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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 02 18 Winter Springs Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING FEBRUARY 18, 2010 I. CALL TO ORDER The Meeting of Thursday, February 18, 2010 of the Winter Springs Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee was called to Order at 7:00 p.m. by City Attorney Anthony A. Garganese in the Commission Chambers of the Municipal Building (City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida 32708). Roll Call: Committee Member George Acha, present Committee Member Pamela Carroll, present Committee Member Tom Freeman, present Committee Member Steve Glazier, present Committee Member Beth King, present Committee Member Charles Lacey, present Committee Member George Markward, present Committee Member Bill Poe, present Committee Member John Ryser, present Committee Member Helga Schwarz, present Committee Member Sandy Traeger, present A moment of silence preceded the Pledge of Allegiance. II. INTRODUCTIONS City Manager Kevin L. Smith introduced himself to the Committee Members. The Oath of Office for the Winter Springs Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee Members was narrated by Attorney Garganese. A. Brief Introduction By The City Attorney, Anthony A. Garganese Attorney Garganese welcomed the Committee Members on behalf of the Mayor and City Commission and thanked everyone for their participation to serve on this very important Committee. Discussion. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 2 OF 8 B. Brief Introduction By Each Committee Member Each of the Committee Members introduced themselves. III. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR A. Election Of Chair. The City Attorney Will Request That Committee Members Nominate Candidates To Serve As The Committee Chair. Upon Closing Nominations, The City Attorney Will Entertain A Motion From The Committee Electing One Of The Chair Nominees To Serve As The Chair. Election Of The Chair Requires Majority Vote Of The Committee. Upon Election, The Meeting Gavel Will Be Passed To The Chair For The Remainder Of The Committee Meetings. Attorney Garganese stated, "The Chairperson would be responsible for running all of the Meetings from here on out. Once Appointed, the Vice Chair's responsibility would be to fill in for the Chairperson if the Chairperson can not make a Meeting." "I WILL NOMINATE CHARLES LACEY AS CHAIRMAN." NOMINATION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER FREEMAN. SECONDED. ATTORNEY GARGANESE ASKED, "ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS BEFORE WE GO AHEAD WITH THAT ?" "I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE JUDGE FREEMAN. NOMINATED. COMMITTEE MEMBER FREEMAN STATED, "MAY I RESPECTFULLY DECLINE ?" ATTORNEY GARGANESE ASKED, "ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS ?" NONE WERE VOICED. "I WILL MAKE A MOTION THAT CHARLES LACEY BE ELECTED CHAIR OF THE (WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC) CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE." MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER FREEMAN. SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER POE. DISCUSSION. WITH CONSENSUS OF THE COMMITTEE, THE MOTION WAS APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 3 OF 8 B. Election Of The Vice Chair. The Chair Will Request That Committee Members Nominate Candidates To Serve As The Committee Vice Chair. Upon Closing Nominations, The Chair Will Entertain A Motion From The Committee Electing One Of The Vice Chair Nominees To Serve As The Vice Chair. Election Of The Vice Chair Requires Majority Vote Of The Committee. Chairperson Lacey asked, "Are there nominations for Vice Chair ?" "I NOMINATE JOHN RYSER." MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER SCHWARZ. SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER GLAZIER. DISCUSSION. "I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE JUDGE FREEMAN." MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER CARROLL. CHAIRPERSON LACEY ASKED COMMITTEE MEMBER FREEMAN, "ARE YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT THIS NOMINATION ?" COMMITTEE MEMBER FREEMAN REPLIED, "YES." SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER KING. DISCUSSION. CHAIRPERSON LACEY COMMENTED, "THE TWO (2) CANDIDATES ARE JOHN RYSER AND JUDGE TOM FREEMAN. I SUGGEST WE PROCEED WITH A SIMPLE ROLL CALL AND STATE YOUR PREFERENCE." VOTE: COMMITTEE MEMBER FREEMAN: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER GLAZIER: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER KING: TOM FREEMAN CHAIRPERSON LACEY: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER MARKWARD: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER POE: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER RYSER: JOHN RYSER COMMITTEE MEMBER SCHWARZ: JOHN RYSER COMMITTEE MEMBER TRAEGER: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER ACHA: TOM FREEMAN COMMITTEE MEMBER CARROLL: TOM FREEMAN CHAIRPERSON LACEY ASKED THE CLERK TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS. DEPUTY CITY CLERK BROWN REPLIED, "WE HAVE — NINE (9) FOR TOM FREEMAN AND TWO (2) FOR JOHN RYSER." CHAIRPERSON LACEY STATED, "CONGRATULATIONS MR. FREEMAN." CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 4 OF 8 Chairperson Lacey inquired, "Are there any suggestions from the Board Members for changes to the Agenda? If not, I would like to suggest that we advance Public Input prior to the Presentation." Continuing, Chairperson Lacey then asked, "Are there any objections to that change ?" There were no objections voiced. • • AGENDA NOTE: "GENERAL PUBLIC INPUT" WAS DISCUSSED NEXT, FOLLOWED BY THE