City Commission Meeting Summary -April 7, 2009
The City Commission met in regular session and took the following action (with Commissioner Katz participating by telephone):
Item 1 - Mayor Marks presented a proclamation to the North Florida Christian School Football Team, the Eagles, for their success as the 2008 Class A State Football Champions
Item 2 - Received an update on a new initiative, Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD), including the Full Scale Exercise - Hurricane Unison, presented by Mr. Chris Floyd, COAD Coordinator for the American Red Cross (brought forward by Emergency Management)
Items 3-5 and 7 - Voted 4-0 (Commissioner Katz absent) to approve the staff's recommendations presented in Consent Agenda Items 3-5 and 7, taking the following action:
Item 3 - Approved the acceptance and expenditure of a FDLE Project Safe Neighborhood Grant, in the amount of $14,190, to expand efforts to take guns off the streets; a U.S. Department of Justice grant, in the amount of $3,886, to purchase bulletproof vests; and the acceptance of up to $37,767 from Leon County for reimbursement of department operating expenses for Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training (Option 1 recommended by Tallahassee Police Department [TPD])
Item 4 - Approved the Selection Committee's ranking for a General Planning Consultant (GPC) to provide multimodal transportation planning assistance to StarMetro on a variety of projects, such as the decentralization of the StarMetro route structure, RFQ No. 0053-09-BM-RC, and authorized the City Manager or her designee to execute the related general contracts with the top-ranked firm, Renaissance Planning Group - for an estimated cost of $100,000 annually over a three-year period (Option 1 recommended by StarMetro)
Item 5 - Approved a StarMetro purchase of 14 Dial-A-Ride replacement vans and related equipment from Transit Plus, Inc., pursuant to State Contract FVPP-08-SC-TP, for a price of $74,943 each, totaling $1,049,202, with funds from the 2009 Section 5307 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant allocation via (Option 1 recommended by StarMetro)
Item 6 - DELETED FROM THE AGENDA the approval of Resolution No. 09-R-090, authorizing issuance of Capital Improvement Refunding Bonds (an item brought forward by the City Treasurer-Clerk)
Item 7 - Approved the minutes of the February 11, 2009, Regular City Commission Meeting (recommended by the City Treasurer-Clerk/Records Management Officer)
Items 8-14 - By consensus, introduced Ordinances Nos. 09-Z-10, 09-Z-12, 09-Z-14, 09-Z-15, 09-O-16, 09-O-18 and 09-O-21, and set the ordinances for public hearings, as follows:
Item 8 - Introduced 967 Briarcliff Road Rezoning Ordinance No. 09-Z-10, which would rezone 0.64 acres located on the east end of Briarcliff Road at the intersection of East Tennessee Street and Briarcliff Road from OR-1 (Office Residential-1) to OR-1 with Historic Preservation Overlay (HPO), and to add the property to the Local Register of Historic Places (PRZ #090003) (owner/applicant: Joseph Weil); and set the public hearing date on the ordinance for April 22, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by Planning).
Item 9 - Introduced Harmony Oaks PUD Amendment Rezoning Ordinance No. 09-Z-12, which would amend the existing PUD Concept Plan, consisting of 17.32 acres located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Crawfordville Road and Whittaker Road, increasing the acreage in the commercial component from 2.25 to 3.57 acres and adding two new uses to the list of permitted uses; dividing the residential into Residential I, consisting of 6.82 acres, allowing single-family attached and single-family detached uses, and Residential 2, consisting of 2.03 acres, allowing single-family attached, single-family detached and multi-family uses; revising the development standards of the commercial and residential components; and providing two new points of access to the project (PRZ #090004) (applicant: Matt J. Raitz); and set the public hearing date on the ordinance for April 22, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by Planning).
Item 10 - Introduced Ghazvini - Riggins Rezoning Ordinance No. 09-Z-14, which would rezone a 1.1-acre parcel located at 2811 Industrial Plaza Drive from M-1 (Light Industrial) to CP (Commercial Parkway) (applicant: Ghazvini-Riggins Road Partnership; agent: Moore Bass Consulting, Inc.) (PRZ #090005); and set the public hearing date on the ordinance for April 22, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by Planning).
Item 11 - Introduced 117 Henderson Road Rezoning Ordinance No. 09-Z-15, which would rezone 4.65 acres located at 117 Henderson Road from RP-1 (Residential Preservation-1) to RP-2 (Residential Preservation-2) (applicant: Prime Meridian Properties, LLC; agent: Inovia Consulting Group) (PRZ #090006); and set the public hearing date on the ordinance for April 22, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by Planning).
Item 12 - Introduced Alcoholic Beverages Code Amendment Ordinance No. 09-O-16, which would require establishments with special restaurant licenses to close between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., just as other alcoholic beverage vendors were required to do; and set the public hearing date on the ordinance for April 22, 1009 (Option 1 recommended by the City Attorney).
Item 13 - Introduced Central Urban Code Amendment Ordinance No. 09-O-18, which would update the CU (Central Urban) Zoning Districts, repeal obsolete code sections, and finalize the CU rezoning project (PTX #090003); and set public hearing dates on the ordinance for April 22 and May 27, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by Planning).
