioner Penserga stated that we will have to make that clear. If it is in service to
us, he is in favor.
Mayor Grant replied absolutely. Hopefully we can get an agenda and we can have the
Arts Commission have a workshop.
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Commissioner Katz stated that this is a question for one of the attorneys. Would this
workshop have the authority to take votes, or would discussion be the only permissible
activity at this workshop?
Attorney Cherof responded that the open-ended workshop made it sound as though there
would be no outcome. For any advisory board, the goal of the meeting is to provide a
recommendation or advice to the City Commission. There has to be a conclusion to that.
It certainly is called a workshop but there is nothing that prohibits a workshop that is open
to the public and has the appropriate notice and report of the meeting, concluding with
consensus by members of a particular board to give their advice to the Commission. That
is in the art of structuring the agenda, so there could be discussion on what to take action
on and then a list of what the items are that the Commission wants to receive advice on.
Commissioner Katz replied thank you for the clarification. He said he does not have a
problem with voting to give a recommendation. He just wants to make sure the Art Board
has the authority in its normal capacity to literally vote to take action on items within their
purview and wants to make sure any voter consensus is established at a potential
workshop would be a recommendation that would be the majority.
Commissioner Romelus inquired if the actions the board is allowed take entails approval
or denial of pieces of artwork coming in from a development or something like that around
the City.
Attorney Cherof responded yes that seems to be what the agendas entailed in the past.
Commissioner Romelus stated therefore their actions would not or could not potentially
allow them to do anything else other than that. She said she did not know what was the
miscommunication in this question. She felt like it was superficial and clear that the board
simply wants to gather and discuss what our arts program could look like moving forward.
She commented that she thinks we are making a mountain out of a molehill here and her
colleagues should step back a little bit and not be so stringent on this. She remarked that
this is an important discussion for a board that really has the ability to structure what the
City's downtown and other parts of our City aesthetically and visually looks like. It is
important to have these open discussions. Mr. Weiss with his experience and what he
has done, he clearly has the ability to lead these discussions and allow for them to be
productive and lead to something appropriate. She would hope this discussion leads to
allowing for this board to have this workshop. This leading to the Arts Commission
recommending something to the Commission that we can then go through and explore
and say we accept or we deny. That would be the goal of this workshop.
Attorney Cherof commented that the purpose of bringing the matter to the Commission
was not to suggest that workshop meetings of a board are not legal. They certainly are
legal. He explained that his concern was the way it started was an open-ended workshop.
Just imagine if the City Commission agenda was published in the same manner: "The
City Commission will be discussing a number of issues on June 15, 2021." That would
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hardly provide the public with the opportunity to decide whether they want to come and
participate and provide their input on that. The reason he wanted to read the list Mr. Weiss
provided, is that list in and of itself would be sufficient to establish the structure for
conducting the meeting, which Mr. Weiss would moderate using that agenda and with the
assistance of the Chair, of course, but also give the public the opportunity to know what
is going to be discussed without having to come over and find out. That eliminates the
opportunity for anybody to argue later on that ideas and concepts and recommendations
to the Commission were developed in secret.
Commissioner Romelus agreed, as long as the City is within purviews of the law in the
terms of Sunshine and noticing the public, as long as we are doing that, we should allow
the board to be able to, again, take this initiative to hopefully bring us back something that
is productive and that will paint an image or paint a picture, no pun intended, of what the
future of our arts program can look like.
City Manager LaVerriere requested that the Commission keeps in mind staff time and the
cost. The City Clerk will have to be there. It is potentially several hours on a weekend.
We have to maintain recording. We have to do minutes. We have to support that meeting
like all of our other advisory boards. We have limited staff in the Clerk's Office. Moving
forward if this becomes popular to be mindful of that impact on City staff.
Commissioner Romelus stated if that is one of the concerns in terms of trying to have
staff come in on the weekend and do all that, perhaps we dictate that the workshop
happens on a weekday perhaps after hours. That way staff members can just stay a
couple of hours after the workday and help conduct the workshop.
Mayor Grant stated it goes back to the agenda, the Commission will approve or not
approve. He asked for a consensus from the Commission to allow the Art Advisory Board
to propose an agenda and bring back to the Commission for approval. Does this open it
up to all the advisory boards to come back with us for a special agenda? The answer is,
yes, it does. However, it is something that the Commission understands that this is
taxpayer money being used to have these meetings for their volunteer time. It is
something we have to weigh the cost versus benefits. Art has the benefits of economic
aspects for our City. This is important to the City's future.
Motion
Mayor Grant asked for a motion to allow the Art Advisory Board to propose a workshop
agenda. Vice Mayor Hay moved to approve. Commissioner Romelus seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
E. Appointment of eligible members of the community to serve in vacant
positions on City advisory boards.
Motion
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Mayor Grant moved to appoint Kellie Drum as a regular member to the Art Advisory
Board. Vice Mayor Hay seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Vice Mayor Hay moved to appoint Dr. Stephanie Hayden-Adeyemo as a regular member
to the Education and Youth Advisory Board. Commissioner Penserga seconded the
motion.
F. Discuss and approve Commission attendance at the Florida League of
Cities Annual Conferencein Orlando, FL from August 12-14, 2021 .
Motion
Commissioner Romelus moved to approve. Commissioner Katz seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
City Manager LaVerriere requested that the Commissioners who intended on going to
please contact her office as soon as possible so reservations can be made.
6. Consent Agenda
Matters in this section of the Agenda are proposed and recommended by the City
Manager for "Consent Agenda" approval of the action indicated in each item, with
all of the accompanying material to become a part of the Public Record and
subject to staff comments.
A. Proposed Resolution No. R21-055 - Approve the purchase of an annual
service agreement, and authorize the City Manager to sign the service
agreement with Trane U.S., Inc. for preventativemaintenance of the
Trane Chillers at the District Energy System for a total expenditure
of $37,904.00.
B. Proposed Resolution No. R21- 056 - Approving the release of Declaration of
Unity of Title for Knuckles, LLC properties, located at the NW corner of
South Federal Highway and SE 23rd Avenue.
C. Authorize utilizing the NASPO Valuepoint Agreement 43220000-
NASPO-19-ACS under MasterAgreement AR3230 for the purchase of
network equipment and NCPA 01-97 for services for network
equipment configuration services from StepCG in the amount of
$43,405.61.
D. Proposed Resolution No. R21-057 -Authorize the City Manager to sign a
Federal Financial Assistance Subrecipient Agreement with the Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for the 2020
Managing Community Forests Grant Program for a reimbursement
amount of up to $25,000.
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E. Proposed Resolution No. R21-058 -Approve Interlocal Agreement between
the City of Boynton Beach and the Boynton Beach Community
Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for various streetscape/lighting
Improvement projects within the CRA District.
F. Proposed Resolution No. R21-059 - As a part of the approval of the
interlocal agreement between the City and the CRA for various
Streetscape/Lighting Improvements within the CRA District, it is
necessary to amend the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Capital Improvement
Fund (302) budget, which will adjust budgeted appropriations and
revenue sources.
G. Approve revisions to the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 approved Capital
Improvement projects for the303 Fund (Surtax Dollars).
H. Proposed Resolution No. R21-060 - Authorize the Mayor to sign a land use
agreement betweenthe City of Boynton Beach and Ocean One for the 4th
of July event to be held Sunday, July 4, 2021 .
I. Proposed Resolution No. R21-061 - Approve and Authorize the City
Manager to sign the two (2) year agreement and letter of authorization
with JJ Kane for the disposal of vehicles/equipment submitted by Fleet
Maintenance Division and declare thirty-eight (38) vehicles/equipment
as surplus and approve disposition of these items via auction using
various means such as JJ Kaneon-line auction and GovDeals.com.
