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04-19-16MIN Miami Shores Village 10050 N.E.2nd Avenue Miami Shores, Florida 33138 Tel: (305) 795.2207 Fax: (305) 756.8972 Barbara Estep, MMC Village Clerk MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING The Miami Shores Village Council held their regularly scheduled Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 in the Council Chambers of Village Hall. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM with the following individuals present: PRESENT: Alice Burch Steven Zelkowitz MacAdam Glinn Herta Holly Ivonne Ledesma ALSO PRESENT: Tom Benton, Village Manager Barbara Estep, Village Clerk Richard Sarafan, Village Attorney CONSIDERATIONS 1) VILLAGE CLERK Barbara A. Estep A) RATIFICATION OF THE PBA CONTRACT APPROVED BY THE MEMBERSHIP. Councilwoman Holly moved to ratify the PBA contract as outlined. Vice Mayor Zelkowitz seconded the motion. Labor Attorney, Leonard Carson, reviewed the contract process and recommended ratification of the contract which has been approved by the PBA membership. Council Members voted unanimously to ratify the PBA Contract. 2) CONSENT AGENDA* Barbara A. Estep *Matters included under the Consent Agenda are routine, self-explanatory matters and are not expected to require discussion or review. Items will be enacted by one motion. If discussion is desired by any member of the Council, that item must be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately. If the public wishes to speak on a matter on the Consent Agenda, they must inform the Village Clerk prior to the start of the meeting. They will be recognized to speak prior to the approval of the Consent Agenda. A) APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 5, 2016 COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES. B) AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE COUNCIL, AMENDING THE VILLAGE CODE OF ORDINANCES PERTAINING TO BOARD MEMBERS’ APPOINTMENT AND TERMS FOR THE FOLLOWING: HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE COUNTRY CLUB ADVISORY BOARD PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD (Abbreviated ordinance format for convenience only. Separate ordinances for each Board are presented in Agenda Packet - 1st Readings) C) A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE COUNCIL PERTAINING TO THE FINE ARTS COMMISSION MEMBERS’ APPOINTMENT AND TERMS. D) AN ORDINANCE OF MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 14, SECTION 14-33 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE, INCREASING RATES FOR LOCAL BUSINESS TAX RECEIPTS AS CONTAINED WITHIN THE SCHEDULE OF LOCAL BUSINESS TAXES; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (1st Reading) Ms. Estep read the items contained on the Consent Agenda and provided a brief explanation on the use of the Consent Agenda. Councilwoman Ledesma asked to pull the Library Board of Trustees Ordinance and the Fine Arts Commission Resolution for discussion purposes. Vice Mayor Zelkowitz moved the remainder of the Consent Agenda. Councilwoman Ledesma seconded the motion and the vote was 4 to 1 in favor of the motion with Councilwoman Holly dissenting. Mayor Burch opened the floor for public comment on the Library Board of Trustees Ordinance pulled from the Consent Agenda. Donna Hurtak spoke about the Library Board of Trustees and the importance of continuity for the Board. Councilwoman Ledesma spoke of the confusion with having different terms for different Boards and believes that uniformity is important to allow for more participation by the residents. Council discussed Board terms in general and Mr. Sarafan reminded the Council that unlike the majority of the Boards, the Library Board serves as a quasi-independent agency of the Village and that is possibly why the Library Board has a stated term of 5 years. A number of motions were made which were seconded and amended, and subsequently withdrawn following additional discussions. Ultimately, Councilman Glinn moved to amend the Code to provide for the Library Board of Trustees appointees to have 4- year terms, and a term limit of two 4-year terms. Term limited individuals will vacate their position for a minimum of two years before becoming eligible to once again serve on the Library Board. Vice Mayor Zelkowitz seconded the motion and the vote was 3 – 2 in favor of the motion with Councilwoman Holly and Councilwoman Ledesma voting against the motion. Mayor Burch opened discussion on term limits for the Fine Arts Commission, and Councilwoman Ledesma reiterated her thoughts regarding uniformity and simplicity. Councilwoman Ledesma suggested the terms for the Fine Arts Commission be reduced to 2 year terms with an 8 year term limit. Mayor Burch opened the floor for public comment. Susan Ackley indicated that when people apply to a Board they are passionate about that Board and know what to expect regarding the terms. Elizabeth Cowen Ms. Cowen spoke about her confusion as she thought the terms were all going to be uniform. She stated that the Council should give everyone a chance. Molly Corville Ms. Corville spoke of ensuring people appointed to Boards care about the service the Board performs. Mayor Burch closed public comment. Councilwoman Ledesma moved to amend the proposed Resolution regarding the Fine Arts Commission to provide for 2-year terms and a term limit of 8 years; and to vacate the position for one 2-year term before becoming eligible to again serve on the Commission. Councilman Glinn seconded the motion and the vote was 3 to 2 in favor of the motion with Mayor Burch and Councilwoman Holly voting against the motion. 