Commission Workshop Draft Minutes

Town Manager Kris Kollgaard updated the Commission on the proposed extension of Clay Avenue. She stated staff was going to work with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to see if they would take on that project as a reliever road. FDOT will not be ready to discuss this until after the first of the year as they are behind schedule, so it will probably be in next year’s budget.

Commission Hannan asked if the homeowners along Clay Avenue have been approached.

Ms. Kollgaard stated staff is hoping FDOT will take that over if they decide to use Clay Avenue as a reliever road, as they may have more leverage getting the right-of-way from property owners, including Mr. Mayfield.

Mayor Richards stated the property owner at the westerly half at the end of Clay Avenue is the one who is not receptive, not Mr. Mayfield.

Commissioner Holden asked if an ordinance is needed to complete a through street off of Rolling Acres; he believes it is Wildwood Street near the storage place. He stated it would be a good street to complete as a Key West-style development was approved a while back in this area, near Arlington. This was discussed.

Mayor Richards stated he would prefer that Lady Lake Blvd. be completed as a through street, whereas Arlington dead ends.

Ms. Kollgaard stated she will discuss this with the Public Works Director and the Growth Management Director and bring it back to the Commission. Then an ordinance could be drawn up and reviewed by the Town Attorney.

Mayor Richards asked if everyone saw the plans for the new community building.

Commissioner Holden suggested revamping the old building instead of building a new building. He also suggested that the tree limb over the roof be removed as it appears to be diseased, and other trees in the area need to be cut back. He stated pavilions in the area would be nice.

Ms. Kollgaard agreed with Commission Holden that the old community building has good bones. She stated the big tree in the front may need to be removed. She stated the building needs to be connected to the Town’s sewer system and taken off septic, which will help with drainage issues.

Mayor Richards suggested building a screened pavilion in the back.

Commissioner Hannan suggested tearing it down and starting over. He mentioned that a second story could be added to the original building if the Commission wanted to keep it, but the Mayor stated an elevator would have to be installed and this would be an additional $100,000 cost.

There was further discussion on the amount of renovation that would be needed for the current community building.

Mayor Richards commented that renovation typically costs 39% more than new construction.

Commissioner Kussard commented that it may be better to build a new community building. She clarified that a new community building would not be built on the Town’s property on Old Dixie Highway if the old community building was renovated.

Commissioner Vincent suggested that if a new community building is built on Old Dixie Highway, future expansion should be kept in mind to include such items as a basketball court, etc.

Commissioner Holden suggested putting $500,000 toward the rehabilitation of the old community building and keep a new community building on Old Dixie Highway on the back burner.

Ms. Kollgaard stated that funds for remodeling the community building could be taken from the surtax funds or capital funds in the budget. She stated that Tavares and Leesburg have newer and larger community buildings that are expensive to rent. She stated if the Town built a new community building, she would want to be able to utilize it and not have it just sit there.

Commissioner Holden agreed that the Town’s community building rentals fees are affordable, and it makes sense to renovate the old building. He asked if there is any money in this year’s budget to work on the community building. He suggested that new front doors should be included in any estimates for rehab as the old doors look like they belong on a prison.

Ms. Kollgaard stated there is some money left in this year’s budget and $130,000 in contingency, although she suggested waiting until September to start renovations as this is a busy time for Public Works staff and there are a lot of community building rentals during the summer. She stated staff could definitely begin getting the tree work done.

Mayor Richards suggested that staff start getting estimates for tree removal, roofing, electric, plumbing, etc., in the interim. The other Commissioners agreed with this.

Commissioner Kussard stated that she is very disappointed with Fruitland Park as they are not complying with the agreed upon terms of the contract with the Town for wastewater services, when they were the ones that requested to collaborate with the Town. She stated they are balking at paying the agreed upon fees for operational costs. She suggested the contract be terminated if they do not abide by the contract.

Mayor Richards agreed that the contract can be terminated with 30 months’ notice.

