Commission Meeting Draft Minutes

Draft Minutes of the August 17, 2020 6 pm Commission Meeting

The regular meeting of the Lady Lake Town Commission was held in the Commission Chambers at Lady Lake Town Hall, 409 Fennell Blvd., Lady Lake, Florida with Mayor Jim Richards presiding at the request of Mayor Richards. The meeting convened at 6 p.m.

A. Call to Order

Mayor Jim Richards

B. Invocation

By Pastor Jim McNaull of North Lake Presbyterian Church.

C. Pledge of Allegiance

D. Roll Call

Commissioner (Ward) Present
Hannan (Four) YES
Kussard (One) YES
Holden (Two) YES
Vincent (Three) YES
Richards (Five) YES

STAFF PRESENT

Kris Kollgaard, Town Manager; Derek Schroth, Town Attorney; Thad Carroll, Growth Management Director; C.T. Eagle, Public Works Director; Pam Winegardner, Finance Director; Chief Rob Tempesta, Deputy Chief Jason Brough, and Sergeant Tom Sarakinis, Lady Lake Police Department; Maureen Gochee, Human Resource Director; Butch Goodman, Utilities Supervisor; Wesley Brumley, Utility Tech; Julia Harris, Administrative Assistant to the Town Manager; Philomena Bodie, Utilities Customer Service; Elvira Ruiz and Mary Mullins, Police Records; Wendy Then, Senior Planner; and Nancy Slaton, Deputy Town Clerk

E. Public Comment

Mayor Richards asked if anyone had any comments. There were no comments.

1. Minutes — August 3, 2020 — Regular Commission Meeting

2. Consideration of Approval of the Fiscal Year 2020—2021 Holiday Schedule (Maureen Gochee)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

3. Consideration to Approve the Renewal Contract with Kerry Barnett Fire Safety Consulting, LLC, for the Provision of Fire Inspection Services and Fire Plan Review Services (Thad Carroll)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

4. Consideration to Approve the Renewal of the Professional Services Agreement between the Town of Lady Lake and M.T. Causley, LLC for Building Inspection and Plan Review Services (Thad Carroll)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

5. Consideration of Purchase of Grasshopper Mower Utilizing Saved Budgeted Departmental Funds (C.T. Eagle)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

6. Consideration of Purchase of ¾ Ton Truck Utilizing Saved Budgeted Departmental Funds (C.T. Eagle)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

7. Consideration of Purchase of GPS Collector Unit Utilizing Saved Budgeted Departmental Funds (C.T. Eagle)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

8. Consideration of Purchase of ½ Ton Truck Utilizing Saved Budgeted Departmental Funds (C.T. Eagle)(Background Summary on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

Mayor Richards asked if there were any questions or comments from the Commissioners regarding the Consent items. Hearing none, he asked for a motion.

Commissioner Hannan made a motion to approve Consent Items F-1 through F-8. Commissioner Kussard seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5 to 0.

G. Old Business

9. Consideration of Compensation Study Recommendations (Maureen Gochee)

Human Resource Director Maureen Gochee presented the background summary for this agenda item (on file in the Clerk’s Office).  It included five options recommended by staff for the Commissioners to vote on.

Town Manager Kris Kollgaard noted that staff included an option to increase the minimum pay for Town employees to $15.00 since it was brought up by a Commissioner at a previous meeting.

Mayor Richards asked if there were any questions or comments from the Commissioners regarding this item.

Commissioner Kussard stated that in order to retain current employees or recruit new employees, they need to be paid a competitive wage. She stated she agrees with the first two options presented by staff which included paying employees a minimum salary of $15.00 per hour and the class date parity for the police. She noted that 21 of the Town’s employees are paid under $15.00 an hour. Commissioner Kussard agreed that if a current employee’s salary is higher than the recommended range maximum, it should be capped.

Commissioner Vincent stated he does not understand who would be getting what with the options provided in the compensation study.

Ms. Kollgaard noted that the compensation study listed the employees by name and their current salary and included the minimum and maximum range per position. She asked if the Commissioner wanted it broken down more.

Commissioner Holden stated he feels the minimum pay should be $15.00 an hour; it works out to $600 a week at 40 hours a week, which is the amount government was giving the unemployed.

Mayor Richards pointed out that the Town pays $1,000,000 each year for health insurance and another $300,000 for participation in other plans for employees. He stated these benefits provided by the Town average out to about another $5.00 an hour. He stated he is not totally comfortable with offering a minimum pay of $15.00 an hour when you factor that in. He stated he is in favor of bringing the employees up to the minimum in the study, excluding the department heads, and including class date parity for the police.

Ms. Kollgaard stated she spoke with the department heads and they are fine with their salaries, although she would like to see the general employees brought up to the minimum in the study. She stated that she is in favor of bringing up the minimum pay to $15.00 an hour.

Commissioner Vincent agreed that benefits add up. He stated it was brought to his attention that some Town positions were not included in the study.

Ms. Gochee replied that the consultant picked certain positions and surveyed for those positions. She stated the chances of getting information back on surveying for every position would be slim to none.

Commissioner Kussard noted that the poverty level for a family of three is $21,720; for a family of four, the poverty level is $26,200. She reiterated that the Commission should consider bringing those 21 employees up to $15.00 an hour.

These options were discussed at length.