J. Accept the written report to the Commission for purchases over
$10,000 for the month of May2021 .
K. Approve the disposition of land by the Boynton Beach Community
Redevelopment Agency to Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach
County for the property located at 545 NW 11th Avenue.
L. Approve minutes from the City Commission meeting on June 1, 2021.
Motion
Commissioner Katz moved to approve. Vice Mayor Hay seconded the motion. The motion
passed unanimously.
7. Consent Bids and Purchases Over $100,000 — None
8. Public Hearing
6 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the agenda permits. The City Commission
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will conduct these public hearings in its dual capacity as Local Planning Agency
and City Commission.
A. Proposed Ordinance No. 21-014 - Second Reading - Approve amendment to
the Future Land Use Map (LUAR 21-003) for the Knuth Road property from
Local Retail Commercial (LRC) to Mixed Use Low(MXL). City-initiated.
Proposed Ordinance No. 21-015- Second Reading - Approve Rezoning (LUAR
21-003) of the Knuth Road property from PCD, Planned Commercial
Development to SMU, Suburban Mixed Use. City-initiated.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman read Proposed Ordinance No. 21-014 and No. 21-015
by title only on Second Reading.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman administered an oath to all those wishing to testify.
Attorney Jason Mankoff, Ciklin Lubitz on behalf of Quail Ridge Country Club, stated that
he submitted an email to each Commissioner and the City Clerk on June 9th
He said that there was a prior letter that was also attached to that letter that was not at
the first reading. Hopefully the Commission has received both letters and had a chance
to review them. He said he wanted to make sure they are on the record. Their concern
has continuously been with regard to the height setback envelope which is a requirement
in the City's SMU zoning district, which is going to be the proposed zoning district if a
successful vote is here tonight. And the height setback envelope requires a minimum
setback three times the building height for multifamily or nonresidential zoning districts.
At the prior meeting, it was first turned down and came back for a re-vote. At one of the
prior meetings, the staff put on the record that the setback requirement envelope will be
applied to this property which is being rezoned as part of the future land use amendment.
Additionally, in the email he sent, there is an email from March 2nd from the City. It states
the City Attorney and he agrees that the setback regulation we discussed would be
applicable to the Quail Ridge Country Club property as well. With context because it may
not be abundantly clear. The property that we are talking about is not in Boynton Beach.
It would never have SMU zoning. It is this property. And they are saying that would be
applicable to the Quail Ridge property. Meaning that Quail Ridge would have the
protection that is being provided by this SMU. That is clearly what that email is stating.
Why is this important today? He did listen to the last meeting a couple of times. He knows
the Commission discussed this would be a site plan issue and handled later. It is important
today because it is part of your requirements for a rezoning and land use change,
compatibility is one of the requirements. For our position, without the implementation and
putting this height setback envelope into the record, being sure that is going to be applied
and we are not opposing the rezoning and land use change. We want to make sure all
understand, including the property owner, the City any future City Commission, any future
City Attorney, Clerks and the buyers of the property they need to understand. We are
hoping you will state on the record as the email says and staff has stated that SMU height
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setback regulation will be applied to this property rezone and if that is made, the height
capability can be made as well. We certainly appreciate the help that City staff has given
us throughout the time. He said he would be happy to answer any questions the
Commission may have. Thank you.
Commissioner Katz inquired is this something recommended by legal or something that
would be hashed out by virtue of a future site plan submitted at a future date and purview
of that board at that time based on our ordinances and our codes?
Assistant Attorney Bridgeman requested clarification about the statement, "hashed out
later," as it is on the agenda now.
Commissioner Katz clarified the request being made with regards to the height or the
setback. The ratio, the height to setback ratio.
Assistant Attorney Bridgeman replied that would be with the site plan.
Commissioner Katz stated he understands the position of Quail Ridge - they do not want
a building built close to their property line. This is a site plan that does not exist at this
time. He understands that Quail Ridge wants to lock in assurances on the front end. Is
there any reason to do this other than it is being requested by a neighboring municipality?
City Attorney Cherof replied that there is no reason. Mr. Mankoff has already read into
the record the point staff and myself have opined to in the past. It is not necessary to deal
with this tonight. It is a site plan issue to be taken up in the future. The record of tonight's
proceeding can be read back to the Commission in the future.
Mayor Grant inquired could future Commissions decide to change land development
regulations to allow less of a setback or increase height for this location?
City Attorney Cherof replied yes. Those regulations that are expressed in the City's Code
of Ordinances are not etched in stone.
Mayor Grant commented that whatever is done today with our current land development
regulations do apply, however those are subject to change according to future
Commissions. The aspect of what he heard with the BDB is that whether we have appetite
or any future commission has appetite to expand suburban mixed use to include two
different zonings of more than 65 feet or not. As of right now, you are pretty much in the
clear that it is a 75 feet setback. He asked is that setback from the property line or any
adjacent property improvements?
Attorney Mankoff stated that it is a triple setback, not necessarily 75 feet. We certainly
understand that the regulations could change. He said he appreciates the question and
Attorney Cherof, stating again on the record that his current interpretation of the code as
it stands today the setback requirement would be applicable to the property. And right
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now, that is the interpretation of the City Attorney and we understand the codes are
flexible. Thank you, Attorney Cherof.
Motion
Commissioner Katz moved to approve Ordinance No. 21-014. Commissioner Romelus
seconded the motion.
Vote
City Clerk Gibson called the roll. The vote was 5-0.
Motion
Commissioner Katz moved to approve Ordinance 21-015. Vice Mayor Hay seconded the
motion.
Vote
City Clerk Gibson called the roll. The vote was 5-0.
B. Proposed Ordinance 21-018 Second Reading - Approve amending Chapter 2,
Section 2-1.2 "Vice Mayor Appointment" providing for annual appointment
or reappointment of new Vice-Mayor for a one-year term.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman read Proposed Ordinance No. 21-018 by title only on
Second Reading.
Motion
Vice Mayor Hay moved to approve Ordinance No. 21-018. Commissioner Katz
seconded the motion.
Vote
City Clerk Gibson called the roll. The vote was 5-0.
C. Proposed Ordinance No. 21-019 - First Reading - Rescinding previous
abandonment of a portion of an unimproved five (5) foot wide alley
running east to west from Seacrest Boulevard approximately 436.5
feet (ABAN 21-001), and approve abandonment of an approximately
76-foot-long section of the five (5) foot wide alley along the south side
of Lot 1, Meeks Addition to Boynton Plat.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman read Proposed Ordinance No. 21-019 by title only on
First Reading.
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Mayor Grant inquired about the agreement with the property owner to rescind the
abandonment and does the City have that in writing.
Ed Breese, Planning and Zoning Administrator, responded the City does not have it in
writing. Development met with the developer of Wells Landing and they agreed to this.
This is the quickest way for them to move forward with their project. At some point in time
the City will come back and ask for the remainder of the abandonment of the alley.
Mayor Grant stated that he wanted to make sure the City is not subjecting itself to any
kind of lawsuit.
Mr. Breese stated that the conditions of approval in the original abandonment indicated
that the property owners would need to sign the easement consent and that has not
occurred and the City is taking this action over that.
Motion
Commissioner Katz moved to approve Ordinance No. 21-019 on first reading. Vice Mayor
Hay seconded the motion.
Vote
City Clerk Gibson called the roll. The vote was 5-0.
