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11-30-1994 Regular Meeting MIAMI SHORES ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 30 , 1994 Present: Lewis Harms; Chairman, Ernest Upthegrove, Richard Thornton, Janice Spahn, Doug Lindheimer, Alberto Pozzi , and Mike Walsh Excused: Leon Newman, Agnes Aspinall, Joseph Schwartz, and Rob Haas The Meeting was called to order by Chairman Harms at 5: 35p.m. Review of Last Months Meeting Minutes Agenda: 1 ) Mr. Harms discussed the area between hole # ' s 1 and 12 should be marked as ground under repair or should be filled in with gravel or be paved. Mr. Pozzi will look into the situation. 2) The areas currently roped off from cart usage has been quite successful and need to be maintained. The weather has magnified these areas. Ranger must look for violators taking down ropes or cutting them. 3 ) #5 Bridge is in need of repair. Carts are endanger of falling off to the side and into the canal. Mr. Pozzi will get together with Rob Haas to rectify the situation. 4 ) The Country Club has acquired about 45 new Golf Members and Mrs . Spahn will introduce the new lady Members into the Ladies Golf Association to make them feel more welcome. Meeting Adjourned at 6:00pm Next Meeting scheduled to meet January 25 , 1995 M.S.C.C.OPERATED BY PROFESSIONAL COURSE MANAGEMENT 10000 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD • MIAMI SHORES, FLORIDA 33138 • (305)795-2360 • FAX(305)795-2384 ` . on FAX 3C5� 756-a972 To : MICHAEL CC}UZZO, VILLAGE MANAGER Subject : SUNSHINE LAW Date : FEBRUARY 8 , 1984 On Fr ! day , February 4th | part | cirated | n a ha | f day sem imar entit, led Government 1n the Sunoh | ne : | ouueS , Di | enxn�n and Chanqer . The fo | | owinQ | o a ouMnary of the preoentat | :�m �y Rcbert K1eyera , Attorney w | th F . Scott F | oto | ' P .A . &4eyers reviewed the oircumstanoes and situations when meet- Ings- must be publicly noticed and held in the aunoh | ne . He stated that the Sunshine related laws are found in the State Statutes at Chapter 286 . 04 and Chapter 119 . It was noted at the seminar that the Sunshine Lu*o were passed in the mid 1970 ' s to end corruption and that Florida has the most comprehensive oat of sunshine laws than any other State and are more comprehensive than the sunshine laws followed by the Federal Government ' The Sunshine Laws do not apply to the State Legislature . The Sunshine laws deal with 4 broad areas : Open meetings Policy decisions being made in public Information 000000 Financial O | oo | ooure If two or more members of an advisory board meet to d | oouao Board related Issues the meeting must be In the sunshine . They cannot talk on the telephone about Board related Issues and they cannot have someone act as a go between mo they can discuss Board related Issues . Board members cannot distribute memos on their opinions of Board related Issues . . if a Board member cannot attend a meetin'Q he cannot ask a third party to give his ( the Board member ' s) views on u pending Issue . Workshop meetings of the Council must be noticed and held / n the sunshine . r Public notice constitutes posting of a notice preferably , an agenda , that outlines the meeting time and place and Items to be discussed . The minimum requirements are 24 hours before the meeting . Special Council meetings must be noticed and be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting . Board members elect ( Those appointed but not serving yet ) must abide by the sunshine law with regard to Board business . . Candidate ' s forums do not have to comply with the sunshine Law except if current Council persons attend and discuss Issues that may come before the Council . Social events may be attended by any number of Council persons or Board members without violating the Sunshine laws ; however , no Village business may be discussed at that time . Council members may attend Board meetings ; however , if the attendance Is known in advance , then the attendance of the Council member should be noted in the agenda of the Board meeting . Inspection trips by Board members or Council members are a I I oived. ; however , no V 1 1 1 age bus i ness may be d i scussed . Lur.cn on meet ! ngs are genera IIy not to be he Id If they occur in a restaurant . Food may be served If the meeting is he' ! d In a meeting ha I l or ccmi- unity fac I l i ty where people attending the meeting are not generally expected to purc^asv f-0cd . Meetings may not be held In any fact Iity that restricts access to any group of people . Meetings must be held in facilities that will hold the reasonably expected number of attendees . Public comment may be restricted as to time and the relevance of the comments . The public may be cut off if they go beyond the stated time or If their comments are not relevant to the discussion at hand . The public may record the meeting if the process is not disruptive to the meeting . Ail Board members must vote on every item on the Agenda . The only time a member can abstain from voting Is If they declare that they have a conflict of interest and fill out Form 8 and the form is attached to the minutes and becomes a part of the minutes . (Form 8 Is available in the Clerks office at Village Hail . ) The use of secret ballots Is prohibited . The