CITY OF VERO BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 7, :30 A.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, VERO BEACH, FLORIDA

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1 CITY OF VERO BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 7, :30 A.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, VERO BEACH, FLORIDA The invocation was given by Rabbi Michael Birnholz of Temple Beth Shalom followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag led by Councilmember Sykes. 1. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call Mayor Laura Moss, present; Vice Mayor Harry Howle, present: Councilmember Richard Winger, present; Councilmember Lange Sykes, present and Councilmember Tony Young, present Also Present: James O Connor, City Manager; Wayne Coment, City Attorney and Tammy Bursick, City Clerk 2. PRELIMINARY MATTERS A. Approval of Minutes B. Agenda Additions, Deletions, and Adoption Mayor Laura Moss requested that item 4-E) be added to the agenda Request from Jessi Dickerson to serve alcohol at Royal Palm Pointe. She removed her item 3A-2) Discussion of Composition of Advisory Boards from the agenda. She moved item 9-A) Proposed Purchase and Sale of Real Property Dodgertown Property up on the agenda to be heard as item 3-A). Mr. Winger requested that item 6-B) A Resolution urging members of the Florida Legislature to oppose House Bill 17 and Senate Bill 1158 be added to the agenda. Mayor Moss asked that this item be heard at their Special Call meeting on Monday giving the Council a chance to review the Resolution. Mr. Winger urged passing the Resolution today because the Bill is moving forward in Tallahassee and may be heard this week. Mayor Moss said that she would like time to research the matter. Mr. Winger expressed the need for them to protect Home Rule and would like them to hear this Resolution at today s meeting. Mr. Young asked that item 4-D) be moved up on the agenda and heard after Public Comment. Mr. Howle made a motion to adopt the agenda as amended. Mr. Sykes seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. C. Proclamations and recognitions by Council. Page 1 CC 03/07/17

2 1) American Red Cross Month March 2017 Mr. Howle read and presented the Proclamation. D. Staff/Consultant special reports and information items. 1) Update on the new Bus Hub Mrs. Karen Deigel, CEO Senior Resources Ms. Karen Deigel, CEO of Senior Resources, expressed how extremely happy she was to be here today to talk about the Main Transit Hub. She thanked the City of Vero Beach for allowing them to have a temporary hub located at the Airport. She then thanked the City for coming up with a piece of land to use for the Transit Hub located on 16 th Street. The Transit Hub is scheduled to open on April 3 rd. She talked about how they have restructured their routes in the community to provide efficient and on time service for all of their riders. Ms. Deigel and Mr. Brian Freeman, Senior Planner for the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), gave a Power Point presentation (attached to the original minutes). Mr. Young asked if there would still be a bus route picking up and dropping off people at the Marina. Ms. Deigel said that there would be. She said they started that route over six (6) years ago and there is a steady ridership. Mr. Young complimented how beautiful the hub was. He asked Ms. Deigel if she felt there would be any problems with the trains going back and forth with the anticipated changes. He noted how close the hub was to the railroad tracks. Ms. Deigel said that is something that they will just have to work with. Mr. James O Connor, City Manager, pointed out that there is a Public Work s facility located close to the new hub and Ms. Deigel has been very good to work with regarding this site. He thanked her for having bus transportation along Ocean Drive and Riverside Park, which unfortunately it did not work out. 2) B-B Redevelopment Team, LLC vs City of Vero Beach Mr. Buck Vocelle, Counsel for the Plaintiff Mr. Buck Vocelle, Counsel for B-B Redevelopment Team, stated that it has been a pleasure representing B-B Redevelopment Team, former owners of the Old Diesel Plant. He said that the case went to Court and the City won. He said the City ultimately prevailed at trial and obtained the final judgment from the Circuit Court, which includes a total award of $556, for past rent, court costs, and attorneys fees. However, the case is currently on appeal to the 4 th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach. Mr. Vocelle proposed dismissal of the appeal in exchange for the City forgiving and satisfying the full amount of the judgment entered by the Circuit Court. He said the firm of Hollands & Knight will be handling the appeal case. The City Manager did make a Page 2 CC 03/07/17

