City Commission Meeting Summary - February 13, 2008
The City Commission met in regular session and took the following action:
Item 1 – Presented a proclamation recognizing the month of February as American Heart Month to Mr. Joshua Pierce, Executive Director of the Big Bend Heart Association
Item 2 - Recognized participants of the Tallahassee Active Lifelong Learners Program
Item 3 - Presented a proclamation recognizing the Leon High School Cross Country Team winning the State Championship, accepted by Coach Allison Eagen on behalf of the team
Item 4 - Presented a proclamation recognizing February 17-23, 2008, as National Engineers Week
Item 5 - Presented a proclamation recognizing the employees of the Corn Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Sam O. Purdom Power Plant on achieving exceptional safety milestones
Items 6-19 – Voted 5-0 to approve the staff's recommendations presented in Consent Agenda Items 6-19, taking the following action:
Item 6 – Adopted Ordinance No. 07-O-38, introduced on December 12, 2007, with public hearing held on January 23, 2008, annexing into the City the Capital Walk Apartments and adjacent property, consisting of approximately 17 acres located west of Capital Circle Northwest and south of Commonwealth Boulevard, plus an adjacent seven (7) acres owned by the Florida Department of Transportation and used as a stormwater facility for Capital Circle Northwest roadway improvements, with the effective date of the annexation delayed until the Capital Walk Apartments development has been accepted by the County (the development consists of nine three-story apartment buildings, office, pool, maintenance building and parking areas, which will be accessed via the western extension of Commonwealth Boulevard) (Option 1 as recommended by the Mayor's Office)
Item 7 – Adopted Resolution No. 08-R-04, authorizing the initiation of eminent domain action to acquire Parcels 101 and 701 from the estate of Cornelia Porter Hillard, necessary for the Wahnish Way and Orange Avenue Intersection Improvement Project (as recommended by the City Attorney)
Item 8 – Approved the award of a three-year contract for carpet cleaning services at the Tallahassee Regional Airport Main Terminal Facility to Associated Services and Supplies, Inc., low bidder meeting specifications, in the amount of $240,240 for the contract term, with two one-year options to extend the agreement for a total of five (5) years (Option 1 as recommended by Aviation)
Item 9 – Approved the award of a contract for the power transformer rewiring portion of the Hopkins Unit 2 Repowering Project (IFB #0187-07-RM-BC) to Emerson Process Management Electrical Reliability Services, Inc., low bidder meeting specifications, in an amount not to exceed $325,000, including a contingency of $35,458, and approved the appropriation of funding from the RR&I Undesignated Fund balance (Option 1 as recommended by Electric Utility)
Item 10 – Approved the purchase of six (6) single-phase regulators (Quote #0045-08-RM-QP), including optional Envirotemp FR3 insulating fluid, from HD Supply, low quote meeting specifications based on local preference, at a cost of $97,572.18 (Option 1 as recommended by Electric Utility)
Item 11 – Approved funding for additional emergency work due to concealed damage in the Substation BP-10 Transformer Bank 2 LTC, in the amount of $3,197.52, and approved the revised total purchase order to Waukesha Electric Systems, Inc., in the amount of $53,097.52 (P. O. #0001026074) (Option 1 as recommended by Electric Utility)
Item 12 – Approved (i) ratification of the City Manager's emergency authorization to award repairs to Elliot, in the amount of $193,882, and transfer of $80,000 from Project 08010 – Purdom Major/Minor to Project 07092 – Purdom Unit 7 Overhaul; (ii) award of the steam turbine generator (STG) reassembly to Elliott, in the amount of $118,620; (iii) approved additional supplemental funding, in the amount of $250,000 (including $80,000 reimbursement to Project 08010 – Purdom Major/Minor and $170,000 to Project 07082 – Purdom Unit 7 Turbine Overhaul) (Option 1 as recommended by Electric Utility)
Item 13 – Approved the award of three-year contracts for the purchase of safety shoes (IFB #0033-08-ER-BC) to Carroll's Boot Country of Tallahassee, Inc., and The Shoe Box of Tallahassee, Inc., low bidders meeting specifications, for total combined estimated expenditures of $360,000 for the life of the contracts (Option 1 as recommended by Procurement Services)
Item 14 – Approved the award of a contract for the completion of glass block repairs at the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) Headquarters Building to Rippee Construction, the company already performing services at that site, in the amount of $53,967, and authorized the transfer of $60,000 from the TPD Gating and Fencing Project to support this expenditure (Option 1 as recommended by TPD)
Item 15 – Authorized an expenditure of $75,000 from the Federal Asset Forfeiture Fund to support the second phase of renovations to the TPD forensic crime laboratory (Option 1 as recommended by TPD)
Item 16 – Approved the award of a construction contract for the Governor's Square Boulevard Widening Project (Bid #0047-08-ER-BC) to M of Tallahassee, Inc., low bidder meeting specifications, in the amount of $917,964.75 for the Base Bid; also approved a non-scope construction change order contingency in the amount of $80,000 and $148,005.83 for the Additive Alternate, to be awarded by the City Manager if needed for these contractual services (Option 1 as recommended by Public Works/Engineering)
Item 17 – Adopted Resolution No. 08-R-03, requesting two easements from the Florida A & M University Board of Trustees through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund – necessary for the Orange Avenue and Wahnish Way Intersection Project (Option 1 as recommended by Public Works/Real Estate)
Item 18 – Approved the award and execution of a construction contract for the C. K. Steele Bus erminal Driveway Repair Project (IFB #0057-08-ER-BC) to Allen's Excavation, Inc., low bidder meeting specifications, in the base bid amount of $317,250 (Option 1 as recommended by StarMetro)
Item 19 – Approved the minutes of the following City Commission meetings as distributed (as recommended by the City Treasurer-Clerk/Records Management):
- January 9, 2008 Regular Meeting
- January 15, 2008 Regular Target Issue Workshop Meeting
Items 20-23 – By consensus, introduced Ordinances Nos. 08-O-07, 08-O-11, 08-O-12 and 08-O-15, as follows:
Item 20 was the introduction of Ordinance No. 08-O-07, which would amend the Water and Sewer Affordable Housing Exemption Provisions of the City of Tallahassee Code of General Ordinances, set for public hearing on February 27, 2008 (Option 1 as recommended by Neighborhood and Community Services [NCS]).