9. City Manager's Report
A. Presentation on the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the
City of Boynton Beach, conducted in collaboration with the Coastal
Resilience Partnership of Southeast Palm Beach County.
Rebeca Harvey, gave a presentation on the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
for the City.
Mayor Grant thanked Ms. Harvey for the presentation.
Tom Warnke, 2780 Worcester Road, Lake Worth stated that this assessment is very
important and wished Ms. Harvey had more time to go into the details. Mr. Warnke
suggested that the City should think about installing a flood gate at the Boynton Inlet to
prevent flooding, it would save the City money in the long run.
10. Unfinished Business
Monthly update on the Town Square project by JKM Developers. (Tabled from
the June 1, 2021 City Commission Meeting.) See attached letter/update
dated June 1, 2021.
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Motion
Vice Mayor Hay moved to remove this item from the table. Commissioner Penserga
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Grant inquired about the mediation date.
City Manager LaVerriere, responded the mediation date is June 23rd
Mayor Grant inquired if the Commission talked with the City Attorney regarding their own
thoughts.
City Manager LaVerriere replied that Vice Mayor Hay still needs to meet with the City
Attorney.
Commissioner Katz, commented that he does not want to have a conversation about this.
He just wanted to point out that in the monthly update, one of the paragraphs states
"pending litigation affects any project construction financing."That statement led him to
believe that even the south parcel, currently has zero funding. They do not have a
financing partner. Over the last couple of months, it has been common knowledge that
JKM was attempting a partnership deal with a third party to sell off other parcels under
the premise that they still wanted to move forward and complete the other parcel. This
makes him believe that even that premise was impossible. Now that the plan to sell off
the central and north parcels appears to have fallen apart. The entity working with JKM
is no longer involved with JKM. There is no project. JKM has no money, no capability as
far as he can see. In this latest update, pinning that lack of financing on pending litigation
is a fantasy of excuse. Any financial package from a lender could have provisions that
say pending the outcome of these litigation matters. Yes, you will receive financing or no
you will not. He cannot walk away from this without pointing out that it is an admission for
no financing at this time. That the excuse is being tied up by protecting the City's interest
and exercising the City's rights on behalf of the taxpayers that the City is at fault. The
second point is to amend the site plan. He said if you cannot do anything you have
committed to, he does not want to negotiate with a hostage taker. That land is being held
hostage under the premise that it is to be amended and changed. Do the ethical and
moral thing. Move forward or admit you cannot do it. But do not come back to the City
and ask to renegotiate a failed project while holding the land that was previously
possessed by the City hostage so you can develop the next version of this. If there is
going to be changes to the central and to the north parcel and JKM is able to proceed
with the south parcel, that should be for this Commission to unilaterally decide. He
continued that he knows that is not so at this moment. The possession of the land is with
JKM and he does not understand how you can bring to the table a broken contract and
try to renegotiate it unilaterally. All of this blows his mind. He stated he felt like this has
not been highlighted to the public and he did not want to negotiate with a property hostage
taker.
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Mayor Grant stated that he does not believe the City has filed a lawsuit for a breech
contract. He appreciates how Commissioner Katz perceives this aspect; however, he
perceives it differently. He stated if we can get a better project that we could not have
gotten three years ago, that is something the Commission should look for rather than
saying you did not do what you said you were going to do and you failed to notify the City.
Does not stop the City from working with the private property owner for a better project.
Commissioner Penserga commented that he is glad to know he is not the only one that
has their mind blown. He said he has extreme concern and displeasure of everything he
has seen. As he goes through the Town Square project, he is unraveling more questions
and cannot understand how the City has come to this position. This was a joint public-
private partnership. On the public side, the City and the CRA and private developers. The
success of Town Square that people are seeing are our municipal buildings: police, fire,
water plant and City Hall. How did we come to losing all of this land in the first place?
Before us is this proposal from Mr. John Markey. Prior to this, there was another one
from Mr. Jack Weir. Why are we talking about moving forward without simply asking what
in the world happened to get the City here in the first place? The situation is that
developers do not always do as they say. My focus has been where are the protections?
How did the City easily give away $2 million in cash and all of this land bought for $10
dollars? The City does not own any of it and that is now being held hostage. The City is
now talking about what to do next. He said that he asks his colleagues before we take
any step forward, let us have an internal review, an investigation. A reflection as to what
exactly happened. One of the key questions is where is the reverter clause? Why is there
not one? This was a joint City and CRA project. If the CRA is working with the City, at
some point must have said you know these are really good practices to have. We should
protect ourselves and the interest of the public taxpayers. He added that he was not going
to support any major step forward until the Commission has that conversation first. He
said let's learn from our mistakes and find out what happened. He did not want to vote or
take a direction that might very well bring us to the same or similar situation whether on
this project or some other project. He said he just wants to learn what happened.
Mayor Grant replied we would have to speak to our attorney for that question. He asked
Commission Penserga if he wanted to have it as a public meeting or speak to him
independently.
Commissioner Penserga responded that we need to have this as a public conversation,
all of us asking these questions. We need to learn from it. That is the intent.
Mayor Grant said he did review a lot of the contracts. He asked Commissioner Penserga
if he reviewed the resolution because he believes Exhibit D has the repurchase for the
City to get back the land.
Commissioner Penserga stated for $100 dollars he looked through the contracts and
would not be making these comments if he did not do his homework. The contracts were
approved in March of 2018. Later that year in December, that was the options agreement
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which is not the same thing as a reverter. That was terminated in December of 2018. He
asked the Commission if they were informed about a reverter clause and if it was a
conscious decision not to have one. He asked who made that decision and if the
Commission was presented information to justify terminating the options agreement. He
added that he has seen the signatures and we cannot buy it back. Let's learn from our
mistakes.
Mayor Grant inquired if the City Attorney had an answer to the question why was there
no revert clause.
City Attorney Cherof responded that is a complex question that he is prepared to answer,
but did not think this is the right forum to do that. He said he had several conversations
regarding this issue. If Commissioner Penserga has questions about them, he would be
more than happy to spend more than 15 minutes going through that set of documents
with him and the entire transaction. To reach the conclusion there should be different
format is a complex issue. Every document this City is bound by came before the City
Commission for approval. He explained he was referring to the development agreements
and all the component parts of the development agreement. Embedded in those
documents was the authority for the Mayor to sign other documents to facilitate the project
as it moved forward. He said he was more than happy to talk to the Commission
collectively about that. If you want to set a workshop to have that discussion. Plan on
spending three hours with me to do that. It is not a simple transaction that can be
discussed on the fly at a Commission meeting when it is not on the agenda.
Mayor Grant commented he appreciated that answer and that is something we will
discuss on future agenda.
City Manager LaVerriere stated that she would like to respond to Commissioner
Penserga's remarks on this issue. There was no action taken on this project in terms of
agreements or modifications to any documents without the Commission being fully aware
of it, voting on it and being informed. Just want to make that clear for the public. Nothing
happening in the back room. This is an extremely complex transaction with probably over
40 agreements and documents that had to be executed. Whether the Commission recalls
or even completely understands that in one second how everything came together, she
cannot even say she could verbalize it again because it is so complex. But the City broke
it down piece by piece over a year. Multiple attorneys, multiple meetings. We will sit down
and go over it and it will take hours; happy to do that. She said she does not think the City
made a mistake. Could we look back and do things maybe a little differently here and
there? This is a P-3 transaction. It is not a standard let's do an RFP on this, the City is
going to make an agreement with you, build that building, have a nice day. This is very
different much more complex and more risks. We had those discussions with the
Commission about additional risks as well. Staff will spend all the time that is needed with
the Commission to go through this, refresh memories and help Commissioner Penserga
understand because he was not on the Commission then. Any time you need, we are
more than happy to do that.