3 counteroffer of $25,000, but there are no assets in place for the Plaintiff to pay off $25,000. He said in exchange for dropping the appeal the City can satisfy the judgment. Mr. Winger commented that they have been in involved with this case for a long time. The City has spent $556, and that is what is being asked to forgive. He said they tried to work with this group and settle without having to go to Court, but they persisted in suing the City. He wants no part of this forgiveness. He briefly went through the history of this case. Mr. O Connor stated that at one time he did make an offer of $25,000 to settle the case, but the offer was rejected. He was in favor of moving forward and appealing this case. He said that they probably would not get $500,000, but there are other mechanisms in collecting something. Mayor Moss commented that if Mr. Vocelle was handling the case in the beginning the outcome probably would have been different. She was not in favor of forgiving this. Mr. Sykes asked what the City has spent so far on this case and would it be worth it to drop the case so the City would not be spending any more money on it. Mr. O Connor said that they have spent in excess of $400,000 defending the City in this case. Mr. Sykes asked what is the likelihood of getting a judgment in favor of the City. Mr. Wayne Coment, City Attorney, explained that the City has been granted the judgment, what they have now is an appeal. He said it is apparent that the City will win the appeal, but they will have to spend money defending it. Mr. Howle asked if they should be spending more money when it is hard to get blood from a turnip. Mr. O Connor said that if there is any blood in the turnip then it should be the City s. They have come pretty far down the road. He said in defending the appeal and if the judge rules in favor of the City they could ask for attorney fees. Mr. Winger commented that the Plaintiff could save money by not appealing. This is their choice to spend more money on an appeal, which they have the option of not doing. He did not see that there was any action needed by the City Council concerning this matter. Mr. O Connor agreed that the Plaintiff could drop the appeal and this would go away. Mr. Winger felt that the City should continue with the appeal and then the matter will be settled. Page 3 CC 03/07/17

4 Mr. Howle commented that his main concern was that the City not spend any more money. Mr. Vocelle explained that the appeal is already in progress. Mr. Winger recalled what the City has been through in trying to get the tenant to pay the rent that they owe. He said that he would not be in favor of just walking away at this point. Mr. Vocelle commented that he didn t know what the City would say to this compromise if he didn t ask. Mayor Moss agreed with letting this ride. She said that the Plaintiff should have hired Mr. Vocelle in the first place to defend them. Mr. Sykes asked if the Corporation has no assets, how will the City collect funds. Mr. O Connor explained that they will go after the principals involved in the Company. Mr. Sykes questioned how much are both sides going to end up spending in time and resources and get nothing out of this. Mr. O Connor said if the Plaintiffs drop the appeal then this goes away. Mr. Sykes said that this was a tough call for him to have to make. He was sure that mistakes were made on both sides. He just hates wasting City resources to defend this. Mr. Winger disputed Mr. Sykes comments that the City made mistakes. He said that the City was taken advantage of. Mr. Howle commented that it was easier for the City to be able to sell the building (old Diesel Plant) because of all the work that had been done on it. E. Presentation Items by Public (10 minutes unless it is an Annual Report then the time required should be stated in advance) 1) Mrs. Phyllis Frey to speak on the The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and our community Sponsored by Vice Mayor Harry Howle Mrs. Phyllis Frey read a prepared statement. None F. Public Comment (3 minutes) Page 4 CC 03/07/17

5 4-D) Item moved up on the agenda Amendment No. 1 to Work Order No. 1 from Amherst Consulting, LLC.; Rehabilitate Taxiway C; FAA AIP 39/40; FDOT Project ($153,335.00) Mr. O Connor reported that the rehabilitation of Taxiway C is underway at Vero Beach Regional Airport; one of four phases is complete to date. This amendment to the engineering contract will be offset by reductions in overall construction quantities, due to recent requests by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and St. John s River Water Management District (SJRWMD). This project has been approved by City Council in two fiscal years (FY 2016 and FY 2017) for a total of $5,440, To date, $271, has been charged for the design, leaving $5,169, in the budget. Since the engineer will be required to be on site for 77 additional days, the project will show a net increase due to engineering services (outlined in the amendment). Mr. Young asked what is the intent for the additional 77 days. Mr. Eric Menger, Airport Director, appreciated Councils effort in moving this item up. He said the engineer was at today s meeting just in case there were any questions asked by Council, but he needs to get back to the Airport for a meeting concerning this project. The 77 days is due to the contractors estimate on how long the project will take and additional work has to be done by the engineer to make sure that the project is done properly. The 77 days is an estimate based on what the contractor has said and is not to exceed amount. He said the project could actually be finished in less time. He said they are ahead of schedule right now, but they never know what the weather is going to be like in the future. Mr. O Connor added that based on today s projection the total project has come in under budget. Mr. Menger noted that the actual increase in the project is $153, Mayor Moss announced that Vice Mayor Howle was taken ill and needed to leave the meeting. She then opened this item up for public comments. Mr. Charles E. Smith, retired Circuit Judge, and sitting at one time as a City Judge, said that he has lived in this County for most of his life. He said he is familiar with the Airport and that Mr. Bud Holman worked with his uncle in Tennessee. He asked the Airport Director to furnish him with some flight plans. He said the Airport is one of the most important facilities that the City has and they need to protect it so that it can expand and continue to serve Elite Airlines and private jets. He asked Council to consider the expansion if the Airport does grow and to protect the areas around the flight path. Mr. O Connor explained to Judge Smith that this matter was about awarding a contract at the Airport and had nothing to do with the vacant land located at Dodgertown. Page 5 CC 03/07/17