Commissioner Vincent stated that he did not have the documentation to review to be able to rate employees.

Mayor Richards pointed out that the Commissioners role was to set policy and procedure; not to rate employees. He stated that as long as the Town is doing well, services are being provided, everything is looking good and being taken care of, and there are no complaints, then the outcome is good. He stated it is not up to the Commission to check the performance of Town employees against their managers on a regular basis; that is considered micro-managing.

Mayor Richards asked the Commissioners if this could be moved along.

Commissioner Kussard made a motion to approve the Options 2 and 3; the Class Date Parity for the Police and the Tier 2 option for general employees. Commissioner/Mayor Richards seconded the motion. The motion failed by a vote of 2 to 3 (Hannan/Holden/Vincent).

Commissioner Hannan made a motion to approve Options 1, 2 & 3. Commissioner Holden seconded the motion. The motion failed by a vote of 2 to 3 (Kussard/Vincent/Richards).

Commissioner Kussard made a motion to approve Options 1 and 2. Commissioner Holden seconded the motion. The motion failed by a vote of 2 to 3 (Hannan/Vincent/Richards).

Ms. Kollgaard asked the Commission if they wanted to go ahead and approve the Class Date Parity for the police as discussed at the Closed Executive Session earlier this same date.

Mayor Richards replied that this will be part of the negotiations and does not have to be voted on tonight.

After further discussion, Mayor Richards requested that the Town Manager and Human Resource Director provide a spreadsheet showing what salary adjustments staff is recommending for specific employees in relation to the ranges proposed by the compensation study. He stated he would like to see justification noted for any adjustments that seem over the top. This item will then be brought back for consideration at the next Commission meeting.

H. New Business

10. Consideration of Approval to Purchase Replacement Surge Suppressors Utilizing Current Year Contingency Funds (C.T. Eagle)

Public Works Director C.T. Eagle presented the background summary for this agenda item (on file in the Clerk’s Office).

Mayor Richards asked if there were any questions or comments from the Commissioners regarding this item, and hearing none, asked for a motion.

Commissioner Kussard made a motion to approve the purchase of replacement surge suppressors utilizing current year Contingency Funds. Commissioner Hannan seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5 to 0.

11. Consideration of Request for Proposals (RFP 2020-0002) for Executive Search Firm Services and Approval to Advertise (Kris Kollgaard)

Town Manager Kris Kollgaard presented the background summary for this agenda item (on file in the Clerk’s Office).

Mayor Richards asked if there were any questions or comments from the Commissioners regarding this item, and hearing none, asked for a motion.

Commissioner Holden made a motion to approve Request for Proposals (RFP 2020-0002) for Executive Search Firm Services and to approve the advertisement of same. Commissioner Vincent seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5 to 0.

I. Town Attorney's Report

12. Ordinance 2020-06 (Second and Final Reading) — Renewing the Franchise Agreement with Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SECO) (Pam Winegardner)

Town Attorney Derek Schroth read the ordinance by title only.

Finance Director Pam Winegardner presented the background summary for this agenda item (on file in the Clerk’s Office). She noted that there were no changes to the ordinance since first reading.

Mayor Richards asked if there were any questions or comments from the Commissioners or the public, and hearing none, asked for a motion.

Upon a motion by Commissioner Kussard and a second by Commissioner Hannan, the Commission approved the second and final reading of Ordinance 2020-06 by the following roll call vote:

Commissioner Present
Hannan YES
Kussard YES
Holden YES
Vincent YES
Richards YES

J. Town Manager's Report

Town Manager Kris Kollgaard stated she had nothing to report.

K. Mayor and Commissioner's Report

Mayor Richards asked if any of the Commissioners had anything to report.

Commissioner Vincent stated he has been receiving alarming emails that are making accusations regarding Town employees, one stating that a petition is being passed around on work time. He wondered if this was legal or needed to be investigated.

After some discussion, Ms. Kollgaard suggested that Commissioner Vincent send this to the Town Attorney, and Mayor Richards agreed.

Commissioner Vincent passed a copy of this email to Mr. Schroth to review for irregularities.

L. Public Comments

Mayor Richards asked if there were any comments from the audience.

Phil Mathias of Lakes of Lady Lake asked if the Town will be using the Range Riders like they did before.

Commissioner Holden and Mayor Richards explained that the Commissioners considered this and then decided to search for professionals to take over the recruitment.

Mr. Mathias questioned the compensation study salary ranges.

Mayor Richards replied that the employees are normally hired at the minimum for their position and the salary range could be up to 50% higher. He stated employees currently receive merit raises and move up in the range that way.

Mr. Mathias asked why the Town does not participate with the Florida Retirement System.

Mayor Richards replied that the contributions for the Florida State Retirement System are very expensive; it could be as much as 17% of the employee’s salary.

Commissioner Kussard noted that the Town contributes to a 401 plan for general employees and department heads. The Town also contributes 12.5% of the employee’s salary to a defined benefit plan for police officers. She stated that the Town also offers a 457 plan that only the employees contribute to.

Mr. Mathias also requested that the Town consider turning the property on Old Dixie Highway into a park.

M. Adjourn

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:08 p.m.

___________________________
Kristen Kollgaard, Town Clerk

___________________________
Ruth Kussard, Mayor Pro Tem

Minutes transcribed by Nancy Slaton, Deputy Town Clerk