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Vice Mayor Hay stated he was not on the dais at that time. He does recall sitting in the
audience and he never heard anything about a reverter clause. Going forward, the fact
that this will become before the Commission with other projects, maybe the City Attorney
can give us a reader's digest version we can operate on. He said he believes in staff and
knows that staff would not intentionally misdirect the Commission. It is up to us as
Commissioners to understand this better. It is obvious at this stage that the Commission
does not understand enough about how and when to use a reverter clause. If the City
Attorney cannot do this in less than four hours, maybe it can be done in two workshops.
We need to have a conversation so the Commission as the governing body and the
leaders of this City make the right decision so we do not end up here again. It is in order
to have that workshop.
Mayor Grant stated that he agrees with everybody. We are trying to see what mistakes
were made. The main thing we have is we requested a private developer to build a parking
garage. If the City ended up funding the parking garage, we would not have to worry
about this.
11. New Business
A. Commissioner Penserga requested information regarding economic
development incentive programs offered by other cities throughout the
County. David Scott and John Durgan will present the findings from a
survey of regional redevelopment and business incentive programs.
(Tabled from the June 1, 2021 City Commission Meeting.)
Vice Mayor Hay moved to remove the item from the table. Commissioner Penserga
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
John Durgan, Economic Development Manager, gave a presentation on the findings
from a survey of regional development and business incentive programs.
Mayor Grant thanked Mr. Durgan for the very detailed presentation. He said one of the
things he mentioned to Mr. Scott, is that the Commission likes pictures too, do not forget
about those. We like those tall buildings. Examples of what other cities are doing.
Especially if you are talking about the streetscape. Give us an example of what they did.
That speaks thousands of words. He explained that the other thing being part of the
economic legislative policy committee, he is trying to find ways the state can help the City
with our economic development. The county has their BDB where they receive most of
their funding from the state. We do not get any of that trickle down mostly unless there is
a big commercial space. He asked how do we get that built? Or ways to do that on a
small scale like we have with our build out grants? We are not asking the state for the
money first but for reimbursement for the economic development to help grow those
businesses.
Commissioner Penserga stated that the intention for this item was for the Commission to
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explore the different possibilities and gauge how much the Commission is willing to
support this. The City has great residential communities but lacks in having an industry.
The City wants to attract companies that bring high paying jobs. When the Commission
discussed housing, he was concerned about how low the median income was. What are
we doing to attract companies? Now, that was an awesome presentation. He said, Mr.
Scott, I know you have been working really hard behind the scenes. You mention that
expedited development review process, numerous cities have that now. The City needs
to gain a competitive edge as the City competes to bring in opportunities. These
companies are coming in to Palm Beach County and going to Boca and West Palm. The
City is coming from behind, and the median income is very low. We do not have any major
industries. The City has Bethesda, Waste Management and the school district. We need
more. The City is coming from so far behind that we need to be aggressive to catch up.
The City is turning into a giant bedroom community. He wants to bring jobs closer, not
just housing. Would the Commission like to proceed?
Mayor Grant stated that the issue is the land. The City does not have the land and the
City cannot tell property owners what to do. He said he had spoken with delegates from
JKM and they are willing to use northern parcel for this. However, the City would have to
help incentivize them. He does not know where that goes in your previous comments. He
does not know where the CRA is with their land and other properties that have our core
business development. He is in favor of doing whatever my role as Mayor or Board Chair
of the CRA to help incentivize businesses, more than residential. He feels the City has
the residential, the City is missing that commercial aspect. He is in favor of helping any
property owner seeking assistance for commercial for the incentivize. In addition, he met
with Palm Beach State regarding their apprenticeship program and shared that
information with the City and CRA staff so that as part of any incentives that the City is
getting a community passage agreement that the City is not only having a career fair that
we can have a career education so that before we have the career fair, we can make sure
that residents have the requisite training to get those jobs because the last time we had
the career for Town Square, the City did not have a good ratio of people hired out of
people applying.
Commissioner Hay commented that he would like to see the City move forward in
accomplishing those goals. In his research and talking with people, they are looking for
office space. The City may need to take a closer look at going up. The City just does not
have the land. If the City plans to go that route, the City has to explore different
methodologies of achieving that. Like going up and that has always been an uphill battle
with many people. It is certainly worth talking about. Maybe there are some other ideas
out there the City has not explored.
Commissioner Romelus stated that she is definitely on board with all this. Honestly, the
City has been doing their part and putting out the best possible resources for our small
businesses community to continue to thrive here. Anything else we can add to augment
that is definitely invited. The City is already on the right path and needs to keep going.
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B. Discussion regarding intended use for Historic Woman's Club of Boynton
Beach.
City Manager LaVerriere commented that she wanted to provide the Commission with an
update on the item and have a discussion on the Florida Surfing Museum utilizing space
in the Women's Club. She has discussed with the Commission about what we want to
see in terms of programming and revenues. Staff met with Mr. Warnke and got a good
grasp on what their needs are and what staff has agreed to. Staff needs to start talking to
experts in the event planning industry. How does the Women's Club fair and what does
the City need to do to enhance the attractiveness? Does the kitchen have the facilities to
have a certain event with a certain capacity? Also, how will it affect our programming with
sharing the space with a non-profit. Staff is gathering that information now. Staff has had
five or six tours and discussions with vendors to give the City details on what the market
can stand and the types of events we can do there. The Cultural Center is more of a
recreation facility that will have revenue producing events. The City sees the first floor as
community programming for recreation and the upstairs can be rented to hold nice events.
Historic Women's Club is different, it is on the national register and just an absolutely
phenomenal building. The City wants to maximize that. She said she did not want to limit
the ideas to just what our staff recommends. Staff is planning on bringing to the
Commission on July 20th an overall assessment of what the possibilities are.
Mayor Grant inquired about the parking.
City Manager LaVerriere responded that the valet is not an issue. Utilizing our parking lot
across the street has not been a detriment.
Mayor Grant stated that his aspect is that he knows what that building cost. He knows
how much money the CRA put into it as well. He feels like there has to be that aspect that
if people want to use it for a yoga studio and gatherings like the historical society, the
women's club that used to meet there can use it on a reasonable basis. My whole goal
regarding the Florida Surfing Museum is that it is attraction and something that can be
done quickly. The kitchen needs to be updated, the City has at least a three-year window
of upgrades with the CRA's funding that we would hopefully try to offer those three years
to five years to the Florida Surfing Museum. Museums are one of those things that during
the pandemic brought a lot of people out of their houses in a safe place. He will ask Mr.
Warnke how did he fare this past year? Was the Museum closed? Was he able to still
operate and function and not go into the red? He feels that the City should move forward
with the Florida Surfing Museum. He does believe that they have the letter of intent. Does
the City follow the CRA process, that if the City receives a letter of intent the City does
not have to do an RFP if it is publicly noticed?
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman replied she does not think it would be the same
process.
City Manager LaVerriere stated that is one of the things staff is going to look at and bring
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back to the Commission. Do we want to contract out the operations of facility for people
that can market it more directly into the industries we want to attract? We have to have
that discussion as a group what are your visions and desires for the building? What is it
going to cost to run it? Number one remark so far is this is the best kept secret in Palm
Beach County by several event planners which tells us we need to get the word out better.