6 Judge Smith said that they needed to do everything they could to encourage growth at the Airport. He said there is a wonderful staff running the Airport. Mr. Winger made a motion to approve Amendment No. 1 to Work Order No. 1 from Amherst Consulting. Mr. Young seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 3. CITY COUNCIL MATTERS A. New Business 9-A) Item moved up on the agenda Proposed Purchase and Sale of Real Property Dodgertown Property Mayor Moss wanted to preface Dodgertown for the community. She reported that the Dodgertown property is approximately 45 acres that was purchased by the City in 2005 for approximately $9.9 million. There currently is an offer on the table of $2.7 million with the stipulation that 280 housing units would be placed there. The City owes $5.5 million representing an annual debt service of $662,000 until October 1, This past February, on the 27 th, the City s Finance Commission voted 4-1 in favor of selling this property at that price. Both the Commission s Chairman, Glen Brovont, and the Vice Chairman, Randy Old, voted in favor of selling Dodgertown. She said that personally she believed that the offer is too low and the planned the usage is questionable. With that being said, so they all understand how this all came about, there is a history to this. She thanked the City Clerk for providing the documents on this. She said this idea did not spring full blown from the head of the City Manager, Mr. O Connor. He was merely following the direction of previous Councils. In fact, there was an entire agenda to be followed in terms of getting this property on the market. It had to be declared surplus, they had to get a release from the County, they had to get a real estate company to handle it, so there were many steps in this process that occurred over a number of years. She said that she will read exact excerpts from the records that were pulled by the City Clerk and are available to anyone. She asked the City Clerk to attach the list when she is finished to the minutes of this meeting. So they understand how this happed, so they don t come to this point again unless they want, these go back to July 15, 2014 and are the minutes of the Vero Beach City Council meeting. She read Mayor Winger brought up the economics for the Dodgertown Golf Course and what benefits there would be if they sold the Golf Course. Then she moved forward to April 4, 2015, and noted that these were minutes of the Vero Beach City Council meeting, In July 2014, Mayor Winger sent a letter to the County Commission to request the County s cooperation and assistance to release the restrictions. Mayor Winger opened and closed the public hearing at 12:04 p.m., with no one wishing to be heard. She said that s how these things come along. It starts small. It is a series of baby steps and no one wishes to be heard at that time. She said that she didn t know how they will change that, but that is one thing they may want to address at their vision meeting next Monday and she would like to hear from everyone in that maybe there is a way to prevent that in the future. She continued reading the minutes of April 4, 2015, Mr. Kramer made a motion to approve the Interlocal agreement. Ms. Graves seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. She said so Page 6 CC 03/07/17

7 the entire Council was on board on this in She then moved to October 7, 2015 to a Departmental Correspondence from Jim O Connor, City Manager, on surplus property determination reminding everyone that this was for both the Postal Annex property and Dodgertown property. She is reading directly from the title, Weaknesses, these properties represent two (2) of the largest City owned parcels that could be declared surplus. Selling them without a master plan for surrounding uses could jeopardize potential future development. She said so, the City Manager had issued a warning to the City Council in this regard and it is in writing and it goes back to She said they would continue with 2015, on October 2, 2015, and again these are from the minutes of the City Council meeting, He (Mr. O Connor) said if the City wishes to sell either of these properties (Dodgertown or Postal Annex) they must first make a determination that they are no longer needed and declare them surplus property. It was the consensus of the Council that they keep moving forward on declaring the Dodgertown property surplus. She said that she is doing this so they understand how these things happen. It is step by step by step. The next item is Resolution No (determining that Dodgertown is no longer needed by the City and authorizing the City Manager to offer said real property for sale). She said that she is quoting this exactly, This Resolution was read for the first time on the 20 th day of October, 2015 and was advertised on the 24 th day of October, 2015 and on the 7 th day of November 2015, for a public hearing to be held on the 17 th day of November 2015, which was not that long ago comparatively speaking. She continued at the conclusion of the hearing, it was moved for adoption by Councilmember Winger, seconded by Councilmember Old and adopted. So, there was no opposition to it at that point. She said finally, they would go April 5, 2016, the minutes of the City Council meeting, stating that this was in regard to real estate broker services. She said this is a direct quote, Mrs. Turner made a motion to approve the negotiation of a contract with Collier International and it passed unanimously. Mayor Moss explained that her point in providing this information was to show that the previous City Council was on board with this. She looks forward to hearing everyone s comments and is happy that they are at the meeting. She understood that Mr. Winger sent out an and she asked him that when he is communicating with the press that he doesn t refer to the rest of the City Councilmembers and is speaking only for himself. She quoted what was sent to Mr. Larry Reisman at the Press Journal Reality is the Dodgertown land is a critical visioning issue and only one (1) of five (5) of them has a real concept of what that means for us all in the future. She asked Mr. Winger in a polite way not to do this in the future. She does not think that Mr. Winger should comment on what the other four (4) Councilmembers might or might not understand. She asked Mr. Winger to please not speak against them. She said in the same to Mr. Larry Reisman it said Councils think there is some pressure to side quickly when government is slow by definition. She asked Mr. Winger in a diplomatic manner to please not speak for the rest of the Councilmembers because that is not her opinion. Mr. Winger commented that Mayor Moss has item 11A-1) on the agenda, which is Vero s Vision Plan Workshop and she has included 10 or 11 items and very few of them have anything to do with the Vision Plan. He read an excerpt included in the Vision Plan on page 2 and said that is what the Vision Plan is about. He said the City Council that he Page 7 CC 03/07/17