REST OF THE AGENDA, AS DOCUMENTED. .;..;. VI. GENERAL PUBLIC INPUT Mr. Arsenio Calle, 110 Arrowhead Court, Winter Springs, Florida: congratulated the Committee Members on the opportunity to review the City of Winter Springs' Charter, and noted that the Charter is to protect the residents; commented on increased costs of services; and that he was supportive of the City Commission only needing three (3) Votes to terminate a non - performing Charter Officer. IV. ORIENTATION PRESENTATION BY CITY ATTORNEY A. PowerPoint Presentation (Approximate Length 45 Minutes). Attorney Garganese pointed out that each Committee Member had tonight been provided with a folder of materials related to serving on this Ad Hoc Committee. Next, a PowerPoint presentation was reviewed by Attorney Garganese with those in attendance. Continuing, Attorney Garganese stated, "The City Commission would like a Final Report from the Committee by the end of May 30, (2010). That date is set forth in the Resolution (Number 2010 -04)." Next, Attorney Garganese remarked, "There are some general procedural requirements in the Resolution that the City Commission Adopted. First, a majority of the total Committee Members constitutes a Quorum, therefore, we need at least six (6) Members of the Committee physically present at the Meeting in order to have the Meeting. If there are less than six (6), then the Meeting would have to be rescheduled. The City Commission has directed that your decisions be by Majority Vote. Some of you have served on other Winter Springs Committees where the Vote — the decision making was by Consensus; that is not the case this time. The Commission would like your decisions by Majority Vote and the Commission has instructed that your Meetings be guided by Robert's Rules of Order. There is some background information in your - package on Robert's Rules of Order. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 5 OF 8 The overall purpose of the Committee is to conduct a comprehensive review of the City Charter in accordance with the Resolution that the Commission has Adopted and make a recommendation to the Commission in the form of a final written Report." Attorney Garganese then reviewed Resolution 2010 -04 and some of the points the City Commission suggested this Committee consider. With further comments, Attorney Garganese recommended the Committee Members, "Look at the consistency of the existing Charter with the 8 Edition of the Model Charter, and then you also have to look at the specific sections of the Charter that the Commission would like a recommendation on, and then you have the authority to initiate any other Amendments that you think are worthy of a recommendation. As I mentioned, the Final Report is due May 30 2010. Keep in mind that there is a reason why there is a tight timeframe — the Commission would like to get any proposed Amendments on this November's Ballot, so they would need your Report. The Commission would need an opportunity to study that Report and then actually if they want to propose an Amendment to the Charter, then they have to draft up the appropriate legal documents to get that Charter Amendment on the Ballot and that has to be coordinated with the Supervisor of Elections in time for Ballot preparations." Continuing, Attorney Garganese added, "In the Report, they would like your specific recommendation. On all of your Amendments, you need to identify those clearly; you also need to include your recommendation on each specifically identified Charter question. And lastly, if there is a Minority Opinion regarding any proposed Charter Amendment that has received at least four (4) Votes, this Committee can put in the Final Report - an explanation regarding the Minority Opinion. One of the reasons why the Commission wanted a - Minority Vote process, is because they are interested in seeing how much support a particular — proposed Amendment has amongst the Committee, and if there is a significant amount of Minority support, four (4) Votes or more, they would like to hear that Minority view." Next, Attorney Garganese stated, "The Committee is responsible for presenting the Final Report to the Commission and so after the Report is prepared, the Committee Member, which is usually the Chair, would be responsible for presenting that recommendation to the Commission. The Report is of course non - binding on the Commission, but I am sure the Commission would consider all recommendations made by the Committee. The deadline for the Election — is November 2 °d , 2010." Attorney Garganese continued with the PowerPoint presentation and read into the Record the specific Titles of Articles I. — X111. of the City Charter. Discussion. The Sunshine Law was reviewed next by Attorney Garganese. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING — FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 6 OF 8 Mr. Smith mentioned that if any of the Committee Members have any questions, to certainly contact Staff or Attorney Garganese. Violations of the Sunshine Law and "Public Records" were next conveyed to the Committee by Attorney Garganese. Continuing, Attorney Garganese noted that any correspondence to one (1) or more of the Committee Members should be provided to the City Clerk. Discussion. Tape 1 /Side B Next, regarding the schedule, a document entitled "City of Winter Springs Charter Review Committee Schedule" was distributed to the Committee Members by Attorney Garganese. Attorney Garganese noted that the Committee can hold as many Meetings as needed to complete this process. Vice Chairperson Tom Freeman suggested that the Committee address the responsibilities related to Resolution Number 2010 -04. Chairperson Lacey added, "The