Commission Katz remarked that he supports what staff is recommending, bring back a
broader, professional look at what space could be, because he thinks the City Manager
summed it up, whenever we referred to it, it defaults to a wedding or some other common
event because we just do not know the scope of what type of events can take place and
what that venue can be availed for. He stated he does not support any sort of agreement
with anybody that would monopolize the space. He remembers a couple years back, there
was a theater group that revealed by use of space means to monopolize it for the year
and during the wintertime that is obviously the most populated time down here. The City
got turned off from the idea of monopolizing the space for one entity because it would
deprive the public a chance to use the space or other interested parties from renting it or
utilizing it as the Mayor said, whether it is yoga, the Historic Society or the Women's Club.
He is open minded to a professional analysis of what potential of the building is. You
mentioned three-or five-year deal, if you could elaborate on what you mean by that. If it
means the Surf Museum would be in the building 12 months a year for three to five years,
that to him is kind of going in a direction he would not want to go with, it is monopolizing
the space.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that he is anticipating the City Manager's report, because right
now he does not see the value with the water surfing museum there. He does not know
how much square footage they would be looking for. That needs to be known. Whether
they want to be on the first floor and second floor. He does not want someone
monopolizing the building. The City did spend a lot of money revamping the building and
modernizing it. Having surfboards all over the place is not a vision that is profitable for the
City. When do you plan on bringing back your next report?
City Manager LaVerriere responded July 20th Staff is reaching out to one more person.
Mr. Warnke gave staff names of people to speak with, who staff is reaching out to now.
Vice Mayor Hay commented that he will reserve his comments for the second meeting in
July. He does have some concerns.
Mayor Grant stated that the City has another national historic registered building, and The
Children's School House Museum. The City let that be monopolized as a museum. He
does not believe that the Florida Surfing Museum wanted to monopolize the space. They
do want to hold events. To have a daily function for the building is something he feels is
very important because the City wants to make sure the building is used, rather than just
on the weekends or three days a week if the City is lucky versus trying to get it seven
days a week.
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Vice Mayor Hay stated that the Children Museum is not financially sustaining itself. The
City is still having to put money into. At some point we need to take a look and not bog
ourselves down with another nonprofit. That is why he wants to wait until the City
Manager's report comes back to give him the options. The Children's Museum is not self-
sustaining when it comes to financing itself. At what point do we cut it off? At some point
we have to say the City cannot go further than this. There has to be another route. There
has to another option.
Mayor Grant commented that he understands the monetary concern. It is the educational
aspect for our youth. It is the business aspect of attracting people to our City who have a
surfing background. The story of surfing in Palm Beach County is one to be told. It
involves the court and judicial system where they were discriminated against. Since he
has visited the Florida Surfing Museum, he has a different opinion, perception.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that it is cost benefit analysis is where he is coming from right
now. He understands what Mayor Grant is saying and he agrees with him.
Mayor Grant remarked that he does not have much time left but he would never say to
get rid of that Children's School House Museum.
City Manager LaVerriere stated that the Children's School House Museum just received
a $100,000-dollar grant. There was a competition with Spady Cultural Heritage Museum
and the City's Children's School House Museum received the grant, that is amazing.
Commissioner Katz stated that he supports bringing the surf museum to the City and
trying to find space and utilizing it. There is a unique experience that could be offered. It
would be an attraction and it could bring people in and foster events that could be unique.
He wants to make sure any sort of potential agreement for that space would ensure that
it could be utilized completely by other entities whether it was local clubs like the Mayor
mentioned or events or conferences, whatever else we find out could go in there. He is
not opposed to the surf museum occupying space for a period of time. He would not want
them to be in there, or anybody for that matter, and impact the ability for other entities to
use it as they saw fit and not have it encumbered by other things that are there for another
purpose. Just like the theater group, he would have loved if they stuck around maybe a
month here, a month there, certain days here, certain days there. They wanted the entire
winter. This is a deal where the surf museum needs the space on a weekly basis all year
where that would impede potential rental opportunities or utilization from other groups,
there is bound to be a compromise in there. He wants to make sure we do not restrict
the space so much it becomes only the surf museum. When the City purchased the
building and restored the building, he had the idea of it being an event space.
Vice Mayor Hay commented that he agrees with what is being said, yet he still has his
doubts. If it is so great, the Florida Surfing Museum, why are they trying to leave where
they are? He would think the city would be trying to keep them if they are that great. You
do not have to answer that now but include those kinds of things in your report when it is
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brought back. He would just like to have what is the rational and what is going on here.
Mr. Warnke stated that he did a PowerPoint presentation for the Recreation and Parks
Advisory Board, which cleared up a lot of what the Commission has been asking. The
plan that Museum visualizes is to not encumber any special events in the Women's Club
building. Our Museum setup can fill the whole upstairs and convertible to be moved out
completely to the corner of the room or possibly a small storage room so that room could
be an empty canvas for somebody that has a wedding, for instance, that is not compatible
with the tropical, Hawaiian feel. On the other hand, the wedding planners that the City
Manager's Office may be speaking to could easily say we are going to be able to book
more weddings in that building because it is a Hawaiian tropical feel, especially the
receptions. The upstairs should be a convertible space and we are prepared to do that.
We have display walls on wheels that are museum quality that can be moved easily. Our
surfboards are on vertical stands. You pick up the board, the stand goes with it. They are
not attached to the walls. Even the storyboard panels we have are on two hooks, easy to
move. Our plan from the beginning has been to accommodate all weddings, all other
special events and even provide a big number of special events that we produced over
the years. We want to work with the City. If we have a small area downstairs for a
permanent museum and the upstairs is convertible, we have also got the foyers and
stairways with big empty walls. We hope to produce with a cultural council grant
storyboard panels about the building, the Women's Club as a club, about the Historical
Society and Boynton Beach the gateway to the gulf stream. That is the type of concept
that we have. If you look at the PowerPoint that he did, that will be great. He will also have
one on July 20th if you would like me to review it and make it more concise.
C. Presentation from Public Art Manager, Glenn Weiss, on proposed
direction for a new Mural Program.
Glenn Weiss, Public Art Manager, gave a presentation on proposed direction for a new
Mural Program.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that he has seen what murals can do for a city. For a while
Gainesville was covered in graffiti. Gainesville placed murals on the walls and buildings
and it made such a difference. He is all for this program, it is part of the branding for our
City. It will make us unique in a different way. He looks forward to it. He is happy to say
that the murals that the City has up have not been vandalized in any way, so there is
something to be said there. Thank you.
Mayor Grant remarked that he would also be in favor of having a mural ordinance so that
the City can continue this.
Commissioner Penserga commented that Mr. Weiss did a great job, he covered all the
bases and why murals are powerful. Vice mayor Hay, the reason why they are not getting
vandalized is because that is the community taking ownership. The beautiful thing about
murals it is something a community can be part of. H has great appreciation for the kinetic
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art program that the City has here. The attractive component is this community
participation that drives pride for your community and ownership. The people that you
look up to, your heroes are on that mural that is the selling point. People are going to love
where they live even more.
Vice Mayor Hay state that the mural that is on the basketball court on MLK Boulevard
was done by one of our young youth at the time. He did an outstanding job.
Commissioner Katz stated he is not an artist. He does not have particular views about
art, although a lot of people do, especially artists. He has developed a philosophy a couple
of years ago that public art is not just art in public spaces, it is art for the public. Sometimes
he sees public art lose its way where people think public art is so we can turn everyone
into an art aficionado and people frown upon the cliché public art. But what you talked
about taking pictures in front of public art, having public arts that demands people to come
and look at it and interact with it, that to me is of great value. He does not want art in
public spaces, he wants art that the public will appreciate and come to the City to take
these unique pictures like people have been doing outside of City Hall for the past couple
of months. He likes everything Mr. Weiss has presented. He has been an advocate for
years of public art that caters to the people in the community. They want to enjoy the art
without being told they have to appreciate it.