8 served on looked at this land and they said there should be some use for this that is positive. He said at that time he said that the use had to be positive in the public s mind. Mayor Moss told Mr. Winger that he could change his mind anytime. She said anything that she has said she did not mean to imply that any one of them cannot change their mind. However, how they feel should be stated clearly and explained that way. Mr. Winger continued by saying that item 11A-1) is on the agenda to remind the public about the Vision Plan Workshop and the Vision Plan has to do with various geographical areas, such as Royal Palm Pointe, Main Street, Charles Park, etc., and what these places should look like. There is a list of things on this list that have nothing to do with the Vision Plan. His objection to this and the reason that he has lead a crusade to stop this proposed sale is because the use of putting 280 houses on this piece of parcel does not fit the vision of Vero Beach. He said that the land should be used for something, but the uses should be compatible with Dodgertown and the Airport. However, this is not one (1) of them. He said that he has been well quoted in all of the newspapers and well quoted across town that he is absolutely against this sale because it violates the vision. He said it is a bad vision to put 280 homes on this property. Mayor Moss said that she thinks that she and Mr. Winger are in agreement. He has changed his mind over the years. Mr. Winger said he has not changed his mind. Mayor Moss said that he (Mr. Winger) was pushing for the land to be sold since She said if he has changed his mind that is fine. Mr. Winger stated that there are a lot of uses for this property that might be good ones. He said the property could be purchased by the County and be part of Dodgertown. There could possibly be a Hotel constructed on the property. He said one (1) of the things that they need to be concerned with is that the Vision Plan has five (5) areas and the only area that the City has dealt with is Ocean Drive. The other areas are Main Street, Miracle Mile, Royal Palm Pointe, Beachland, and the Airport corridor. He felt the whole Airport corridor needed to be visioned and there is nothing in the current Vision Plan. He said a couple of years ago they were talking about what happens when the Power Plant is gone and at that point there was a push to sell the land across the street where the Postal Annex was located. He threw a fit about this and managed to be part of blocking it. He said there must be a vision for that corner of 17 th Street and Indian River Boulevard. He recalled that a little red headed girl appeared at a meeting when this matter was being discussed and former Councilmember Old asked her what do you want that area to look like when she is his (Mr. Old s) age? The whole point he was making was that this Dodgertown property should be used for some vision they have formed and there is no vision for it. He said Council also has no vision for Royal Palm Pointe, and no vision for 17 th Street and Indian River Boulevard. The only vision (in place with an Overlay) they have is for Ocean Drive. He said that he was for some other use of this Dodgertown property, but this use proposed today is a lousy use. Mayor Moss announced for the community they would be having the first of a series of vision meetings on Monday March 13 th at 2:00 p.m. She encouraged the public to attend Page 8 CC 03/07/17

9 and said that their input is appreciated. She said they will be discussing the Vision Plan meeting agenda once this discussion has taken place (next item on the agenda). Mr. Sykes believed that an essential service of the government was planning and visioning for property. They want to see a piece of property used for its highest and best use. He did not think that this project is right for this piece of property. However, he would like to see this property on the tax rolls. He said it could be used for addressing area stormwater usage. Mr. Young reported that the response he heard from his friends and from speaking to other people is that they are against the proposal. As an Aviator he asked someone what the traffic would look like in the winter if they had aircraft taking off and landing noting that this area would be very close if departure and landing is taking place to the North. He said it is Council s responsibility to get the revenue that the City needs. He said this was one (1) offer of many that the City received and the offer was below what the property was appraised for. There is an outstanding debt of $5.5 million and the property is valued at $3.5 million and the offer they received is for $2.75 million. He said in the long term economics looks to be turning in the right direction and he is optimistic that they could receive more money for the property. He doesn t want to impact Holman Stadium and the homes that are already in this area. He doesn t believe that 43 rd Avenue will be expanded and additional traffic is another consideration. He is looking at the nature of that area as far as the neighborhood goes and it does not seem to be a good fit. He would like to look at other options. Mayor Moss commented that it sounded like the Council was in agreement that they were not in favor of this offer. Mr. Young wanted to hear from the public. Mr. Sykes asked what real estate firm is representing the City. Mr. O Connor said that it is Collier International. Mr. Sykes would like to hear from them on what zoning they would recommend would be right for this piece of property. Mr. O Connor said that Collier International liked the zoning that is there now because it is flexible. Mr. Winger commented that what they really need to do with this parcel of land is ask a young person what they would like to see in the coming years. He said this question was posed by former Councilmember Randy Old when they were discussing the Power Plant property. He refers to the young lady that answered the question as the young red head. He said they need to figure out what the community wants this area to look like. Mayor Moss agreed with Mr. Winger that this should be a part of their visioning process. Page 9 CC 03/07/17

