01-22-2004 Workshop
City Commission
Workshop Meeting
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19200 West Countrv Cluh [)rive Aventu",. FI.
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January 22, 2004
Following 9 a.m. Special Commission Meeting
AGENDA
Florida League of Cities Resolution*
Median Signs*
Naming of 31st A venue Park*
Citizen's Education Committee
(Commissioner Diamond) *
Biscayne Cove Condo Meeting Matter
(Vice Mayor Beskin)
Proposed Ethics Provisions
(Commissioner Diamond) *
Adjournment
* Back-up Information Exists
Next Meeting: February 19, 2004
This meeting is open to the public. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, all persons who are
disabled and who need special accommodations to participate in this meeting because of that disability should contact the
Office of the City Clerk, 305-466-8901, not later than two days prior to such proceeding.
....-....
.. "FLORIDA 1.EAGuì!" OF CITIES, INC.
Memorandum
From:
Members of Florida League of Cities, Inc.
Dottie Reeder, President
Mayor, City of Seminole
DEC 1 5 2003
To:
Oh ,.1~
cln .,^NAGER
Date:
December 10, 2003
Re:
Request for Resolution
At the recent Florida League of Cities' Legislative Conference last month, the
FLC Board of Directors adopted a new initiative to enhance the Legislature's
awareness of the League's priority issues. This new plan calls on each of
Florida's 408 cities to adopt a resolution that supports the League's key priority
issues.
These key issues that were recently adopted by the League membership at the-,
recent Legislative Conference address three main areas:
. Making revisions to the Article V bill dealing with prosecution of municipal
ordinance violations;
. Legislation that promotes water conservation incentives for Florida's cities;
and
. Annexation Reform, particularly relating to annexing enclaves
Enclosed is a draft resolution that we are asking your city to adopt at the next
available council/commission meeting. We would then like you to send copies of
that resolution to Governor Jeb Bush, Senate President, Jim King, Speaker of the
House, Johnnie Byrd, your House and Senate members and a copy to the
Florida League of Cities no later than Friday, February 6, 2004.
Also enclosed, is a list of addresses for the Governor, Senate President; Speaker
of the House and a House and Senate directory with addresses for your
legislators.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact
John Thomas at the Florida League of Cities at (800) 342-8112. Thank you for
your assistance.
Enclosures
301 South Bronough Street. Post Office Box 1757 . Tallahassee, FL 32302-1757
Telephone (850) 222-9684 . Suncom 278-5331 . Fax (850) 222-3806 . Internet: hltp://fcn.state.fl.uslflc/
Agenda Item 6-G
RESOLUTION NO. 2004--
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA URGING MEMBERS OF
THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT THE
FOLLOWING MUNICIPAL ISSUES DURING THE 2004
LEGISLATIVE SESSION; PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, legislation passed (HB 113A) during the 2003 Special
Session "A" that is the implementation of Article V, a 1998 constitutional
amendment, that requires the state to fund the county court system; and
WHEREAS, HB 113A prohibits state attorneys from appearing in county
courts for the purpose of prosecuting municipal ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the bill also prohibits a municipality from contracting with a
state attorney for the prosecution of municipal ordinances, and public defenders
will not be allowed to represent indigents charged with ordinance violations; and
WHEREAS, HB 113A requires a filing fee of $200 for each code or
ordinance violation; and
WHEREAS, several cities enforce code enforcement through a citation
process, which are filed through the county court system; and
WHEREAS, many of the fines for these citations are less than half of the
proposed $200 filing fee, which would make the citation process ineffective for
code enforcement activities; and
WHEREAS, the intent of the Municipal Revenue Sharing hold harmless
provision in HB 113A was intended to not reduce any revenues currently shared
with municipalities; and
WHEREAS, clean drinking water is a precious resource that must be
adequately planned for to meet the needs of future growth in Florida; and
WHEREAS, cities are implementing several innovative methods to assure
an adequate supply of drinking water is available for its citizens; and
WHEREAS, efforts were made during the 2003 legislative session to
mandate that cities establish water conservation rate structures, impose drought
rates, require submetering in apartment buildings or condos, mandate statewide
irrigation standards, implement "informative billing", and meter reclaimed water;
and
Resolution No. 2004--
Page 2
WHEREAS, municipalities would be negatively impacted by legislation
mandating conservation measures on a "one size fits all" approach and many of
the conservation measures being considered had no demonstrable conservation
benefit but will be very expensive to implement; and
WHEREAS, the geographic emphasis and restrictive nature of Florida's
current annexation policy has negatively impacted Florida's municipalities by
inhibiting their economic vitality, creating inefficient service delivery and
subsidizing urban sprawl; and
WHEREAS, the current law has actually made it more difficult for
municipalities to provide municipal services in the urbanizing areas in
comparison to counties and special districts; and
WHEREAS, Florida's tremendous population growth and inflexible
annexation policies causes disruption in historical service delivery responsibilities
and results in a continuous conflict and inefficiencies in the financing and delivery
of many local public services.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA, THAT:
Section 1. The City of Aventura urges Governor Jeb Bush and members
of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that:
a) Preserves the authority of individual local governments to
determine and implement the specific water conservation measures
required under a water use permit, and which preserves a local
government's control over reclaimed water that is created by the
local government.
