Item No. Orange Park, Florida The meeting of the Orange Park Town Council was called to order in the Town Hall Council Chambers at 7 p.m. with Mayor Scott Land presiding. Other Councilmembers present were Vice-Mayor Gary, Councilwoman Connie Thomas, Councilman Alan and Councilman Ron. Also in attendance were Town Manager Sarah Campbell, Capital Projects Manager Glenn Reed, Utility Supervisor Roger Rich, Attorney Sam Garrison of Kopelousos, Bradley, Garrison & Komando and Town Clerk Courtney Russo. The invocation was given by Councilman followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Cub Scout Pack 832. AUDIENCE COMMENTS ON AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS Nicholas Mehretens, 1774 Cedar Key Court, Orange Park, asked about the Kingsley East project. Mr. Reed stated they will begin working on the project from the river side, and work their way out US 17. Mr. Mehretens stated there are orange marks on the trees. Mr. Reed stated the original design required more trees to be removed. He stated the revised plans are keeping the trees in the medians. Mr. Mehretens suggested painting over the orange marks. Ms. Sherri Vardas, 1417 Winfred Drive, Orange Park, thanked Mr. Pavlos for his involvement with helping clear the creeks. She stated she has seen ducks swimming in the creek and an alligator. She asked about the house at the end of Winfred that Code Enforcement cited. She stated the owner recently passed away, and now it is just the owner s son living there. She also asked about property recently purchased by the Town. Ms. Campbell stated the Town has not purchased any property. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING DATED JANUARY 2, 2018 To approve the Council minutes of the regular meeting dated January 2, 2018 Land,, Thomas,, APPROVAL OF MOU WITH MOOSEHAVEN FOR JULY 4 EVENT Ms. Campbell stated no changes were made to the agreement. She stated the event will be on Saturday, July 7. Vice-Mayor questioned why the event is after the holiday. He stated this is hard to support.
Page 2 Ms. Campbell stated Mr. John Capes was out of town and could not be at the meeting today, but he did explain to her the reasons why they are holding the event after the holiday. She stated it is hard to find affordable talent to play on July 4. She stated July 4 is on a weeknight, and many people have to work the next day; that can hamper revenues and attendance. She stated having the event after the holiday increases police officer support. She stated in the coming years Moosehaven will have a conflict on July 4, and wanted to get people used to the idea of the event not being held on the holiday. Vice-Mayor moved to defer this item until Mr. Capes can be present at the meeting. Councilman seconded the motion. Councilman stated he agrees with the Vice-Mayor; it does not make sense to celebrate after the holiday. Councilman discussed the history of the July 4 event. He stated the Fourth of July should be celebrated on the holiday. To defer this item until Mr. Capes can be present at the meeting Land,, Thomas,, APPROVAL OF IAFF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT Ms. Campbell stated the Town has completed negotiations for the 2017 year. She stated the Council worked to reshape the way sick leave is used for employees. She stated employees accumulating sick leave for large annual or retirement cash outs creates a liability that grows with each annual step increase in wages. She stated Council focused on shifting the dollars spent away from sick leave benefits and more toward wages. To approve amendments made to the 2016-2019 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Town and Firefighters Union Land,, Thomas,, AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE HARBEN SEWER JETTER To approve the purchase of Harben Sewer Jetter utilizing HGAC BUY contract pricing of $44,500
Page 3 Land,, Thomas,, AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, HARDWARE AND SERVICES FROM MCCI Councilman asked about this system versus the system that the Economic and Community Development Department (ECD) uses. Ms. Campbell stated the project in ECD is the digitization of all building plans. She stated the Laserfiche system will be used Town wide. She stated all documents will be in one place, and all users will have access them. To approve the purchase of document management software, hardware and services from MCCi for $32,850, utilizing the City of Miami contract Thomas Land,, Thomas,, REPORT FROM GENERAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Councilman stated the committee met last Tuesday. He stated they discussed the Events Coordinator position and the renaming of Town Hall Park. He stated several years ago, Council named all of the parks. He stated Town Hall Park should be called a memorial park. He stated the fountain and markers in the park were placed there in memoriam of people. He stated the committee recommended that the park be named a memorial park. Mayor Land stated this may be more of the Culture and Recreation Committee s purview. Councilman stated he does not think so; this is just related to the park name. He stated he is not making a motion now, but does intend to at the next meeting. Councilman stated many of these items are related to the Culture and Recreation Committee. He stated he would like to see these items go there. Mayor Land read the description of what the Culture and Recreation Committee looks at. Councilman stated the parks were named by Council action. Mayor Land stated he is pretty sure that the park names were sent to committee prior to Council taking action. Vice-Mayor stated tributes were set at the park. He questioned whether Clarke Park should be called a memorial park too. He questioned what the purpose of naming it a memorial park it is. He asked if this is a way to stop events from occurring in the park. He stated he would not support changing the use of the park. He stated in the past, on Arbor Day, a tree was planted to honor a