10 Mr. Kevin McCarthy, Senior Vice President for Colliers International South Florida, stated that he was hired to sell this property for the City of Vero Beach. He said that he was never given real direction on what use the City wanted to see on this piece of property. He said after working the site daily there were a few offers that came in, but in his eyes were not acceptable. Then after working with three (3) potential buyers they took an offer from MGA in the amount of $2.7 million and sent the proposal to the City Manager. Mr. Sykes asked if there was any interest from the hospitality industry. Mr. McCarthy said none whatsoever. Mr. O Connor commented that Mr. McCarthy has kept him abreast of all the proposals that have come in. He said one (1) of the reasons the City Council awarded the bid to Colliers International was because of all the connections that they have. Mr. Skyes asked how long they have listed this piece of property. Mr. McCarthy said that it will be one (1) year in May. Mr. Winger commented that this was the perfect example of prior Councils not doing their job. He said they (prior Council) should have known what they wanted to do with this property before they burdened Mr. McCarthy with the property. Mr. O Connor recalled that this goes back to 2014 when the Finance Commission started talking about what they could do with surplus property. He said the two (2) properties that have any size and real value are the Dodgertown Golf Course and the old Postal Annex. He said the lease for the Post Office downtown was renegotiated. Mayor Moss commented that included in her motion, which she will make after public comments have taken place is to delist this property until the series of visioning meetings have taken place. She then thanked everyone for being at today s meeting. Mr. Mark Mucher asked all speakers to state their addresses and whether or not they live in the City of Vero Beach. He was strongly recommending that Council reject this offer today with the first reason being because of the use of the property. He said the maximum density suggests low income housing. The next reason is the contract price, which he does not think is a good price. He has no problem with it being listed, but it should have a better use and a higher price should be offered for the property. He recalled when the people living in the Moorings did not want a Publix in their area the community bought the property and then turned around and sold it. He hoped that Council would take his advice and reject this offer. Ms. Lamar stated that she does not live in the City, but came to Indian River County in 1991 to escape the urban sprawl. She didn t want to see the City become like Miami. Page 10 CC 03/07/17

11 She said lets keep Vero/Vero. They need to do it in a way that it protects the quality of life that they have enjoyed for so many years. She thanked the Council for backing out of this deal. Mr. Michael Ritchell lives in the County on 26 th Street. He recalled a couple of years ago when there was a proposed project where Safari Pines used to be for 800 homes to be built there. He said that would not work. The zoning in this area needs to be readdressed. Right now it is zoned low residential. He said this area is not suitable for residential housing. He applauded Council for taking this off the table. He asked them to address where Safari Pines used to be located. Mr. O Connor explained that the City does not own that piece of property. It is privately owned. Ms. Becky Groom, lives in the County, said that she had a solution to this problem. She suggested that the property be purchased on behalf of Home Incorporated, which is housing for integrational residents that foster kids and older adults. She said this has not been done in the United States. It is a non profit organization so it would not bring tax dollars in, but the area would remain green space. There are not enough homes for their foster children or older adults with disabilities. If anyone would like to contact her, her phone number is Mr. Robert Smith, lives in the City, and years ago worked for Channel 10, said that he knows that the Dodgertown deal was a disaster. He said most people at the meeting today are here because they read about this in the newspaper. He would come to more of their meetings if he knew the topics being discussed. He said that Mr. Winger had said some things that are remarkable that people in the past should have known about, but they didn t. He said one of the reasons that downtown has struggled for years was because when it was developed there was never a vision done on what it should look like. He helped out with the 90 th Anniversary and interviewed many of the founding families of Vero Beach and learned about the history and changes in the community in that 90- year span. He is no longer in the news business and when he comes to these meetings he is always finding out something new. He owns his own business and the people that work for him don t make a lot of money. He said low income housing is hard to find in this area, but this would not be the place to put it. It was clear that Council was going to reject this offer, which he applauds. He will be attending the visioning meeting to contribute in what the community wants Vero Beach to look like. He said they all love Vero Beach or else they wouldn t be here. Mr. Winger said if the right vision is green space then it is the right decision. Mr. Smith suggested that if Council decides to sell to a developer that they need to be more specific and that it is achievable. Mr. Winger commented that another piece of property they should be concerned with is the ballfield across from the High School that is currently owned by the County. He said Page 11 CC 03/07/17

