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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/24/1993. MINUTES ATTACHED BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA A -G E N D A JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING - VERO BEACH CITY COUNCIL AND BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1993- - 9:00 A.M. - FIRST FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING 1840 25TH STREET VERO BEACH, FLORIDA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Richard N. Bird, Chairman (Dist. 5) John W. Tippin, Vice Chairman (Dist. 4) Fran B. Adams - (Dist. 1) Carolyn K. Eggert (Dist. 2) Kenneth R. Macht (Dist. 3) CITY COUNCIL Jay Smith, Mayor Caroline Ginn Jack Grossett William Jordan Carl Pease DISCUSSION OF TOURIST TAX James E. Chandler, County Administrator Charles P. Vitunac. County Attorney Jeffrey K. Barton, Clerk to the Board Tom Nason, Acting City Manager Larry Braisted, City Attorney Phyllis Neuberger, City Clerk ANYONE WHO MAY WISH TO APPEAL ANY DECISION WHICH MAY BE MADE AT THIS MEETING WILL NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE WHICH INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL WILL BE BASED. ANYONE WHO NEEDS A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION FOR THIS MEETING MAY CONTACT THE COUNTY'S AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) COORDINATOR AT 567-8000 X 408 AT LEAST 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF MEETING. JUN 24 1993 Boor 89 SPECIAL JOINT 14EETING June 24, 1993 The Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County, Florida, met in a Special Joint Meeting with the Vero Beach City council in the First Floor Conference Room of the County Administration Building, 1840 25th Street, Vero Beach, Florida, on Thursday, June 24, 1993, at 9:00 o'clock A.M. Present were Richard N. Bird, Chairman; John W. Tippin, Vice Chairman; Fran B. Adams; Carolyn K. Eggert; and Kenneth R. Macht. Also present were James E. Chandler, County Administrator; Charles P. Vitunac, County Attorney; and Barbara Bonnah, Deputy Clerk. Present from the City of Vero Beach were Jay Smith, Mayor; Caroline Ginn, Vice Mayor; Councilmen Jack Grossett, William Jordan, and Carl Pease; Tom Nason, Acting City Manager; Larry Braisted, City Attorney; and Phyllis Neuberger, City Clerk. Chairman Bird called the meeting to order. DISCUSSION OF TOURIST TAX County Administrator Jim Chandler recounted that the Board requested a meeting with the Vero Beach City Council to discuss the Tourist Development Council's allocations and to try to arrive at a general or conceptual agreement for the future. one of the most prevalent suggestions has been that a dedication of funds be made to the beach project. There has been a great deal of optimism and interest on the Prefabricated Erosion Protection (PEP) reef project being done for the Town of Palm Beach. The consultant's report on the study being done by Coastal Technology for Indian River County's Beach & Shore Preservation Advisory Committee (BSPAC) is due in September. Another suggestion has been to increase the tourist development tax by an additional cent and preliminary numbers show an additional cent would generate about $175,,000 annually. For bonding purposes, it appears $1.875 million would be available for construction, but those are very preliminary figures. The BSPAC is considering the alternatives and by September, we will have specifics on alternatives and costs. Mayor Jay Smith believed that the City Council generally would be in favor with what is known as the "Little Plan," which would be to pledge District #1 income, its fair share, for up to 20 years to pay of f a bond. This plan would allow a fast track approach to putting in a PEP reef . He felt it goes without saying JUN 24 1991, BOOK 8 9 F,�,b r- .9 4 5 9 A �Q BOOK 89 PAU.946 that the City was a little disturbed at the distribution of the tourist tax funds this year to the point that the majority of the Council was on the verge of taking some action to force a referendum to withdraw District #1 from the tourist tax situation. He felt the City would be in favor of such a project if we could come to a conceptual agreement where the City would pledge its fair share of the tourist tax, whether that is two or three cents, to pay off these bonds over a 20 year period. Chairman Bird asked Commissioner Adams, who chairs the Beach Shore Preservation Advisory Committee (BSPAC) if there is any chance of getting some federal funding for the PEP reef project. commissioner Adams agreed that the "Little Plan" would allow us to fast track the PEP reef project. The permitting process would be the same. The only stumbling block might be that the Army Corps of Engineers considers this as an experimental project and they don't like to fund experimental projects. That is their policy problem, but she felt that we have had excellent response from senators and representatives who are beginning to see the damages of some of the other methods being used to protect the shoreline and the stifling of energies being put into new technology. The lobbying process has begun to get policy changed so that all of the money Palm Beach put into the reef will be refunded by the federal government. We are working towards that also, and hopefully we can get a policy change and the reef project can be funded just like regular sand pumping. All the members of BSPAC have seen the Palm Beach reef project and feel very comfortable that it will work here and that it is the best technology available. From that aspect, we won't know the alternatives until Mike Walther of Coastal Technology Corp. finishes his report in September. There has been no argument brought up for any other method. She felt if we were to levy the additional one cent tourist tax, it probably would speed up the process by one year with the permitting. The critical *spots are the