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Minutes 11-21-86MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1986 AT 7:30 P. M. PRESENT Nick Cassandra, Mayor Carl Zimmerman, Vice Mayor Ralph Marchese, Councilman Dee Zibelli, Councilwoman Peter L. Cheney, City Manager Betty S. Boroni, City Clerk ABSENT Ezell Hester, Jr., Councilman (Excused) Mayor Cassandra called the meeting to order at 7:36 P. M. He asked the Council if there was a consensus of opinion among them that the three candidates interviewed for city Attorney--Frank Kreidler, Raymond Rea and Saul Smolar~-are qualified to represent the City. Councilman Marchese and Councilwoman Zibelli replied affirmatively, and Vice Mayor Zimmerman said he thought they could do better. He said some of the other applicants might be considered, they might advertise again or they could go to a contract attorney instead of a full-time attorney. He said either of the three interviewed might do a job, but the question is what quality they want. Mayor Cassandra said the Council should not proceed to rank the three candidates if they are not satisfied with what they have seen. He said he does not advocate the retainer contract; he has worked at eliminating this for four years. Vice Mayor zimmerman said it was good to explore what could be done and make an attempt along that line, as the City is getting larger. Mayor Cassandra wanted the negotiating com- mittee to strongly emphasize to any candidate that he will serve at the will of the Council. He said it is unfair for Attorney Vance not to know how long he will be working for the City, and he thought the Council should proceed under the concept that one of the candidates interviewed is qualified and the negotiating team should make him aware that a lot is expected of him. When asked to comment on the three candidates interviewed, Councilman Marchese said he thought any of them could do the job, but his first choice is Raymond Rea, particularly since he is a geologist and water is a primary concern. His second choice is Mr. Kreidler, and his third choice is Mr. Smolar. He said he is in favor of a full-time City Attorney and the creation of our own law library, so there is no concern of antiquated materials or the books being taken in the event of termination. - 1 - MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 21, 1986 Vice Mayor zimmerman said he had no particular choice among the three, because he thought they could do better; he did not wish to comment further at this point. Councilwoman Zibelli said she would like to see Mr. Rea on board, because he has worked with the Department of Environmental Regulations, he is a geologist and has had experience in appellate court; she thought his qualifica- tions matched the City's needs at this time, especially with the closing of the land fill. Mr. Rea was her first choice, Mr. Kreidler, second choice, and Mr. Smolar, third. Councilman Hester's choice between the first two candidates interviewed was presented for the record; he listed Raymond Rea first and Frank Kreidler as second choice. Councilman Hester indicated the choice was close between the two; he was unable to be present for Mr. Smolar's interview. Mayor Cassandra said he was concerned with his choice bet- ween Frank Kreidler and Raymond Rea; Mr. Smolar had given him the impression he was a little unsure of himself in cer- tain areas. Of the 15 questions he asked, Mr. Kreidler and Mr. Rea gave basically the same answers and indicated simi- lar opinions concerning the City. Mayor Cassandra said he had some concern with Mr. Kreidler's availability because of his responsibility to other clients; for this reason, he tended to lean toward Mr. Rea. He said the consensus of opinion among four out of five of the Council Members is that Raymond Rea should be the first candidate with whom to negotiate, and Frank Kreidler should be second. If neither of these two candidates can be accepted because of monetary requirements, Mayor Cassandra thought it would be necessary to readvertise. Vice Mayor Zimmerman said it would look better and be more encouraging to a new employee to have a united Council; therefore, he agreed to negotiations with Mr. Rea. Mayor Cassandra wanted the City Manager to be on the nego- tiating committee, as he is aware of the City's legal needs, and he would like to have Vice Mayor Zimmerman on the com- mittee. City Manager Cheney advised that, if two Council Members are on the committee, the negotiations would have to be an open meeting. Vice Mayor zimmerman understood that problem and agreed to drop off. Mayor Cassandra said that he and Mr. Cheney will be on the negotiating committee to discuss the position of full-time City Attorney and all of the responsibilities and expectations of him, as well as the budget constraints. City Manager Cheney said the adopted City Attorney's budget does not include staffing; Mayor Cassandra said they will - 2 - MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 21, 1986 start with that and try to stay within the budget confines. If that must be exceeded, it will come before the Council. The full Council was in agreement to begin negotiations with Raymond Rea. Vice Mayor Zimmerman mentioned the question of a word pro- cessor, which was raised by an applicant. Mr. Cheney said the City has two word processing systems--CPT and IBM per- sonal computers with word processing software. Mayor Cassandra agreed to attempt to telephone the three candidates on Saturday, November 22, 1986, and notify them of their standing; letters will be sent also. A meeting date will be set for negotiations with Mr. Rea. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Mayor Vice May6'r ATTEST: City Clerk ording Secretary (One Tape) - 3 - Councilwoman