3) VILLAGE MANAGER Tom Benton A) APPROVAL OF ENTRANCEWAY LANDSCAPING PROJECT SELECTION COMMITTEE’S RANKINGS. Mr. Benton provided information regarding the landscaping project and the process the Village Administration followed in short-listing and ranking the firms which responded to the Request for Qualifications. Mr. Benton recommended the Council approve the Selection Committee’s rankings, which ranked the firm of Miller Legg as first. Vice Mayor Zelkowitz moved to approve the Selection Committee’s rankings. Councilwoman Holly seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous in favor of the motion. 4) VILLAGE COUNCIL Councilwoman Ledesma A) DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING RESCHEDULING THE VISIONING WORKSHOP AND THE FORMAT OF THE MEETING. Public Comment regarding this issue was entertained prior to any Council discussion. Elizabeth Cowen Ms. Cowen spoke of the conflict with Passover and asked that the Council be respectful of other’s faith and religion. She spoke of the work involved in preparing the holiday meal and equated the holiday to Easter or Christmas for the Christian faith. Molly Corville Ms. Corville expressed her belief that the scheduling conflict was not purposeful but thought that the date could be changed to encourage more public participation. Mayor Burch closed public comment. Councilwoman Ledesma suggested and urged the Council to change the date to either May 7th or June 4th as those dates coincide with the facilitator’s availability. She expressed her opinion that the date should be changed in sensitivity to the community, indicating that she had received calls from a number of residents asking that the meeting date be changed. Vice Mayor Zelkowitz and Councilman Glinn responded to Councilwoman Ledesma’s comments stating that they had spoken to a large number of people that did not object to holding the meeting on Saturday morning as Passover is an evening event on Friday and in some families, also observed on Saturday evening. A lengthy discussion amongst the Council ensued regarding their views, with Vice Mayor Zelkowitz and Councilman Glinn indicating that they had heard from one person only with respect to a concern with the meeting date. At the conclusion of the discussions, Vice Mayor Zelkowitz, Mayor Burch, Councilwoman Holly and Councilman Glinn stated that they would prefer to go forward and have the meeting as originally scheduled on Saturday, April 23rd. Councilwoman Ledesma indicated that she has a conflict and is considering not attending. With respect to the format of the meeting, Mr. Benton advised that he had spoken to Dr. Lee who indicated that there are many different formats that could facilitate the meeting and suggested hearing from the public at the beginning of the meeting, have Council discussions and input and then public comment once more prior to a Council consensus being reached. The Council believes that the stated format would be acceptable. B) DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING UPDATING THE VILLAGE BOARD/COMMITTEE APPLICATION. Councilwoman Ledesma introduced the item and referred to her memorandum to point out a few suggestions that she believes could be considered for amending the application. Mayor Burch reviewed information currently on the application. Council Members discussed other suggestions contained in Councilwoman Ledesma’s memorandum and at the conclusion of the discussions, the Council reached agreement to have the application modified to delete the requirement of listing Birth Place, add language to encourage submitting a resume along with the application, and to have the application be available to complete and submit via the Village’s webpage. 5) ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Estep distributed the Council’s $1 annual check and read the announcements. 6) PUBLIC COMMENTS (3 Minute Time Limit Per Speaker) Elizabeth Cowen Ms. Cowen voiced her appreciation of Vice Mayor Zelkowitz’s comments regarding celebrating Jewish holidays. Cecilia Renez Ms. Renez spoke of the Passover holiday’s timeframes. Sylvia Peraza Ms. Peraza expressed her opinion that conducting the Visioning session on a Jewish holiday is a disservice and her belief that changing the date of the meeting wouldn’t hurt anybody. 7) COUNCIL COMMENTS Ivonne Ledesma Councilwoman Ledesma expressed her disappointment that the Visioning Session was not moved as she didn’t think that changing the date was going to be a problem and she has since made another commitment. MacAdam Glinn Councilman Glinn indicated that the Visioning Session needs to be held in order for the Village to prioritize and evaluate the many pending projects. Herta Holly Councilwoman Holly spoke of Mayor Burch’s participation in the Good Governance Initiative and the many instances for which the Mayor represents the Village. She further expressed condolences to the Williams family, one of the founders of North Shore Hospital for their loss. Steven Zelkowitz Vice Mayor Zelkowitz spoke of listening to residents and addressing their initiatives. He urged residents to contact the Council directly, via e-mail or telephone, rather than posting comments on social media and depending on those outlets for communication with the Council. Alice Burch Mayor Burch spoke of and thanked the group from the Presbyterian Church for painting the Community Center Fence as a Lenten project. She announced that the Village, and more specifically the Public Works Department, was the recipient of a Miami Dade County, Neat Streets Award for Grand Concourse. Mayor Burch also congratulated Doctors Charter School Track Team Coach Morales on advancing to the Regionals. 8) ADJOURNMENT The Tuesday, April 19, 2016 Council Meeting was adjourned at 7:49 PM. _______________________ ________________________ Alice Burch, Mayor Barbara A. Estep, MMC Village Clerk