beaches in Vero Beach and Wabasso. Mayor Jay Smith advised that the project would cost approximately $2 -million to protect 2500 feet which would cover Humiston Beach and Conn Beach with a gap by the Spires. One of the benefits of the PEP reef in Palm Beach is there has been substantial sand accretion to the south of the project and some to the north. The Council is in agreement on allocating up to 1 or 1- 1/2 of District #1 money to defease a bond issue and earmarking any money that is recouped from state or federal funding into an escrow account, controlled by the County, for beach maintenance and future beach restoration. F, Commissioner Adams felt that the beach committee would agree to that because it benefits tourism and recreation. Of course, the main goal of the project is to protect the shoreline. County Administrator Jim Chandler understood that the Town of Palm Beach reef project was done at a cost of $500 a foot. Due to the unknowns, we expect our project cost to be $600 a foot. Public Works Director Jim Davis advised that is just for construction costs and does not include permitting and monitoring costs. There were 3 permits obtained for the Palm Beach project. Mayor Smith felt that the Vero Beach engineering department probably could take on the monitoring. He hoped that the experience gained through the consideration of the sand pumping method could help us do this project in 12 or 14 months rather than 18 months. Chairman Bird understood that if w� stayed with the two cent tax, it would require a major reallocation of the Tourist Development Council's funding. Commissioner Eggert had two concerns, the first one being that we continue with a good program of advertising to attract tourists to happy Vero Beach and its beaches, and the second is not to slow down the beach protection project. She believed that everyone from the County f eels that the better solution is to go to the third cent. Apparently, Brevard County is going to a fourth cent which can be used to fund a sports complex. She felt it is important to go forward with this. Former Vero Beach city manager John Little understood that the State of Florida picked up a great deal of the monitoring costs f or the Palm Beach project, so it is probable that they would do the same for Indian River County. He advised that there are scads of drawings available that were done by the Army Corps of Engineers on the sand pumping project, and if that project had been done many years ago, it would have cost about $4 million. Mr. Little pointed out that the sand source for renourishment of the beaches was never acceptable. He strongly suggested that BSPAC take advantage of all the wealth of material that has gathered over the years. He felt we can have a good project by going from the fishing pier at the Vero Beach Inn to Humiston Park, but dropping out the section between the Spires and the south end of Conn Beach because it is not public property and we need some way to cut funds. If our information is correct that there is a great deal of down drift benefit from the PEP reef, that gap in the middle probably will fill itself. However, if you look at doing those areas, you are looking at $3.6 million, not $2 million. Mr. Little strongly suggest several courses of action: 51 L- JUN 2`4 1001 BOOK 89 P-nuF 947 F-- J U N 2 A 10 a", 1) 2) BOOK 89 FAGF 948 -1 Research the changes in State law pertaining to use of tourist taxes. Bring our ordinance into compliance with State law. 3) Pass the additional one cent tax and be sure that the language in the ordinance meets State law and provides the flexibility that is needed. Mr. Little stressed that there is no purpose in advertising for tourists if there are no beaches for them to enjoy. Mr. Little also suggested that the County rescind its previous decision on the tourist tax allocation and reallocate $80,0000-$100,000 of the current money to the BSPAC so that they will have $50,000 front money plus whatever else is needed to proceed with the PEP reef permitting process so that we don't have to wait until the ordinance to levy an additional one cent becomes effective in September or October. He f elt that still gives the Chamber of Commerce more than they need or expected to get. Commissioner Adams stated that the primary reason to restore the beach is for storm protection and because of that there is a certain commitment of the property owners on the barrier island to contribute to this. She really believed that we need to consider creating an erosion control taxing district for those - areas benefiting from storm protection. She didn't feel we should fund the whole thing. Those are things the BSPAC will be looking at. George Gross, former staff member of the City's beach committee, advised that a certain amount of money is needed to get the engineering started. He felt we need anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 now in order to get an engineering firm started on collecting the needed data to get construction started by next year. Councilman Jordan asked why we don't have sufficient data considering the fact we have been studying this problem for 20 years. Mr. Gross explained that we found out that we don't have reefs formed from crustaceans, we have rocks. Another unknown is the distance from shore for which the County would be responsible. The $10,000 study basically took a few pictures, and we need to know the distance to take it from the water line out to a minus 10 feet and the bottom conditions at that exact point. He noted that the Palm Beach project is about 200 feet off shore at a point of minus 9 feet. Commissioner Adams explained that if the sand builds up from the shoreline over the years, the reef can be moved further out. She was not in favor of reallocating the Tourist Development 4 M M M Council funds, but would support an additional one cent tax. She would like to see us take advantage