Item 21 was the introduction of Ordinance No. 08-O-11, which would amend the DI Institutional/Cultural/University Transition areas District, designating additional properties subject to design review by the Urban Design Commission (UDC) and establishing UDC procedures in the Land Development Code, set for public hearings on February 27 and March 26, 2008 (Option 1 as recommended by Planning).
Item 22 was the introduction of Ordinance No. 08-O-12, which would expand the notice requirements for land use map changes and rezonings from 500 feet to 1,000 feet in the Land Development Code, set for public hearing on February 27, 2008 (Option 1 as recommended by Planning).
Item 23 was the introduction of Ordinance No. 08-O-15, which would revise the Board of Adjustment and Appeals hearing procedures, set for public hearing on February 27, 2008 (Option 1 as recommended by the City Attorney).
Item 24 – Voted 5-0 to confirm the City's commitment to co-sponsor the Leon County Climate Action Summit scheduled for March 28, 2008 at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., for the purpose of creating awareness and promoting conservation strategies in Tallahassee to help reduce the region's contribution to global warming, and the City's pledge of $10,000 from the City's Demand Side Management (DSM) Program as an "Ocean" level sponsor for this Summit
Item 25 – Voted 5-0 to accept the proposed 2009 Federal Legislative Priorities, as presented, including the following (as recommended by the Mayor's Office):
- StarMetro Buses $11,730,000
- Advanced Water Treatment for Wakulla Springs Watershed and related programs -- $4 million
- Innovative Energy Initiatives -- $10 million
Item 26 – Voted 5-0 to approve the termination of the Use Agreement and the execution of a new agreement to accept easements and improvements from The Danna Co. for the Betton Hills Nature Center, a linear park (Option 1 as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Department [PRD])
Mr. Marvin Weinberger, President of The Danna Co., appeared before the Commission relative to this item.
Item 27 – Voted 5-0 to authorize staff to apply for allocated funds, in the amount of $1,507,678, for StarMetro's Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Project, which includes an assortment of software, hardware and system components to improve operational safety, operational efficiencies, customer information and customer amenities, and upon receipt of such funds, execute a grant with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – to be matched with Toll Revenue Credits for the City's 20% match (Option 1 as recommended by StarMetro).
Target Issue Committee Updates
Environmental and Energy Resources – Commissioner Lightsey reported the Committee was looking into whether a dog park at the Cascades Park would adversely impact the runoff into the water system, and had also discussed the green building incentives program, potentially to start with residential development using existing programs before moving into the more difficult commercial development incentives. She reported that additional issues under review included groundwater protection efforts, the EAR spring protection zone, the wastewater treatment and disposal master plan, working to increase water reusage, and the Demand Side Management (DSM) Design Plan, which would be presented to the Commission on February 20th, including existing and additional rebate programs. Commissioner Lightsey stated that the Committee was pleased with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's issuance of a permit for the Tom P. Smith Wastewater facility.
Long Range Planning - Commissioner Gillum reported the Committee had offered to assist staff with the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) review of funding proposals, and was reviewing the Multimodal Transportation District to ensure that it was consistent with being pedestrian friendly and with the new urbanism planning concepts. He reported that additional issues under review included affordable rental housing rehabilitation proposals from a developer in the Providence Neighborhood, i.e., Magnolia Court and Chelsea Apartments, and the City's sidewalk program.
Commissioner Mustian ascertained that the Planning Department was evaluating the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) proposals for protecting neighborhoods and was channeling them through the Long Range Target Issue Committee before submitting them to the full Commission, and Commissioner Gillum requested that Planning staff send the Commissioners information on how those proposals were prioritized.
The Commission concurred in requesting that the staff provide information and examples of the impacts of the rezoning notice change from 500 feet to 1,000 feet.
Economic Development - Mayor Marks reported this Committee was evaluating a proposed relocation to Tallahassee of a technology incubator business, which was the only producer of selenium in the U.S.
Financial Viability - Commissioner Mustian advised that this Committee would be meeting soon and might want to expedite some possible savings, particularly in view of the passage of Amendment 1, and he encouraged fellow Commissioners to study the potential Tax Reform imposition of spending caps for local governments.
Mayor Marks reported that the Florida League of Cities was studying the proposed Tax Reforms, and stated that he would be meeting with County Commissioner Dailey and School Board Superintendent Pons relative to some functional consolidations. He also distributed copies of a handout from the National League of Cities relative to funding concerns.
City Commission Information and Sharing of Ideas - Briefly discussed the City Commission representation on the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) and the potential of reducing the number of CRTPA meetings to meet less than once a month.
CTC:RM:ecg:02-15-08