Commissioner Vincent stated he had heard rumors that Fruitland Park was going to discontinue their wastewater services with the Town and perhaps work with The Villages instead.

Ms. Kollgaard explained that for a few months, Fruitland Park did not remit full payment for the fees billed to them. The Town Attorney sent them a letter stating they owed what was billed to them according to the contract. Staff also met with Mr. Lavenia and explained the terms of the contract and they began remitting the full payment for the bills. She stated the Town then received a letter from Fruitland Park’s attorney dated June 14^th whereby they stated they would not continue remitting full payment.

Commissioner Hannan and Commissioner Holden both asked if the Town incurred any expense for Fruitland Park’s hook-up to the Town’s wastewater system.

Ms. Kollgaard replied that the Town did not incur any expenses because Fruitland Park installed the connecting pipe, and Mayor Richards stated they even installed the meter which they are now saying is not reading correctly. The Town will not be impacted by terminating the contract.

Ms. Kollgaard stated that if Fruitland Park does not pay what they agreed to, then Town residents will be subsidizing $60,000 to $70,000 a year that Fruitland Park should be paying. The Town Attorney has responded to the letter from Fruitland Park’s attorney’s stating that the Town expects Fruitland Park to abide by the contract.

Mayor Richards stated the Town has plenty of capacity. He stated the Town can give the 30 months’ notice to terminate the contract if they will not abide by the terms. He stated Fruitland Park will still be liable for the fees during that 30 months’ notice period.

After further discussion, the Commissioners agreed to include the consideration of the termination of the sewer contract with Fruitland Park on the July 1^st Commission meeting agenda.

Ms. Kollgaard gave an update on the Charter Review Committee applications. She stated Bob Nyce of Ward Four has offered his application for this committee. With this, applications from each Ward have now been received for consideration, although two from the business community is still needed. She stated a Commissioner had recommended contacting Ms. Jean White, who had applied for the Disciplinary Arbitration Panel, and owns a business in Town. The Commissioners agreed to this.

Commissioner Hannan suggested that someone contact Betty Salas and ask her if she would be on the committee since she voiced her opinion that a review committee is needed.

Ms. Kollgaard asked if the Commissioners would like to consider contracting with FDOT contractors to lay down the conduit for WAN fiberoptic during the road widening construction which will cost approximately $500,000. The Commissioners were in favor of considering the conduit and requested that it come back at a regular meeting.

Commissioner Holden suggested that the Town consider coating the metal roofs on some of the Town’s buildings to extend the life of the roof. He stated Anchor Coatings is a long-term local contractor with a good reputation. He stated the coating is guaranteed for ten years and is very economical.

Commissioner Hannan voiced his concern with the way the Town handles code enforcement issues. He stated there are a lot of violations happening on the weekend. He stated he feels the Town’s code enforcement should be proactive instead of reactive.

Ms. Kollgaard stated that the new code enforcement officer starting soon is aware that his schedule will be flexible and may require him working on the weekends occasionally. She stated the police department can also be notified to be on alert for code enforcement issues.

Commissioner Hannan asked if new employees can be introduced to the Commissioners, possibly on a one on one basis.

Ms. Kollgaard stated new employees can be introduced at the beginning of a Commission meeting.

Mayor Richards commented that one on one meetings with a Commissioner may be intimidating for new staff.

Commissioner Holden asked if the Town still has reserve police officers.

Ms. Kollgaard replied that the Town still uses reserve officers, although there are several vacancies at this time.

Commissioner Hannan asked if there has been any movement on a previous discussion regarding expanding the Historical Society building.

Ms. Kollgaard replied that this will be brought up if the Historical Society requests it since the building is historical and expansion may be a problem because of the historical nature of the building.

Commissioner Holden suggested the deck around the Historical Society building may need to be re-stained.

Commissioner Hannan stated he suggested a stain to the Parks and Recreation Director that he had used that held up very well.