Mr. Weiss stated he definitely understands 100% what Commissioner Katz is saying.
Commissioner Penserga clarified that the direction the Commission is giving is for staff
to bring forward an ordinance.
Mayor Grant replied yes.
City Manage LaVerriere inquired what the first step was going to be, work on the
ordinance or potential language for the LDR.
Mr. Weiss responded that is a complicated a question.
City Manager LaVerriere commented she will get with staff and figure out what needs to
be done.
Mr. Weiss suggested that the LDR language be done the same time as the ordinance
12. Legal
A. Proposed Resolution No. R21-062 -Authorize the Mayor to sign an
Easement Agreement with Palm Beach County Board of County
Commissioners to allow construction access and staging in designated
area at Oceanfront Park for Ocean Ridge Shore Protection Projects
and the South Lake Worth Inlet Maintenance Dredging Projects.
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Andy Studt, Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources, stated that he
manages the county's coastal resources program. He has worked successfully with staff
onshore protection projects and dredging of the Oyer Park boat channel a number of
years past. This agreement formalizes access to performance services.
Mayor Grant inquired if this will affect sea turtles?
Mr. Studt replied in a positive way. That is one of the great benefits for the shore protection
to protect us from storms, which we know we are going to get. Not a matter of if but when.
This will provide an environmental habitat for sea turtles, nesting shore birds. Provides
recreational space for visitors alike and facilitates dredging of the boat channel at Oyer
Park for boater access.
Vice Mayor Hay moved to approve Resolution No. R21-062. Commissioner Romelus
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
B. Proposed Ordinance No. 21-020 - First Reading - Approval of Ordinance
creating Monument Policy for the City.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman read Proposed Ordinance No. 21-020 by title only on
First Reading.
Mayor Grant inquired how does the combating public disorder bill that was passed on
July 1st affect this Ordinance. He believes there is something that says you cannot take
down a monument.
Assistant Attorney Bridgeman responded yes, if the City were to decide something is a
monument, the new legislation would apply.
Mayor Grant inquired does the City have the ability to remove monuments if they so
choose?
Assistant Attorney Bridgeman replied yes. If the City follows the established process for
approving, removing, et cetera. A lot of the genesis of the of the new legislation regarding
existing monuments. That is where there would be more bureaucracy, with regard to
anything new that comes up, that would be different because the City is putting a
monument in place and the City would have the ability to remove the monument.
Commissioner Penserga stated that he has many questions about the specifics of this,
perhaps he should wait until others have asked their questions.
Mayor Grant responded that Commission will let him go first.
Commissioner Penserga commented let's begin with line 227. It says here monument
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proposal has been through community outreach conducted by a group or person
suggesting that to the City. It is vague what that process is. Somebody making a proposal
could say, look, here is my survey and we are supposed to go with that. So that is just a
little too weak. That needs to be clarified. Further down, section e, line 237, it talks about,
well, this proposal, even if we agree to it, may have some backlash from the community.
The community says I do not want it here if through the public outreach process the City
Manager finds a proposed monument is a source of dissension or discord with the City,
the City Manager will seek further direction from the rules committee. He was not sure
who the rules committee is that would be arbiter of community dissension. He would like
to start with community outreach. That is great, the City should have community outreach.
What are the details of that and how will that work? Right now, it is entirely controlled by
the person making a proposal. On the flip side we do not want to overwhelm staff with
more work but we need community outreach to be reliable.
Mayor Grant clarified that Commissioner Penserga wants a clear definition for what
community outreach means.
Commissioner Penserga replied yes and who should be performing that it is part of my
questions.
Mayor Grant asked Commissioner Penserga how would you define community outreach.
Commissioner Penserga responded that Commission knows what community outreach
is. What is the process. Does somebody need to do a survey, have a meeting? What
does that mean actually? It is vague.
Mayor Grant commented that in order qualify for an election 25 petitions are required.
This is where the City has the ability to not just have someone reach out to 25 members
of the community but to state publicly, their intention for the monument. Basically, put it
on record at Commission Meeting. After 30 days the City tallies all of the information. That
way we can verify community outreach that there has been public record of a statement
for the monument and that we are privy of how the community feels about the monument
and the City can go from there.
Commissioner Penserga stated that line 98 says the City shall not place monuments on
City property which have the purpose of promoting, favoring or inhibiting any religion. The
portion that caught my attention was the second half, or which would appear to a
reasonable person. He is not sure what the is a legal definition of reasonable person is.
Who defines a reasonable person to make a claim it promotes a religion and therefore it
cannot be had.
Mayor Grant inquired does that mean the City is not allowed to put up a Christmas tree
because it is temporary.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman replied that there is a distinction between holiday
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decorations which are temporary and permanent monuments.
City Attorney Cherof stated that the Supreme Court of the United States has determined
that the Christmas tree is a secular object and not a religious object.
Mayor Grant stated that is good to know. He does agree there is a lot of religious
symbolism out there. It is kind of saying no crosses, no stars of David, no religious items
as part of the City's monument program, that it is strictly based upon other meanings. Not
to say we cannot put a monument to a religious person for the activities and contributions
to the community. However, religious symbols are not to be included.
Commissioner Penserga inquired what does it mean to be a reasonable person? What is
the definition of that?
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman responded that is a legal standard of reasonableness.
There is not a list of things we would include in the ordinance, but if someone were to
make a claim.
Mayor Grant stated say the symbol was a triangle. A reasonable person says, no, there
is no religion associated with the triangle. However, a reasonable person would associate
the "T" for cross or six-sided star is with a religion.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman commented using the triangle as an example, if
someone were to say, that triangle is promoting religion, to my knowledge there is no
religion that is connected to a triangle, so that would be an unreasonable connection of
the triangle to a religion.
Commissioner Penserga inquired can reasonable person be substituted with common
knowledge; would that be the same thing?
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman replied no, it is not the same thing.
Mayor Grant commented we are all reasonable people on the dais, right?
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman clarified that the language is saying someone cannot
show up and say I think that is religious, you need to take it down.
City Manager LaVerriere inquired does the City want to further define language of what
that outreach looks like? Do you have to have 50% of the community or surveys?
Mayor Grant commented it would be a public notice similar to what the City does for
construction, where you have it publicized at a meeting. He thinks it is probably the best
way that any sort of project the City does that requires public notice, community outreach
would be defined as that.
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City Manager LaVerriere explained it would include mailing a letter to each home.
Mayor Grant added using the current radius that is stated in the City Ordinance.
City Attorney Cherof replied that this Ordinance is before the Commission for the first time
not having been reviewed as a preliminary discussion stage. Some of the provisions and
clauses are provisions that he wrote based upon reviewing several dozen monument
ordinances from around the country, including ones that have now resulted in problematic
situations. The tearing down of monuments, you can go back and look at what did the
ordinance look like that gave rise to that in the first place. His point is, he thought he was
trying to make it in the introduction to the ordinance itself was to remind the Commission
that societal standards and points of view change over time. But with respect to more
specific terms, like community input or something of that nature. He has to look to the
Commission to determine what the scope of that review would be like and how that would
be conducted. He viewed it as an administrative function. The administration would
decide how broad a group of people or organizations would be contacted for their input
based on the particular subject matter of the monument at hand. He knows this sounds
ridiculous but obviously not all monuments are created equally. You have a small 1 by 2-
foot monument in one place. You could have a 40-foot monument in another place. He
would think community review and outreach would be different in those two
circumstances. But he looks to the Commission to help us to figure out what that definition
looks like.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that he has some questions. On line 53 it says societal
appropriateness evolves and changes over time. A monument deemed appropriate when
approved may be inappropriate at some time in the future. When the City Commission
finds a monument or any part thereof is inappropriate, the monument should be removed
or the inappropriate portion thereof modified. Should the City have a time constraint? If
we put up a monument and let's say a new Commission or we decide ourselves to take it
down the next month, there is no time limit there.