12 the City should be thinking about a vision for that piece of property and what is a good use for that piece of parcel. Mr. Roger VanDyke stood in line for Judge Smith. At this time, Judge Smith came up to the podium. Judge Smith stated that he has been retired for 17 years and heard that this was a done deal and three (3) people on this Council would not change their mind. They are violating everything the City stands for since 1919 and that is they want quality of life and want to maintain it. He sent Council studies by scientific people about noise pollution. Those new studies indicate that noise pollution by living close to a street with heavy traffic creates noise and has been found to cause dementia. He said there will be large lawsuits if the City allows all these people to live there. He said they have now been put on notice that noise causes dementia. He is not giving legal advice because he is retired. He then advised Council to consult their attorney about liabilities and how much more insurance the City will need. He read a letter from the Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce relating to population estimates for 2016 (attached to the original minutes). Mayor Moss told Judge Smith that the four (4) Councilmembers sitting at the dais today were against selling the Dodgertown property. Judge Smith stated that the City Council made a serious mistake and dropped the ball by only referring this matter to the Finance Commission. It should have been taken to the Planning and Zoning Board, the Airport Commission, and the Recreation Commission. The Planning and Zoning Board should have discussed the long range planning for this piece of property. Someone needs to consider what is going to happen 10 or 15 years down the road. Mr. Winger agreed with Judge Smith. He said that this came up so fast that there was not enough time to have all the Commissions review it. Judge Smith said that Council should have also consulted the Police Chief concerning the crime that may happen if all these units are allowed on this property. It should have also been referred to the Sherriff because of how close that Department is to this piece of property. He said the County is where the growth is going to be and they also should be consulted about this land. Mrs. Chris Pope stated that her and her husband live in the County and are about three (3) blocks from the proposed Dodgertown property. She said they moved to Vero Beach in 2002 and they are not pleased about the sale of this piece of property and she thanked Council for deciding not to sell it. The biggest problem is the traffic in the area and the additional traffic that would result if there were 280 homes built on this property. She has just heard of another proposal that will include 13 new homes on a surrounding street. She then commented on the noise that is heard from the Stadium. Page 12 CC 03/07/17

13 Mrs. Roberta Miller, from Indian River Shores, and who has been a part of this community for over 30 years, said that she loves this town. She recalled that she did appear before the City Council many years ago and discussed putting an education center on this piece of property. She suggested that this idea be revisited. She said that students could learn a trade, such as running a golf course. There is a lot of grant money available for projects such as this one. She said receiving $2.7 million for a piece of property that they paid $10 million for is not a good idea. Mr. Joseph Guffanti, lives in the City, said that people should ask themselves why this item is being discussed at this time. He said it is because the City is in a deplorable financial situation. He reiterated the reason the City is trying to sell this property is because the City is in bad financial shape. In his opinion it is true. He suggested leaving the property the way it is. He heard that someone from the Finance Commission suggested that the proceeds of the sale were going to satisfy the balance due of $5 million. He said that is impossible and suggested anyone supporting that idea should be committed because they are beyond therapy. Mr. Ken Daige read a prepared speech (attached to the original minutes). He appreciated that Council had decided to put this matter off. Mr. Carter Taylor, Acting Executive Director for Indian River Neighborhood Association (IRNA), read a prepared statement (attached to the original minutes) and said moving forward there is more potential for this piece of property. He thanked Council for their decision today to defer the sale of this property. Mr. Brian Heady stated that he disagreed with this attempt to delay the sale of the property, but would support totally eliminating the sale of the property. He suggested using this property for stormwater. He said the City commissioned someone to sell this property. He asked how much has been paid for that service. Mr. O Connor explained that they don t pay anything until the property is sold. Mr. Heady noted that the Finance Commission approved the sale and if they (Collins International) brought a willing buyer to the City they might have a legitimate case in his earning his commission. At the Finance Commission meeting staff advised the Finance Commission to approve selling the property because it was a good deal and they could use the proceeds to pay off the $6 million in debt. He said if that is the case then he is on the hook for a lot of money because he has caused a lot of noise at these meetings. He said when he comes to the podium and gives advice it is factual and could be considered legal advice. He said because public comments was never opened earlier in the meeting he is going to discuss the item that he would have discussed under public comments and that is the Power Plant. Mayor Moss told Mr. Heady that they will hear items under public comments, but now all they are discussing is the Dodgertown property. Mr. Heady continued by saying that they would make more money now if they had the generators running at the Power Plant. He understands that Council hired an attorney to Page 13 CC 03/07/17