Commission had in its first Order of business to do an analysis of our conformance with the 8 Model (City) Charter." Continuing, Chairperson Lacey then asked, "Your approach (Attorney Garganese) was to do it section by section doing all three (3) things — 8 Model (City) Charter conformance..." Attorney Garganese replied, "...Yes." Chairperson Lacey added, "Recommendations from the Commission and initiatives from the Committee." Discussion. B. Distribution Of Committee Work Materials. A document entitled, "City of Winter Springs Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee - Comparison Worksheets Articles I -IV" was distributed to the Committee Members by Attorney Garganese. Discussion ensued on the review process. In terms of hiring and terminating Charter Officers, as the City Clerk is the first referenced Charter Officer noted in the City's Charter, discussion followed on whether the City Attorney and the City Manager positions should also be discussed along with the City Clerk position. If agreed to, Attorney Garganese offered to provide a comparative sheet related to all three (3) Charter positions. With further comments, Chairperson Lacey stated, "We are going to be looking at each `Article' from several perspectives - the 8 Model (City) Charter, the Commission's recommendations, and our own initiatives. And, I think if we start with the Commission's recommendations and just go there, we are going to retrace that ground again and looking at it from the Charter's point of view, and then perhaps re -trace it again after everyone is perhaps more familiar with the document, as other ideas come forward. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 7 OF 8 So, I would tend to agree with the outline that Mr. Garganese has laid out. Other comments from the Committee ?" Hearing no objections, Chairperson Lacey remarked, "I believe we are going to proceed on that path." Attorney Garganese stated, "Okay." V. ADOPTION OF COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE A. Proposed Meeting Calendar Will Be Presented For The Committee's Consideration And Approval. Discussion ensued on Committee Meeting dates; and Chairperson Lacey inquired about confirming the next Meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 25 2010. Committee Members Steve Glazier and Bill Poe acknowledged that they have a conflict on that day. Referencing other Meeting dates, Committee Member Helga Schwarz noted she would not be able to attend on April 15 2010. Chairperson Lacey commented, "A Motion to Adopt this schedule would be in order." Committee Member Schwarz suggested, "That we can add other days as needed." "SO MOVED." MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER MARKWARD. SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER CARROLL. DISCUSSION. VOTE: COMMITTEE MEMBER TRAEGER: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER ACHA: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER MARKWARD: AYE VICE CHAIRPERSON FREEMAN: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER CARROLL: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER KING: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER GLAZIER: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER POE: AYE CHAIRPERSON LACEY: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER SCHWARZ: AYE COMMITTEE MEMBER RYSER: AYE MOTION CARRIED. In summary, Chairperson Lacey noted that, "The document you handed out to us is our homework for next Thursday (February 25, 2010)..." Attorney Garganese responded, "...Correct..." Chairperson Lacey then added, "...This is going to be what we cover from the point of view of all three (3) perspectives; 8 Model (City Charter), Commission, and then we would be invited to put whatever input we want into the process at that time." Attorney Garganese stated, "Correct." CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES WINTER SPRINGS AD HOC CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING — FEBRUARY 18, 2010 PAGE 8 OF 8 Attorney Garganese stated, "Point of Order" and asked, "Where do you want Public Input on your Agenda?" Chairperson Lacey remarked, "Generally speaking, it should be at the front." Committee Member Beth King suggested, "You might want it both in the beginning and the end." Chairperson Lacey answered, "That is not a bad idea. It is not customary, but it might be a good idea." Discussion followed on different possibilities related to when Public Input should be held. Chairperson Lacey then asked, "Do we have Consensus on Public Input at the beginning and end ?" Committee Member Bill Poe stated, "Yes Sir." No objections were voiced. Chairperson Lacey summarized, "Beginning and end." :• ❖ AGENDA NOTE: "GENERAL PUBLIC INPUT" WAS AGAIN OFFERED. 4.4. VI. GENERAL PUBLIC INPUT Chairperson Lacey again opened "General Public Input ". No one spoke. Chairperson Lacey closed "General Public Input ". Further discussion followed on whether the Committee Members would be receiving a copy of the Model City Charter, 8 Edition. Attorney Garganese explained that they would receive it in sections and noted, "The full 8 Edition is embedded in that document — in the comparative. You have all of the commentaries of the 8 Edition for that portion of the Charter. And then the next worksheet will be for the other Articles, and then by the end, you will have the whole thing complied by section." Further comments. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Lacey adjourned the Meeting at 8:16 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: OAN L. BRO PUTY CITY CLERK NOTE: These Minutes were approved at the February 25, 2010 Winter Springs Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee Meeting.