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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 09 26 Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS MINUTES CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 I. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Marilyn E. Crotty, Mediator/Project Coordinator called the Meeting to order at 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 26,2000, in the East Training Room of the Municipal Building (City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida 32708). Committee Members Present: Committee Member Jacqueline Adams Committee Member Thomas Freeman Committee Member Donald Gilmore (Via Tele Conferencing) Committee Member Sally McGinnis Committee Member Robert Ori Committee Member William Reischmann Also Present: City Manager Ronald W. McLemore Project Coordinator Marilyn Crotty Consultant James V. Burgess Consultant Howard Tipton Deputy City Clerk Tania Haas II. PROJECT TEAM ORIENTATION AGENDA City Manager Ronald W. McLemore thanked everyone for attending and agreeing to participate; and discussed the importance of this process. Additionally, Manager McLemore discussed the process being "non political"; and introduced Ms. Marilyn Crotty from the University of Central Florida, as the MediatorlProject Coordinator for this Committee. Ms. Crotty expressed her apprecIatIon and enthusiasm on being selected as the Mediator/Project Coordinator for this Committee; the Committee's function; recommendations to the City Commission; and that this session is an opportunity for everyone to meet. Project Coordinator Crotty requested that all Committee Members, Staff, and Consultants present introduce themselves. Committee Member Sally McGinnis introduced herself; spoke on which City Boards she has served; and expressed her appreciation for being appointed to this Committee. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS MINUTES CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 PAGE 2 OF 3 Committee Member Jacqueline (Jackie) Adams introduced herself; and spoke on which City Boards she has served. Committee Member William Reischmann introduced himself; that a great deal of his law practice deals with Municipal Law; apologized in advance for having to depart from this Meeting early due to a "conflict of time"; and looks forward to discussions throughout the process. Committee Member Donald Gilmore (Via Tele Conferencing) introduced himself; apologized for not attending; and stated that he looks forward to the opportunity of being a part of the review process. Committee Member Robert Ori introduced himself; spoke on his residency in Central Florida; and his experience as a Certified Public Accountant with Charter issues. Committee Member Thomas Freeman introduced himself; spoke on his involvement with the City when it was originally called the Village of North Orlando. Consultant Howard Tipton introduced himself; discussed career achievements; and spoke of his experience with municipal government. Manager McLemore introduced himself; spoke of his expenence with municipal government, municipal codes and Charter Reviews. Lead Consultant James V. Burgess introduced himself; spoke on his experience as a City Manager; discussed career achievements; and his experience with City Codes and City Charters. Commissioner Michael S. Blake introduced himself and spoke briefly on the importance of this Committee to the City of Winter Springs. Project Coordinator Crotty discussed her experience with Municipal Governments; what her role is; that this process is designed to be as open as possible; the final product; a public education campaign; the consultants and their expertise; that the consultants are here to answer questions; and the roles of Manager McLemore and City Attorney Anthony A. Garganese (who was unable to attend the Meeting). Discussion continued on Resolution Number 2000-27 that established this Committee; Commission appointments; the National Civic League's Model City Charter; the Model City Charter as a guideline; that every City is unique; and that the City Commission is interested in tracking the Model Charter against the City's Charter; the Technical Resource being Team available for assistance; and providing recommendations for modernizing the existing Charter. Discussion ensued regarding whether the present City Charter gives the City Commission the opportunity to chose a form of government. Discussion continued in regards to clarification of the Technical Resource Team's exact function; that this is an Advisory Committee; the recommendation, acceptance and ballot process; what prompted this meeting; a memorandum currently being drafted that CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS MINUTES CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 PAGE30F3 compares the present Charter with the Model Charter that will be available at the next meeting; conflicts with the present Charter; concerns with the present Charter identified for the Committee; bringing this Charter to a current day standard; common Charter provisions; and Public Input. Project Coordinator Crotty discussed how the process would be conducted; that decisions will be derived by "consensus decision making"; consensus guidelines; the Charter Review Schedule; time efficiency; 4:00 p.m. convene time; 9:00 p.m. adjournment time; having a draft prepared by November 14, 2000; the ballot process; the Public Education Workshops; and the October 4,2000 deadline for Position Papers. Additionally Project Coordinator Crotty discussed the following legal issues: the September 26, 2000 letter from City Attorney Garganese to the Committee; that Committee Members are subject to the Florida Sunshine Law; requirements of the Florida Sunshine Law; what is considered to be a Public Record; seeking clarification from Attorney Garganese regarding discussions with Public Officials, specifically City Commissioners; and violations ofthe Sunshine Law. Following a brief discussion the following "ground rules" were established as a guideline to be used by the Committee: that the meetings start and end on time; the 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. time frame; that the Minutes will be brief; and the availability of audio tapes. Committee Member Reischmann departedfrom the Meeting at 6:08 p.m. Tape 1/Side B Discussion continued on the following agreed upon "ground rules": a five (5) minute time limit for Public Input; being open minded; the preparation of questions in advance; showing respect for others opinions; to be good listeners; and to listen to the public. Consultant Burgess spoke of his experience with several other commissions; consensus decision making; what a model charter is; consistency with current Charter and the Model Charter; annexations; that all recommendations by Consultants would be reviewed by the City Attorney; and State Statutes. Discussion continued on preserving what makes the City of Winter Springs unique; writing too much into the Charter; keeping it simple; and that some issues may be challenging. III. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Tania Haas, Deputy City Clerk City of Winter Springs Docs\ W ordlBOARDSICharter Reviewlmincharter092600.doc