Item 14 - Introduced Stormwater Retrofit Code Amendment Ordinance No. 09-O-21, which would amend Chapter 5, Environmental Management, in the Land Development Code to waive some requirements for certain governmental stormwater retrofit projects (streamlining and fast tracking stormwater retrofit projects); and set public hearing on the ordinance for April 22, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by the City Attorney)
Item 15 - Received a Power Point presentation on a City of Tallahassee Carbon Footprint & Carbon Reduction Plan, which would include emissions from Hopkins and Purdom Generating Stations; net electric purchases (purchases minus sales); Fleet vehicles and associated fossil fuel fired equipment; natural gas sales; and water/wastewater treatment operations; and, at a minimum, the Carbon Reduction Action Plan would include the implementation of an Energy Reduction plan and policy for City buildings, an Anti-Idling Policy for the City fleet, enhanced recycling efforts, increased use of alternative fuel vehicles, continued evaluation of biosolids gasification technologies for the Wastewater Treatment Facilities, and targeted education and awareness for staff and citizens (brought forward by Environmental Policy and Energy Resources).
The Commission suggested that the staff bring back a scaled-down brief on available alternatives, an analysis on future needs for power generation, and what assistance could be derived from "Cap and Trade" legislation (auction of emission credits).
The Commission also suggested that information be provided on the impact of the landfill and any other major contributing sources that were not included in the area's carbon footprint; the impact of changing from buses using diesel fuel to a cleaner fuel; a template of alternative renewable or alternative forms of energy available, and information on available grant funds to buy them down, how to satisfy environmental and/or regulatory cost, and what generating units could be taken off line with a renewable substitute; and consideration of an open RFP.
The City Manager indicated that details of recommendations by the Energy Efficiency Task Team would be provided to the Commission.
Item 16 - Voted 5-0 (Commissioner Katz voting telephonically) to approve an exception to the Concurrency Manual and allow the Public Safety Complex Project to move forward with a Limited Partition, separating the Public Safety Complex from the remainder of the Tom Brown Park property before the concurrency analysis is completed - supporting the concept of "fast tracking" public sector projects (Option 1 recommended by Growth Management)
Item 17 - Voted 5-0 (Commissioner Katz voting telephonically) to adopt Ordinance No. 09-Z-02AA, introduced on February 11, 2009, amending the Ox Bottom Meadows Planned Unit Development (PUD) Concept Plan, based on the findings and conditions of the Development Review Committee, the Planning Commission, the information contained in the agenda item, and evidence presented, as amended to include additional conditions -- a public hearing was conducted on February 25, 2009, at which time action was continued and subsequently continued from March 11 and March 25, 2009 (Option 1 recommended by Planning)
Item 18 - Voted 4-0 (Commissioner Katz absent) to approve a Homeowner Rehabilitation Program Loan for an amount not to exceed $50,000, with the terms described in the agenda item, to be used for the construction of a new home as specified in the proposal from the First Baptist Church of Tallahassee (Option 1 recommended by Economic & Community Development)
The Commission concurred in directing staff to bring to the appropriate Target Issue Committee an initiative that would reconsider the City's policy of not funding housing rebuilds to allow a policy of allowing rebuilds to provide less expensive, more basic shelter, i.e. a safe minimal home, that would help more families.
Item 19 - By consensus, deferred action until passage of pending legislation on a staff recommendation to establish a project in the Airport's Capital Improvement Program for the DRI Substantial Deviation, appropriate $600,000 to that project from Airport Undesignated RR&I funds, and authorize staff to enter into an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for $298,592 to coordinate the Substantial Deviation (Option 1 recommended by Aviation)
Item 20 - Voted 4-0 (Commissioner Katz absent) to approve application for a FY09 Justice Assistance Grant based on the recommended allocation of funding and schedule a public hearing on April 22, 2009, to meet Federal program requirements (Option 1 recommended by TPD)
Target Issue Committee Updates
Long Range Planning
Commissioner Gillum advised that the Long Range Planning Target Issue Committee had discussed recent gang activity and would like to request an update from the Police Chief on whether any protocol changes were being made in the way TPD was handling late night gatherings.
Chief Jones advised that TPD was re-evaluating its prior practice of not going onto private property to clear a crowd, except for making sure there was egress and ingress, unless requested by the owner. He stated that there were two or three locations where crowds of 25 to 75 people congregated on weekends after the local clubs were closed, and he advised that while TPD would not break any laws, TPD was expecting cooperation by the owners and expected to have their permission to clear crowds. Chief Jones also advised that TPD was monitoring gang members and taking a more aggressive stance on known gang members.
The Commission requested that Chief Jones follow-up with a report on the mix of people in the late night crowds and whether alcohol was being consumed.
Item 21 - DELETED FROM THE AGENDA the second public hearing on the Second Amendment to the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital New Facility Development Agreement (an item brought forward by the City Attorney) - rescheduled to April 22, 2009.
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