14 work on the full sale of the Electric Utility and that person is on the clock. He asked what is this attorney s marching orders at this point. Mayor Moss explained that the attorney has been engaged to work on the full sale. She said right now there are preliminary discussions taking place between Florida Power and Light (FPL) and Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA). The attorney s contract was signed on March 2, Mr. Coment added that Mr. Dolinger (attorney hired to handle the full sale) came to Vero Beach and met with FPL and will be meeting with FPL s attorney in a few weeks to go over a full sale/contract. Mayor Moss asked if there were any further comments on the Dodgertown property. Mr. Heady commented that this City Council still has yet to actively offer the Electric Utility for sale. If they want to sell it then ratepayers and City taxpayers would be better served if the Council offered this utility for sale to all potential buyers. He could not understand hiring an attorney to work on closing a deal when there is not a deal/contract in the first place. Mr. Mark Mucher hoped that Council was going to kill this one (1) particular offer and let realtors keep looking for a better offer. Mr. Coment reported that Colliers International listing contract expires in another month (May 1 st ). Mayor Moss asked Mr. Coment if they were to receive an offer for the purchase price listed would they be obligated to accept it. Mr. Coment said that they could review the offer and the final say on the price would be up to Council. Mr. O Connor reported that the Realtor received the message that residential use of this property is not something they are looking for. He said possibly if a hotel developer came in they would look at that. Mr. Coment reiterated that the contract expires in 30 days. Mayor Moss read a proposed motion. The motion is that the Dodgertown property not be sold for $2.7 million and that the property be delisted at least until the series of vision meetings starting March 13 th and the 2017 budget sessions have been completed. Mr. Sykes stated that he was in favor of keeping the property on the market. He would like to see what other offers might come in. He would be in favor of granting a six (6) month extension for the marketer to keep the property. He doesn t see a reason to pull the property off the market understanding that the public was not in favor of this particular use for the property. Page 14 CC 03/07/17

15 Mr. Young supported Mayor Moss s motion. He said that it makes sense and protects the City. Mr. O Connor would not recommend terminating the contract. He said just letting it expire would be better. Mr. Sykes asked if the City had any obligation to respond to this offer. Mr. O Connor said the only thing that is needed is to say that the City rejects the offer. Mayor Moss reread her motion. She said that her thinking was that after Council has been through the budget and the visioning process they will have a better idea of what to do with the property. Mr. Young suggested leaving the listing alone. Mr. Sykes suggested letting the contract expire and then look at signing a new contract. He would not support the language of not relisting the property. He said they are all acting in good faith about this property. However, the fact is that there are serious debts and that money could be used for other things and they would be putting the City at a disadvantage by not finding out what opportunities are available. He would like to see this particular deal taken off the table. That the listing contract be allowed to expire and then they could decide when they want to reengage a firm to represent the property. Mr. Winger commented that he did not want to relist the property. He understood that they cannot stop progress. However, visioning is the process that they wear on their heart to deal with change. He said they do not have any vision for this property. He read from the February 16, 2016 Planning and Zoning Board minutes where a gentleman attended their meeting requesting to have property on 17 th Street/A-1A on the North side rezoned to commercial. His request was properly turned down by the Planning and Zoning Board and also turned down by the City Council when the request was made to them. Mr. Young felt that it was essential to include the visioning process in this motion and a benefit to include the budget process. Mr. Sykes stated that he did not want to vote no on this motion. However, he said who knows what opportunities are going to come along. He said they are not all visionaries here, but there are other people in this community and country that are. He said there could be some private opportunity that none of them could even imagine and they will never know about it if they were to take this property off the market. He would like to see the listing contract expire, revisit it and put it back on the market. He didn t want to see any other contingencies placed on Council s ability to capitalize on an opportunity for the future. Mr. Winger stated that he will vote no to putting the property back on the market. Page 15 CC 03/07/17

16 Mayor Moss said that she understood Mr. Sykes s concerns. She just felt that they did not have a clear vision for the property and they really should have one. They should understand what they want to do with the property and not wait for something to drop out of the sky. Mayor Moss reread the motion. The motion is that the Dodgertown property not be sold for $2.7 million and that the property be delisted at least until the series of vision meetings starting March 13 th and the 2017 budget session have been completed. Mayor Moss said to address Mr. O Connor s concerns they will let the listing run out and not relist it. The listing would be allowed to expire and the property will not be relisted at least until vision meetings and the 2017 budget sessions are completed. Mayor Moss felt that this was a recommitment to the community that this will not move forward for any reason until the Council has a clear vision. Mayor Moss made a motion that the Dodgertown property not be sold for $2.7 million and that the listing will be allowed to expire and the property will not be relisted at least until the series of vision meetings starting March 13 th and the 2017 budget sessions have been completed. Mr. Winger seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.. 1. Discussion of items to be placed on the Vision Plan Meeting agenda scheduled for March 13, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. Requested by Mayor Laura Moss Mr. Winger read the present Vision Statement, which he said is eloquently stated. He agreed that there has to be changes, but the question is how do they stay with the Vision Plan that Mr. Young s grandfather knew. This is the biggest challenge that any City Council has. It transcends money and politics. Mayor Moss agreed that it probably is their greatest challenge. She said three (3) of the Councilmembers submitted a list of items that they wanted discussed at the vision meeting. She said that her list and Mr. Winger s list do overlap and are more specific, while Mr. Young s list is more general. Mr. Sykes stated that he wanted to continue seeing dialogue about the stormwater utility to figure out how they are going to fund it. Mayor Moss wanted them to set their agenda for Monday s meeting on the vision process. She was just looking for a starting point and noted that there will be a series of meetings held to discuss the Vision Plan. Mr. Sykes asked for a list of all the City owned properties and which properties are in the Charter. The City Clerk said that she would provide that list to the City Council. Page 16 CC 03/07/17