of this opportunity now and investigate setting up an erosion control taxing district later on. Mayor Smith reiterated that the City is looking for conceptual agreement from the County Commission to dedicate t o the beach project up to 50 percent of the money that normally would have been allocated to District #1. Lengthy discussion ensued regarding the feasibility of reallocating the Tourist Development Council funds, and Mr. Little recommended that $80,000-$100,000 be reallocated immediately to fund the engineering that is needed. Attorney Vitunac confirmed that the State law says you cannot take more -than 50 percent of the total take of the District #1 tax for a beach project. Mr. Little could not imagine a greater priority than saving the beach, especially after 20 years of talk. Joe Baird, county OMB Director, didn't anticipate a bond issue for at least two years because the project has to be done through a systematic process. He expected to see it in the 1994-95 fiscal year funds; however, we would need money in the 1993-94 fiscal year for engineering studies. Mr. Nason suggested making a bond issue declaration of intent where we could recoup the expenses of the bond issue. He felt we could be ready by next summer, providing that the permitting is obtained. That would mean we must have the source of money in place, which means the bond issue would be no later than the fall of next year. He understood the consultant wants $50,000 up front to get him started and that is what he is asking from Indian River County. Mr. Little felt that Commissioner Adams' beach committee should get together with the reef people to see what is needed and when. Commissioner Macht asked why we need Michael Walther's study now, and it was explained that the Corps needs to know the distances from the water line to the reef. J. B. Norton of the Vero Beach/Indian River County Chamber of Commerce stated that they are not ready to give up any of the money that was allocated, but if the County wants to revisit this matter to set up an additional one cent to get something going, they would be willing to sit down this afternoon to discuss it. They, too, are anxious to see the reef project built as soon as possible. Deputy County Attorney Will Collins advised that if we adopt an ordinance for an additional one cent tourist tax in July, it will become effective September 1, 1993. If we adopt it in August, 5 JUN 24 RM BOOK 89 PAGE 949 'A 2 4 1� 5`11-11,3 BOOK 89 PAGE. 950 it will become effective October 1, 1993. To adopt an ordinance of this type, 4 of the 5 Commissioners must vote in favor of it. Councilwoman Caroline Ginn asked, and Commissioner Adams confirmed that the BSPAC is in agreement on the PEP reef. Commissioner Tippin, chairman of the Tourist Development Council, was thrilled to hear the cooperation that was oozing here today. He f elt that to go back and reallocate the tourist tax funds would open up a real big bag of worms. He supported the complete dedication of an additional one cent tourist tax towards the beach project, which he understands would bring in $175,000 annually. Commissioner Adams introduced Dr. William Stronge of Regional Research Associates in Boca Raton who suggested that in addition to the allocation of an additional one cent to the beach, that the ordinance be revised to set aside a portion of the revenues for advertising in order to avoid conflicts. Director Baird explained that the $50,000 up front money could be handled with the cash flow. Attorney Collins advised that if we went with the engineer on the Palm Beach project, the County's purchasing rules require that we follow the Consultants Competitive Negotiations Act (CCNA); however, there are circumstances where that can be waived. Chairman Bird stated he would feel more comfortable in voting for an ordinance levying an additional one cent tax if the Board had a recommendation to that effect from the Tourist Development council. Councilman Jack Grossett inquired about the money currently allocated to the beach project, and Commissioner Adams advised that those funds have been committed and are not available for the up front engineering money. MOTION WAS MADE by Commissioner Eggert, SECONDED by Commissioner Adams, that the Board agree to the concept of dedicating up to half of the tourist tax revenues to secure revenue bonds for beaches and restoration; that we proceed to public hearing in July to adopt an ordinance levying an additional one percent tourist tax, effective September 1, 1993; and ask BSPAC to continue their work towards what looks like a positive reaction to the PEP reef and to research setting up an erosion control beach taxing district. 6 Under discussion, Commissioner Eggert stressed that she was not talking about revisiting a reallocation because she agreed with Director Baird that we could handle the $50,000 that is needed up front from the cash flow. THE CHAIRMAN CALLED FOR THE QUESTION. The Motion was voted on and carried unanimously. Discussion took place on how the ordinance should be written, and Mr. Little suggested the language, "shall be pledged up to 50 percent." Chairman Bird thanked everyone for coming and for their cooperation and felt this meeting would go down in history. Commissioner Macht wanted to extend our thanks to John Little and George Gross for all their input and effort through the years. Mayor Smith reiterated the City's hopes of fast -tracking this project and that any reimbursement would be pledged toward a special fund for maintaining the beaches. Commissioner Macht suggested that after the final decision is made to go with a PEP reef, that we send a joint resolution to the State stating our intentions. There being no further business, on Motion duly made, seconded and carried, the Board adjourned at 10:25 o'clock A.M. ATTEST: J. K. Barton, Clerk 7 JUN 24 1993 r Z&fa��� Richard N. Bird, Chairman U bom 89 PA,E 951