public must be able to see how each member voted on an Issue . Closed paper ballots may be used if the recording secretary or Clerk reads the ballots after they are turned In and the results are recorded in the minutes . meetings and sub committee meetings must be recorded In the form of minutes . Verbatim minutes are not required . A brief summary is all that i's required . Voice or Video recordings are not required ; however , if they are made they must be retained by the Village pursuant to record management retention schedules . Executive sessions of Council dealing with union negotiations are closed to the public . Another aspect of the Sunshine Law controls public access to records . These laws can be found in Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes . Records are any Information In any form that comes into the Vlilage . Examples are : letters , bids , minutes , personnel files , computer files and general informationai files in offices . These records can be Inspected by anybody for any reason . The Statutes regulate the charges that can be made for copying of records . The charges include $ . 15 per page and $ . 20 per double sided page . if the request is lengthy , complicated or the format of the copy needs to be altered then the actual cost of reproducing the records can be charged . That includes the salary plus benefits for the the staff" member ' s time while working on the copying project and the cost of the copying . All records must be made available to the public with very few exceptions . Miami Shores policy dictates that all record requests must go through the Village Clerk ' s office or the Village Manager ' s office before records will be released . Reascnanir, is whats controIIIna when it comes to record requests . Genera II y the Village has up to 48 hours to comply wlJ%-`, a. complicated or lengthy request . Most requests shOU ! d be completed within 24 .hours . InformatIon that comes Into VIIIage HaiI regard Ing upcomIng Council action can be viewed first by the Council before It Is distributed to the public . The records must still be made available to the public within 24 hours . Requests for records related to unfinished business must be complied with . Personnel records are available for inspection . Medical Information and some Information for police officers cannot be released . If the material stigmatizes an individual a name clearing hearing must be made available . If you have any questions regarding the Sunshine Law contact the Village Clerk at Village Hall or call 795-2208 . As a closing remark Mr . Meyers stated that when in doubt keep the meeting open . Scott W . Davis Village Clerk iyR! - UIEVLC eJ L f.ICZG C INV 13� _ __.•v iC050 N _ SECONO AVF%UZ C fZORI9�►// M Air SIORES FiOaiOA 33136-2352 TELEPHCNE (3C5) 795-2209 FAX (305) 756-e972 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor William Heffernan Councilman Robert Cook Councilman Michael Boyle Councilman Steve Johnson Councilman Rick Fernandez Attorney William Fann Tom Benton Patricia Varney Michael Zoovas Frank LuBien J.D.Varney Gary Kuhl James Stuart Leslie Forney, Jr. Barry Asmus Maria Temkin Gary Pappas Gregg Adams Stephanie Messana Donna Baxter Lewis Harms Frank Hegedus 'ROM: Michael R. Couzzo, Jr. , Village Manan r/ DATE: February 10 , 1994 RE: Sunshine Law Attached for your review and information, please find Mr. Scott Davis ' memo regarding a seminar he recently attended. The subject of the seminar was Sunshine Laws. I believe the information supplied is relevant with regards to the inherent problem of governing a small, close-knit community such as Miami Shores , insomuch as the Sunshine laws are extremely specific in their strictures . Scott 's attendance at the seminar and subsequent memo is helpful in keeping us aware of the current Statutes . In the near future, Scott will be attending the respective Committee/Board meetings to further explain the Sunshine Laws . MJC:baf cc: Scott Davis MJC-003 i OR� .� eji'.�lc�� IC050 N c SECOND AVEN' f,IOR�� W;A,H; SHORES, FLCRICA 33;3?-23?2 ELEPHCNc x.305) 79S-2209 FAX (3CS) 756-8972 To : MICHAEL COUZZO, VILLAGE MANAGER Subject : SUNSHINE LAW Date : FEBRUARY 8 , 1994 On Friday , February 4th I participated in a half day seminar entitled Government 1n the Sunshine : Issues , Dilerlmas and Changes . The f 1 1 ow i ng I s a surrinary of the presentat ion by Robert- Meyers , attorney with F . Scott Fistel , P .A . Mr . Meyers reviewed the circumstances and situations when meetings crust be publicly noticed and held in the sunshine . He stated that the Sunshine related laws are found in the State Statutes at Chapter 286 .04 and Chapter 119 . It was noted at the seminar that the Sunshine Laws were passed in the mid 1970 ' s to end corruption and that Florida has the most comprehensive set of sunshine laws than any other State and are more comprehensive than the sunshine laws followed by the Federal Government . The Sunshine Laws do not apply to the State Legislature . The Sunshine laws deal with 4 broad areas : Open meetings Policy decisions being made in public Information access Financial Disclosure If two or more members of an advisory board meet to discuss Board related Issues the meeting must be In the sunshine . They cannot talk on the telephone