Page 4 citizen. He stated Town Hall Park could no longer sustain any more trees, so the Town started planting them in Clarke Park. Councilman discussed events in the park. Vice-Mayor stated changing the name will eventually change the use of the park. Councilman moved that Town Hall Park be recognized as a memorial park. Vice-Mayor seconded the motion. Councilwoman Thomas stated having kids and the community come together at the park is a great honor. Councilman stated Magnolia Cemetery could be a memorial park. He stated he does not care if Town Hall Park is called something different, but he does not want to see the change in use. Councilman stated the name change has nothing to do with the usage. Mayor Land stated the park is much more than a memorial park. There is a playground and a bandshell. Vice-Mayor stated he would not support moving markers from the park to the cemetery. He stated he hopes Council would not change the use of the park. He stated if the name changes, one day someone will try to take away events because it is a memorial park. He stated the name change will eventually lead to a change in usage of the park. That Town Hall Park be recognized as a memorial park FAILED A roll call vote was done. REFERRAL OF ITEMS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BOARD Councilman Thomas stated she would like to send the tree ordinance to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to help streamline the ordinance. She stated she would like to see the board streamline the ordinance for manageability and use, look at ways to distribute information with regard to ordinance requirements to residents and recommendations of tree species for planting, look at a tree revitalization fund, and look at incentives for the planting of trees by commercial entities. Councilman discussed his neighbor that cut down a lot of trees. He stated he complained about this to the previous Town Manager and the ECD Director. He stated the Town is not really
Page 5 a tree sanctuary if people are cutting down all the trees. He stated he would like it to be a requirement of the Town to have staff visit the site before giving a permit. He stated his neighbor that cut down the trees only picked up 20% of them; the Town and FEMA picked up the rest. He stated an arborist is needed to decide if a tree should come down. He stated we need to put some teeth in the current ordinance. He stated the ordinance is 35 pages. He questioned why it is so long. Attorney Garrison stated the tree policy was very strict and a resident could not take down any trees. He stated the EQB worked through the policy to make it less restrictive. He discussed enforcement and minimum tree requirements for single-family homes. Mayor Land stated we need to be sure we are enforcing the Code. Mayor Land stated it is important for Council to give the EQB clear direction. Councilman stated he was interested in buying Dr. Rothschild s lot, but he was too late. He stated he wanted to purchase it because it was heavily wooded with trees. Councilman stated the Town needs to properly publicize the tree ordinance. He stated the ordinance needs to be tweaked so that it is clear and concise. Councilman stated he wants the permits validated. Mayor Land stated he is happy with the Code, but wants to make sure that it is being followed. Councilman stated the ordinance is too big and is not understood. He stated most people in the Town are not tree haters. Ms. Campbell stated she will convey what Council wants to the EQB. To refer tree discussion items to the EQB for review and recommendation Thomas Land,, Thomas,, DISCUSSION ON STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION Mayor Land stated Attorney Garrison has agreed to facilitate Council s Strategic Planning Session. That Attorney Garrison be the facilitator for the Strategic Planning Session
Page 6 Land,, Thomas,, Council discussed seating arrangements for the meeting. Attorney Garrison stated this will be noticed as a special meeting and there will be time for audience comments. TOWN MANAGER REPORTS Ms. Campbell stated the Arbor Day celebration will be this Friday. She stated the Town has received $10,000 for Hurricane Matthew. ATTORNEY REPORTS Attorney Garrison discussed pending litigation. He stated litigation is still ongoing for the Rodeway Inn. He stated he hopes to hear from the court soon. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS/COMMENTS Councilman recommended that the letter from Ms. Davidson, regarding the sign ordinance, be discussed. Attorney Garrison stated the EQB had a meeting last week. He stated it was a good meeting and they went line by line of the ordinance. He stated the board recommended no edits. Councilman suggested the idea of having the Fall Festival at Moosehaven. He stated that Council should look at the expenses and revenues of all the events. He stated it is important to know how much each event is costing the Town. He stated Council should discuss prior to budget time. Councilman discussed the Clay Day event. He stated he met with Senator Bradley, Representative Payne, and Representative Cummings. He stated it was an outstanding event. He stated he attended the MLK day breakfast and it was an excellent event. Councilman Thomas stated the Miller Street Neighborhood Renewal worked all weekend on the MLK events. She stated they handed out food on Saturday at Town Hall. She stated 175 families stopped by for food. She stated February 19 will be the Normal School Marker Dedication. Vice-Mayor stated Fall Festival is the Town s signature event. He stated he gets a lot of complements about the events in Town. He stated the Town wins awards for its events. He stated he has concerns about Plainfield Avenue. He stated the project was $3.3 million and he does not feel the Town got its money s worth. He stated the sidewalk is collapsing near Rusmor Street. He stated a bad patch job was done by Winfred Drive. He stated there are areas where the grass is dead. Mr. Reed stated the sidewalk at Rusmor Street was related to a tree falling during the hurricane. He stated the other issues were unforeseen. Vice-Mayor stated the road is not smooth. Mr. Reed stated it could be from the road settling.
Page 7 Mayor Land had nothing to report. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Ms. Barbara Davidson, 2710 Holly Point Road West, Orange Park, discussed the letter she wrote regarding the sign ordinance. She questioned why it was not prepared in compliance with the charter. She stated she went to the EQB meeting and Attorney Garrison did a good job. She stated the chairman of EQB compared the old ordinance within the new ordinance. She stated the problem is still not solved. She questioned why the ordinance did not go to EQB first. She stated she is concerned with where the Town is headed. She stated a lot of money was spent on the Land Development Regulations rewrite. She stated the Town is not abiding by the rules. She stated Council needs to know in depth what they are approving. Mr. Eugene Nix, 862 River Road, Orange Park, stated he will be celebrating the Fourth of July on July 4. He stated the event is about the Declaration of Independence and not about the money. He stated his Dad made him promise not to plant a tree at Town Hall Park in his memory. He stated he keeps hearing people say, the wish of the Council. He stated it is not the wish of the Council, but the wish of the people. He stated there was a problem with how the asphalt was laid on Plainfield Avenue. He stated the River Road Neighborhood Organization met this past Sunday and nominated their officers and discussed goals. He stated they discussed neighborhood events. He stated they also discussed the Town restoring the riverbank. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m.