b) Allows municipalities to contract for the services of public defenders
and state attorneys to enforce local ordinances; and
c) Eliminates the fee schedules for the enforcement of municipal code
or ordinance violations.
d) Provides a modification of the distribution formula for revenuesj--
transferred from the Half-Cent Sales Tax Program to the Revenue
Sharing Trust Fund for Municipalities.
e) Strengthens the ability of municipalities to eliminate all enclaves
regardless of size or use, and provides reasonable procedures to
expeditiously annex areas that are contiguous to their boundaries.
Resolution No. 2004--
Page 3
Section 2. That a copy of this resolution shall be provided to Governor
Jeb Bush, Senate President Jim King, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and
members of the Florida Legislature.
Section 3. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its
adoption.
The foregoing Resolution was offered by Commissioner ,
who moved its adoption. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
, and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner lev Auerbach
Commissioner Ken Cohen
Commissioner Bob Diamond
Commissioner Manny Grossman
Commissioner Harry Holzberg
Vice Mayor Jay R. Beskin
Mayor Jeffrey M. Perlow
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 6th day of January, 2004.
JEFFREY M. PERLOW, MAYOR
ATTEST:
TERESA M. SOROKA, CMC
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF AVENTURA
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
MEMORANDUM
FROM:
City Commission -- ~e
Eric M. Soroka, ICMA-CM, rrg r
January 12, 2004
Median Signs
TO:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Now that the Country Club Drive improvements are complete, it is recommended that
the City Commission re- evaluate the outdated median directional signs placed in the
City's medians.
The City Commission may want to consider one of the following recommendations:
1. Eliminate all medians signs except those for developments that are not directly
on a main road ( i.e. Mystic Point, Turnberry North, Biscayne Cove). Individual
condominiums are required to install monument signs.
2. Install new median signs at an estimated cost of $60,000 to $85,000. See
attached diagram.
I have placed this item on the workshop Agenda for your direction in this matter. The
Commission may want to assign this project to the Community Services Advisory
Board.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
EMS!
Attachment
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Guest Parking
3301 N.County Club Dr.
Bonavista
3375 N. County Club Dr.
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CITY OF AVENTURA
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
City Commission ~
Eric M. Soroka, ICMA-CM, [" rag
January 12, 2004
Naming of 31st Avenue Park
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
The subject park should be complete by June of this year. It is recommended that a
name be developed for the park.
The City Commission may want to consider one of the following recommendations:
1. Community wide contest.
2. Assign this project to the Community Services Advisory Board.
I have placed this item on the workshop Agenda for your direction in this matter.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
EMS!
Attachment
ARTHUR S. BERGER, JD
1000 Island Blvd. #512
Aventura, FL 33160
(305) 936-1408
E-mail: SRF5@juno.com
The following is my proposal for the formation ofa Citizens' Education Committee.
Statement of Aim
The aim of the Citizens' Education Committee is to connect Aventura residents to the Aventura City
Government. It will make Aventura residents aware of how our government operates and provide a needed
training ground for the City's future leaders-
Fonnat
I will be the Director of the Committee and will offer a program that will be lTee and open to all Aventura
residents.
It will be held at the Community Recreation Center. The program will provide full opportunity for
participants to raise questions and to participate in discussions
On completion of the program, registrants will receive recognition at a City Commission meeting.
MEMO
FROM:
Commissioner Bob Diamond
TO:
City manager Eric M. Soroka
RE:
Proposed item for inclusion on Commission Workshop Agenda of
January 22, 2004 - Proposed Ethics Provisions
DATED:
January 12,2004
Please include the below described item on the Commission Workshop
Agenda of January 22, 2004:
Request to authorize the City Attorney to draft a proposed
Ethics Ordinance which would be stricter than the exis1ing
State, county and city ethics provisions, including establishing
provisions designed to ensure that even the appearance of any
conflict of interest is avoided in relation to any municipal
transaction or matter.