about Board related issues and they cannot have someone act as a go between so they can discuss Board related Issues . Board members cannot distribute memos on their opinions of Board related issues . If a Board member cannot attend a meeting he cannot ask a third party to give his (the Board member ' s) views on a pending Issue . Workshop meetings of the Council must be noticed and held In the sunshine . r " Public notice constitutes posting of a notice preferably , an agenda , that outlines .the meeting time and place and Items to be discussed . The minimum requirements are 24 hours before the meeting . Special Council meetings must be noticed and be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting . Board members elect ( Those appointed but not serving yet ) must abide by the sunshine law with regard to Board business . . Candidate ' s forums do not have to comply with the sunshine Law except if current Council persons attend and discuss issues that may come before the Council . Social events may be attended by any number of Council persons or Board members without violating the Sunshine laws ; however , no VIIIage business may be discussed at that time . Council members may attend Board meetings ; however , if the attendance is known in advance, then the attendance of the Council member should be noted In the agenda of the Board meeting . Inspection trips by Board members or Council members are allowed ; however , no Village business may be discussed . I-Uncheon meetings are generally not to be held if they occur in a restaurant . Food may be served if the meeting is held ir, a meeting haII or communIty facIIIty where people attend 1ng the meet 1ng are not genera 11 'y expected to Durchase food . Meetings may not be held In any facility that restricts access to any group of people. . Meetings must be held in facilities that will hold the reasonably expected number of attendees . Public comment may be restricted as to time and the relevance of the comments . The public may be cut off If they go beyond the stated time or if their comments are not relevant to the discussion at hand . The public may record the meeting If the process Is not disruptive to the meeting . All Board members must vote on every item on the Agenda . The only time a member can abstain from voting is if they declare that they have a conflict of interest and fill out Form 8 and the form is attached to the minutes and becomes a part of the minutes . (Form 8 is available in the Clerks office at Village Hall . ) The use of secret ballots Is prohibited . The public must be able to see how each member voted on an Issue . Closed paper ballots may be used if the recording secretary or Clerk reads the ballots after they are turned in and the results are recorded in the minutes . -- - . ..�., , III==L IIIy, , worKsnops , Special meetings and sub committee meetings must be recorded in the form of minutes . Verbatim minutes are not required . A brief summary is all that Is required . Voice or Video recordings are not required ; however , If they are made they must be retained by the Village pursuant to record management retention schedules . ; Executive sessions of Council dealing with union negotiations are closed to the public . Another aspect of the Sunshine Law controls public access to records . These laws can be found in Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes . Records are any Information in any form that comes into the Village . Examples are : letters , bids , minutes , personnel files , computer files and general informational files in offices . These records can be inspected by anybody for any reason . The Statutes regulate the charges that can be made for copying of records . The charges include $ . 15 per page and $ . 20 per double sided page . If the request is lengthy , complicated or the format of the copy needs to be altered then the actual cost of reproducing the records can be charged . That includes the salary plus benefits for the the staff member ' s time while working on the copying project and the cost of the copying . All records must be made available to the public with very few exceptions . Miami Shores policy dictates that all record requests must go through the Village Clerk ' s office or the Village Manager ' s office before records will be released . Reasonable is Whats controlling when it comes to record requests . Generally the Village has up to 48 hours to comply With a comNllcated or lengthy request . Most requests should be completed within 24 hours . Information that conies Into Village Hall regarding upcoming Council action can be viewed first by the Council before It Is distributed to the public . The records must still be made available to the public within 24 hours . Requests for records related to unfinished business must be complied with . Personnel records are available for inspection . Medical Information and some information for police officers cannot be released . If the material stigmatizes an individual a name clearing hearing must be made available . If you have any questions regarding the Sunshine Law contact the Village Clerk at Village Hall or call 795-2208 . As a closing remark Mr . Meyers stated that when in doubt keep the meeting open . Scott W. Davis Village Clerk