17 Mr. O Connor made it clear that appraisals for any of the properties are only done at the request of the City Council. Mr. Young provided Council with documents that he briefly went over (on file in the City Clerk s office). He said that a city s vision is a planning tool. It provides the certerpiece for a community s collective effort, it assists the City Manager and staff by stating the Council s intent for their priority in the near term and longer range, as well as offering a framework for examining future actions. It includes their guidance on desired and undesired outcomes, and may also include other information that outlines and clarifies their views regarding future efforts. In the POTUS address to Congress excerpt from February 28, 2017 it provides the President s vision for the coming 250 th Celebration of the nation. This relates to the City of Vero Beach, while we are beginning to talk about our 100 th Celebration that will occur in The next document that was discussed was the new Veterans Association (VA) laid out a plan for improving veterans health care and it doesn t include a move toward privatization. This plan included firing bad employees, extending the Choice program, improving infrastructure, world-class services, better partnerships, better records, modernization and internal improvements. The next document was titled VISION Charles D. Allen and Andrew A. Hill. This document explains that of the three (3) strategic leader tasks presented in the U.S. Army War College Strategic Leadership Primer alignment, vision and changes-arguably the most important is for the leaders to develop and promulgate a vision for the organization. Chapter 2 of the primer covered the strategic environment in detail and demonstrated the challenges for leaders operating in an environment. To be successful strategic leaders it requires the development of a set of competencies that enable them to effectively navigate the strategic environment and through their influence promulgate a vision. They must be agile enough to learn from the past, adapt to current circumstances, and anticipate the future trends and potentialities. Leaders should establish clarity of purpose for themselves and their organization and have the ability to communicate with internal and external constituents. The concept of vision has become so familiar with academic, government, defense, and corporate circles that it is sometimes dismissed or derides as oh that vision thing. The term vision suggests that a core element is a visual image-a mental picture of what the future enterprise or environment will look like. The concept also implies a longer time horizon. This time horizon tends to be middle to long-term in nature (five to twenty years). Vision transcends at all levels of an organization. The importance of vision is demonstrated through many facets. For senior leaders, visions serve as touchstones, as well as aligning mechanisms for decisions and actions. For strategic leaders, a vision is important for spanning organizational boundaries. A statement of vision not only directs internal members, but is useful in influencing and garnering support from external stakeholders by building consensus and providing access to otherwise unavailable resources as well. The visioning process allows leaders and their enterprises to define the vision, to rediscover and affirm the vision during times of stress and turbulence, or to adjust and adapt the vision to better align the enterprise with its environments. An effective vision is a means of focusing effort and progressing toward a desired future-what ought to be. While the vision is an image of a future state, it is also the result of a process that an enterprise leader can use to guide future development. An effective vision also requires an implementing strategy or plan to Page 17 CC 03/07/17

18 enable its attainment on how to get there. Visionary is a title given to the greatest of leaders, men and women who transform the expectations of not only their followers, but of entire societies and nations who change social structures in order to realize new values and purposes. Defining the vision is the first step in the development of strategies and plans for change. Visioning is a creative process that may come from years of experience or deep study through education. The process brings together known information and new ideas, integrates these ideas with prospective technologies and future organizational requirements, and blends them into an innovative approach to realize the potential of its people. A vision should be the product of a dynamic, logical, and collective organizational process. Vision is often attributed only to leaders because of their critical role in developing, articulating, and directing it. Mr. Young recommended to Council to have a vision statement and as they examine it, it speaks from the heart. He said that s an expression that articulates where they want to go as a City Council. The next step would be the strategies that were developed in the Vision Plan already constructed. He said from a strategic plan you have an ends, ways and means and this does not only mean monetary and personnel means. By everyone coming together they can confirm a vision as to where they want to be. They could turn to the City staff for their areas of expertise and how they see their operations and visions in the near term. He said they could also reach out to the Enterprises Departments for their input and this would be a segway into the budget process as they move forward. Mr. Winger expressed the importance of considering culture. He said that he did not know how this Council felt about culture, but there are a lot of people who have been in this community for many years and their long term citizens have a stronger culture of Vero Beach then any City Council might have. He said it doesn t do the Council any good to decide these things themselves. In the long run it is what the people want and what fits into their culture. Council has to know what the people think for a visioning plan to be worth anything. Council has to understand what their residents want and what fits in to this community. Mr. Young agreed that by virtue of conversation, Council needs to obtain more citizen input as to what is important to them. This will be a great benefit to the City Council and allows them (City Council) to be more proficient in their job. Mr. Winger commented that the low turnout at their meetings is sometimes because people don t know what they are considering. Mr. Young explained that they will need to look at the frame work in coming up with these strategies. He said if they look at the strategies that they currently have in place they will obtain input from the community. It will capture what different people s passion is. He feels they are on the right track and the course of conversation should affirm that they are on the right track. Page 18 CC 03/07/17