I envision that the proposed Ethics Ordinance would include measures to
prohibit Elected Officials (Commissioners and Mayor) from perfonning any private work
or service from which he or she would realize any special financial gain arising out of or
enabled by matters approved by the City Commission.
Please contact me if you have any questions on the above.
Aventum Ethics Code 011204
MEMO
FROM:
Commissioner Bob Diamond
TO:
City Manager and City Commissioners
RE:
Proposed item for inclusion on Commission Workshop Agenda of
January 22, 2004 - Proposed Ethics Provisions
DATED:
January 14,2004
This memo is in support of my request for consideration and submission to our city Attorney to
draft a proposed Ethics Ordinance in accordance with the measures that I indicated.
I make reference to the document we recently received from Robert Meyers, Executive
Director, Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, prepared January 2004, entitled "A
Community's Resolve To Restore Integrity, Accountability and Public Trust: the Miami-Dade
Experience" (1996 to present). The document represents recommendations of a group of outstanding
individuals representing public, private and community-based organizations and is aimed at restoring
public accountability and trust in government.
The report indicates that recent surveys measuring attitudes and perceptions about a variety of
quality oflife issues in Miami-Dade, shows that the public continues to distrust local government,
"thereby potentially undel1llining some ofthe best efforts of these governments to refol1ll the system."
It targets, among others, conflicts of interest and offers a series of recommendations.
"While the Ethics Commission and the County's Code of Ethics Ordinance extend to the
County's thirty-two municipalities, several cities have adopted supplemental codes of ethics and
standard of conduct, some of which provide stricter standards. For instance, the cities of South Miami
and Coral Gables enacted municipal codes of ethics and the City of North Miami Beach passed a "no
gift" policy. Miami Beach and Sunny Isles Beach have stringent abstention and disclosure
requirements, which were adopted in recent years. Unless specific exemptions are carved out for the
municipalities, all officials and employees are mandated by law to comply with the applicable state
statutes and county ordinances in the areas of ethics and good government. Municipalities are
pel1llitted bv law to endorse stricter standards than those passed bv state and county government, but
cannot create legislation that is more lenient. Moreover, municipal government mav regulate conduct
in an area that is untouched bv the other levels of government." (p. 4-5, underscore added)
"Potential conflicts of interest are bound to manifest themselves when their employment
obligations and private interests collide with their public duties." (p.5)
I suggest that A ventura become a leader in setting the highest standard of conduct for Elected
Officials by prohibition of financial gain on matters approved by the City Commission.
Aventn", Memn conflict 0111204
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SUPPLEMENTAL MEMO
FROM:
Commissioner Bob Diamond
TO:
City Manager and City Commissioners
RE:
Proposed item for inclusion on Commission Workshop Agenda of
January 22, 2004 - Proposed Ethics Provisions
DATED:
January 21, 2004
The purpose of this Memo is to supplement the previous Memo as to the above matter.
Our Code of Ethics literally asks for the type of Ethical Code I am requesting.
ARTICLE VII - CODE OF ETHICS - Sec. 2-391. Legislative Intent.
(a)
It is essential to the proper conduct and operation of government that
public officials be independent and impartial and that public office not
be used for private gain other than the remuneration provided by law.
The public interest, therefore, requires that the law protect against any
conflict of interest and establish standards for the conduct of elected
officials and government employees in situations where conflict may
arise. (underscore added)
The foregoing states a superb legislative intent - for public officials not to use their
office for private gain. In our Code, however, there are no provisions carrying out that intent. We
merely provide that the Elected Official merely has to make public disclosure and recuse himself
- then he can use his office for private gain on matters approved by the body of which he is a
member. The public perception of appearance of conflict of interest is obvious.
The message should be clear. If an applicant has either received a benefit of approval or
seeks such approval from the City Commission during your term in office, whether by way of
planning, zoning, variance or otherwise, and regardless of whether you voted for the matter or
recused yourself, neither you nor your office can represent that applicant, (or subsequent owner
of the property) now and for two years after your term ends. No forwarding fees or fee sharing.
That conduct sends a clear message to both the applicant and the public of elimination of a
perceived conflict of interest. It does not, in my opinion, constitute a perceived conflict of
interest if you represent an applicant who simply applies to the City Planning Department for
approval based upon a Code adopted by a Commission prior to your service and the client seeks
no current modification or change thereof from your Commission.
I request that A ventura become a leader in setting the highest standards of conduct for
Elected Officials by setting forth a specific standard of conduct of prohibition of financial gain
on matters approved by the City Commission.