Mayor Grant responded that the issue is if it is a City funded thing, it is well within our
preview. However, if it is a privately funded monument, then there may be caveats with
the funding aspect of it.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that we as a city should not be funding putting up a monument
unless it is initiated by the City. If another entity is putting this monument up and they
come to the City Commission, they ought to have the funding to construct that monument
as well as a plan of maintaining the monument and not let that be another burden on the
City. The ordinance states a monument administrator. The Commission will have to talk
about that. It would be the administrator's job to do the legwork, and then bring it to the
City Manager and finally brought to the Commission for ruling on it. He thought that is
what that is intended to be?
City Attorney Cherof replied that is correct. The administrator would be somebody that
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works at the administrative level of the City, appointed by the City Manager or hired for
that particular purpose when funded by the City Commission. With respect to the
maintenance issue, Vice Mayor, that is addressed in the sections that begin around line
260, that whenever there is the proposal for a monument, there should be a commitment
to and the identification of variable funding sources for it. There is some language in there
regarding recognizing that monuments have to be maintained over a period of time
including line 275 the fact that you may require a maintenance agreement to be entered
into so that the City does not have to absorb the cost of it as well. Back to one of your
original comments about a monument that goes up tomorrow, how long does it have to
stay up there before the Commission can change its mind and take it down. If you have
a monument that is dedicated to some historic figure from the City's past and you do a
monument to that person. Research reveals next week that person was engaged in any
kind of inappropriate conduct or advanced inappropriate ideas by today's standards, you
would not want to keep that monument up any longer than it takes the Commission to
vote on taking it down. We do not know about everybody's history when we choose to
honor them with monuments or statues of that particular nature. That is what that
introductory language is intended to reflect upon the issues regarding monuments over
the last three or four years around the country, referring to civil war heroes, quote,
unquote.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that line 18 talks about opposed monument that has been rejected
may be resubmitted for a period of three years. Is that the norm around the country?
City Attorney Cherof replied he would not say it is the norm. He did find time standards
for renewal. Some were longer than that and some were shorter. Line 185, the three years
was a number he plugged in for discussion purposes.
Vice Mayor Hay inquired should there be anything in in the ordinance about the
monument withstanding a hurricane.
Commissioner Penserga replied that lines 207 and 208, states monument must be made
of durable materials, must withstand the elements, minimum of 50 years.
Vice Mayor Hay commented line 58 says that monuments should not displace the
intended function. When he looks at the recreation of social parks and we want to put
something totally unrelated to the overall intent of the building of that park that is for
softball, baseball, volleyball, picnics, those kinds of things.
City Attorney Cherof replied that is exactly right. That is what is intended at line 258. Your
example is good. Baseball. A park with three or four baseball areas or soccer fields on
them to decide to displace one of those fields or part of a field making it unusable with a
monument would be inconsistent with the original intent of previous City Commissioners
to designate an area park area or to have it dedicated by a developer for that matter.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that on line 304 it talks about the property owners adjacent to the
location of the proposed memorial plaque has been consulted on the placement of the
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memorial. Is that within a certain footage from the location in question, like 300 feet?
City Attorney stated that it might be benefited by putting a distance requirement or it could
be sight line issue as well. You could have an adjacent property owner in a residential
structure, seven, eight stories high that look out over a particular plaque or monument. It
could vary from circumstance to circumstance. Vice Mayor Hay you are on the right path
there. He thinks the City would benefit from site or distance criteria related to it. We could
work on better language there.
Commissioner Katz stated that he has a couple of questions and some thoughts. First,
because all of this is wildly subjective, there is no correct or incorrect way to proceed. As
He thinks the City Attorney pointed out, these ordinances are impossible to craft in a way
that they work out perfectly because people will find ways to work with existing language
to still put things out there or try to put things out there that may cause controversy or
offend this group or that group. He does not want to vote on this tonight because each of
us have raised a number of questions, or at least those who have spoken, that he has
not thought about or he has his own set of questions. Since there literally could be 100
lines in this that we change individually based on all of our own input and experience, he
does not want to feel compelled that this is on the agenda. It is the first reading, we must
adopt this. It is supremely subjective no matter what we do there is going to be unintended
consequences where people try to put things in places that get rejected. A couple other
things that came up. He does agree with Vice Mayor Hay that the idea that people would
present monuments to us absent of funding and for the City to consider funding. He just
does not want to fund things that people egregiously would not want to pay for. He has
concern about the duration of these monuments. He envisioned the monuments being
temporary, whether a month, six months or a year. He does not know how comfortable
he is with the idea that the City over time will be erecting and accumulating monument
after monument. There is no duration or no automatic duration that would require review
every year or every six months. If it is approved the monument is up until the board would
take it down.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman asked if the suggestion was possibly a periodic review
by staff.
Commissioner Katz responded yes, he does not want permanent monuments, he wants
this to be an attraction and rotate the monuments and the Commission could under this
scenario keep reauthorizing it. He does not like the idea that an applicant is able to erect
a monument where they want and now that spot is theirs forever. That might lead to an
accumulation how many monuments do we put up. He likes the idea of Public art it
specifically defines spaces for specific amounts of time based on the showing length,
whatever is determined by the Art Board. It allows for change and allows for the public to
weigh and if they do not like the art it is gone in a year because the art display ended its
time frame. The other question he had, is there anything in the Ordinance that defines an
applicant as a resident of the City?
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City Attorney Cherof responded that is not in there.
Commissioner Katz stated that if you do not live in the City of Boynton beach, you should
not be allowed to propose a monument. He does not like the idea that like literally
somebody from Texas or New Jersey could come down here for vacation for a month and
propose a monument. to the Mayor's point in referencing qualifying for the ballot in
reference to what Commissioner Penserga said about what is community outreach or
what metrics might define that you have done checked your boxes. He does think there
needs to be qualifications for who applies and again whether that is resident and lived in
the City for a year. He thinks that juxtaposition begs the question that maybe the criteria
for qualifying to run for office is often extremely low in any given City, the 25 signatures,
so if we are requiring signatures of residents in the City, he does not know how easily that
could be verified if it was registered voters in the City. Then he does not want to
discriminate if you are not registered to vote and you are a resident and you do not get to
sign off and support this. He definitely does not want to vote on it tonight to initiate the
second reading. He is not 100% sold on the concept at all because there is so many
variables and so many subjective aspects to it. He pointed out that the entire genesis of
this Ordinance was one group came to the Commission and wanted to put up a monument
or structure. He does not know if the potential negative consequences of opening up free
speech by way of monument across the City in public parks is worth it. In the five years
he has been a Commissioner, he has never heard a single resident say we need more
monuments. There is a provision that says it should not detract from the nature of the
space and should not inhibit the use of the space. So, for instance, we have the dog park
in Renaissance Commons area that is dedicated to Officer Crowder. What if somebody
wants to put something up there that is critical of law enforcement? He does not know if
opening this can of worms is going to produce more benefit or more cost. And that cost
is not monetary exactly. You see around the country the division on every topic,
everything is political. He worries this opens a can of worms. It requires more thought. It
will never be perfect. He does not want to rush into it. Once you do it, you never know
what is going to come out of the woodwork.
Mayor Grant commented he was born in D.C. there are a lot of monuments there that are
on government property. He does agree with Commissioner Katz that he does not think
the Commission should vote on this because there is too much of the language we are
changing and he does believe the Commission is not going to get the red line copy. He
requested a tabling of the Ordinance to the second meeting in July. For the red line copy
of all the comments we have made. The Commission did mention the line numbers that
should help staff make those changes.
Mayor Grant inquired if Commissioner Romelus would like to comment.
Commissioner Romelus responded no, she has been listening to everybody's comments.
It is clear it is not ready for the Commission to really look at it tonight. Let's hear from the
public as well in terms of what they want to see.
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City Commission
Boynton Beach, FL June 15, 2021
City Attorney Cherof requested that if the Commissioners have comments or thoughts
about the document, to send an email to the Attorney's Office. This is before you for the
first time. It reflects my drafting based upon my research but not your individual and
collective point of view.
Motion
Commissioner Penserga moved to table Ordinance No. 21-020 to the July 20th
Commission Meeting. Vice Mayor Hay seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
C. Proposed Ordinance No. 21-022 - First Reading - Amend the Land
Development Regulations, Chapter 3, Article IV, Zoning, Section 3.D.
Table 3-28, Foot note #103 regarding Landscape Debris Stockpiling
use, to add a minimum distance separation standard and amend
certain existing operational requirements and standards to avoid
hazards, nuisances, and other impactson residential land uses. City
initiated.
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman read Proposed Ordinance No. 21-022 by title only on
First Reading.
Mike Rumpf, gave a summary on the amendments to Land Development Regulations,
Chapter 3, Article IV, Zoning Section 3.D. Table 3-28.
Mayor Grant inquired it the property owner would still have the use.
Mr. Rumpf replied yes, these new zoning regulations that are introduced into the code
subsequent to a business being approved normally do not apply to that business. All
subsequent businesses come into approval. So as long as this use maintains standing,
these new regulations do not apply. There is a clause which does give the city the ability
to revoke or not allow for renewal of business licenses based upon violation records. It is
not as specific as this wording is. That is another reason we are keeping such a log and
looking at what additional time it is taking and opportunity cost to be constantly visiting
this use because of non-violation even health hazard or fire hazard of it versus what else
they can be doing. Might be something that can come into play if the violations continue.
Mayor Grant inquired would continual violations be under chronic nuisance abatement
ordinance or does it not fall under that?
Mr. Rumpf replied the latter, that type of violation would not fall under this ordinance.
Commissioner Katz inquired that existing businesses operating in this manner do not
have to comply with the new changes. But persistent violations would allow the City to
revoke their ability to operate and if we chose to reissue that ability the business is subject
to the new rules.
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission
Boynton Beach, FL June 15, 2021
Mr. Rumpf responded he believed so.
Commissioner Katz moved to approve Ordinance No. 21-022. Commissioner Romelus
seconded the motion.
Vote
City Clerk Gibson called the roll. The vote was 5-0.
D. Approval of request for a private attorney-client session of the City
Commission to discuss pending litigation in the following case:
RONALD RYAN, Plaintiff, vs. CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH,
FLORIDA, a local municipality,Defendant — Palm Beach County Circuit
Court Case Number: 502016CA007514-XXXX-MB
Assistant City Attorney Bridgeman stated that the Florida Statute requires her to
request closed sessions with the Commission publicly, which she is doing tonight.
There was a Commission consensus to have the attorney client session on July
6th at 4:30.
13. Future Agenda Items
A. Staff to present Resolution adding reversionary language to Planning and
Zoning applications. - July 6, 2021
B. Mayor Grant requested information on the water quality of canal
systems within the City. Staff is requesting SFWMD to present this
information - July 6, 2021
C. Staff to provide an update on the American Rescue Plan - July 6, 2021
D. Update from staff on Head Start lease options - July 6, 2021
E. State Representative Emily Slosberg to provide an update on the 2021
Florida LegislativeSession. - July 20, 2021
F. Approval of Lease Agreements for City Hall Innovation Space and Cafes
Operators - July 20,2021
G. Discussion on funding for expanding Wi-Fi to City parks. - Will be presented
during BudgetWorkshops
Mayor Grant requested the Commission to direct staff to come back to us with other
municipalities general obligation and revenue bonds may have issued for parks and
recreation and/or parking.
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Meeting Minutes
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Boynton Beach, FL June 15, 2021
Commissioner Katz inquired would this be voter approved?
Mayor Grant replied yes. This is informational and he would like to have a discussion on
the March 2022 election. He feels that the City does not need to have the same precincts
the county supervisor of elections has. If we have three or four per district, he thinks it is
more important to have the early voting space to allow for the mail in ballot drop off within
the city limits.
Commissioner Katz inquired that this would reduce the number of polling places within
the City.
Mayor Grant responded yes and to have early voting location for the weekend before.
Commissioner Katz commented that he does not know if he wants to do that.
Mayor Grant inquired do you want to have the 26.
Commissioner Katz stated he would not be supportive of a scenario that reduced the
polling sites.
Mayor Grant clarified that he is not saying the City is reducing the precincts. Certain
precincts could be grouped together instead of having 26 precincts and 20 polling
locations to have it closer to 12 polling locations where you have three bigger precincts
that are in government buildings rather than all the different schools and churches and
non-profit organizations. It is more of a City election at City facilities rather than trying to
spend all the funding to make sure we have the same the same locations as the County.
We receive a lot less ballots.
Commissioner Romelus commented she would be cautious as well especially given that
2022 is going to be a major election year as well. She knows that the Commission is
talking about the municipal March election. But if the City is minimizing locations and
ramping back up for the election later on in the year in August. Going from 12 back to 20.
You are going to confuse voters if the precincts are available at this election but not
available at that election, it can get confusing.
Mayor Grant stated that the City had no problem having the meeting in community room
for the July budget hearing. He would like to see the proposal to see how much the City
would save to have it at a certain number of locations at City facilities per district versus
having it the same as the county.
Commissioner Penserga inquired what is the problem.
Mayor Grant responded that he would like to have early voting locations so residents have
a place to drop off mail in ballots. They would go to West Palm Beach or Delray to drop
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them off. In order to save those funds, there are precincts that have only 20 to 30 voters
are we going to have a polling location up versus trying to group them together.
Commissioner Romelus asked the Mayor to clarify if what he was saying is we do early
voting and we only use certain locations for a two-week period and on election day, we
have all of the regular precincts open. She said she was all for that. If the Mayor was
saying on election day the City is changing precincts, that is where she would draw the
line. She asked him if that was what he was saying.
Mayor Grant replied that is exactly what he was saying. Because of the cost and the
actual voter turnout, he would want to have early voting locations, period. That is the one
thing he would like to have and the City will have to fund all the additional costs.
Commissioner Romelus stated what he was proposing sounds like increasing access
rather than decreasing it. If that is the case, she would support it.
Commissioner Penserga commented it is too late in the evening. If there is a proposal,
let's bring it back and discuss it.
Vice Mayor Hay stated that there is nothing wrong with the way it is. It worked before. He
made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Katz seconded the motion.
Commissioner Romelus requested to have this discussion added to future agenda.
14. Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:24 p.m.
ATTEST:
414&
Crytal Gibson, C
City Clerk
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