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07-23-1995 MINUTES AVENTURA CHARTER COMMISSION SUNDAY, JULY 23, 1995 1. ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order by Chairman Young. Those present were Commissioners Irene Barouh, George Feffer, Dr. Mary Pankowski, Vice Chairman Leonard Brenner and Chairman Burton Young. Also present were Charter Commission Attorney Richard Jay Weiss and Counsellor Howard Lenard. As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced. Noting that this was the last meeting of the Charter Commission, Chairman Young expressed the appreciation of the Commission to Lee Watts and Teresa Smith for their assistance and thanked the members of the public who supported the Commission by their attendance at Commission meetings and by offering their input to the Commission in preparation of the Charter for Aventura. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: North Miami Beach Councilman Jule Littman led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the meeting of July 13, 1995 were read by Commissioner Barouh. Vice Chairman Brenner requested that the minutes reflect that he withdrew his motion to reconsider a previous motion providing Council election by residence districts. There being no further changes, after motion made, seconded and unanimously passed, the minutes were approved as amended. Dade County Commissioner Gwen Margolis expressed her appreciation to the Commission for their efforts in drafting the Charter for Aventura. She also updated the Commission and members of the public on the status and time schedule of the incorporation process at the County Commission. Mr. Ken Cohen expressed his appreciation to Senator Margolis for her assistance in the incorporation process. 4. REVIEW DRAFT OF CHARTER: Mr. Weiss explained to the Commission that as time is of the essence in the completion of the Charter, he made changes to the document that was included in the agenda packet and would apprise the Commission of those changes as each Article of the Charter is reviewed. He brought to the attention of the Commission that although they had previously provided for a two-year length of residency requirement for the office of Mayor, that his research of caselaw indicates that residency requirements exceeding one year have not been upheld by courts when challenged and that the Commission should re-address this issue. He then explained Articles I - IV of the proposed Charter. Chairman Young requested input from the public and those addressing the Commission were: Ruby Steiner, 20301 West Country Club Drive; Maurice Ward, 2910 Point East Drive; Art Grossman, 20100 West Country Club Drive; Jacob Cohen, 3475 N. Country Club Drive; Clifford Schulman*; Ronald Pallott, 3900 Island Boulevard; Harry Crook, Commodore Plaza; Arthur Berger, 1000 Island Boulevard; Eric Stoler, The Point; June Stevens, 20412 NE Belle Vista Court; Sheila Holtzman, Mystic Point; Samantha Yakutiel, 3530 Mystic Point Drive; Dan Palmer, 7601 E. Treasure Drive; and Ken Cohen, 3701 N. Country Club Drive. After discussion, a motion was made by Commissioner Feffer and seconded by Commissioner Barouh to approve Article I as presented, with the inclusion of the survey and the following changes:! Section 1.04. Powers. The City shall have all available governmental, corporate Section 1.05. Construction. ~ii~i~i~ powers of the City shall be construed liberally in favor of the City. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. The Commission then addressed Article 2 of the proposed Charter. Mr. Weiss noted that he had provided for numbering of the Council seats 1 - 6 and that he had included language to provide that persons running from a particular area must be a resident of that area at the time of qualifying, at the time of hisLher election and continuously during his or her term of office. Discussion then ensued regarding the length of residency requirement for a person running for the office of Mayor. Mr. Weiss advised the Commission that in a previous case in the state of Florida, the court found that a lengthy residency requirement violated the equal protection rights of an individual and he suggested that the requirement be six months or one year. Mr. Lenard suggested that the requirement be one year. Mr. Weiss suggested to the Commission that their reasoning for establishing the length of residency requirement be made a part of the record in the event that it is ever challenged and must be defended in court. It was the consensus of the Commission that a person holding the office of Mayor should be well acquainted with the City of Aventura and its concerns and the length of residency requirement be as long as could be reasonably enforced· It was their consensus that the length of residency requirement for a person running for the office of Mayor be one year. Mr. Young requested that the provision for recall of City officials by electors be deleted from the Charter. are additions to text, ..... a ......~' *~ ..... ~ are deletions to text. 2 A motion was made and seconded to approve Article II as presented, with the following changes: Section 2.01· City Council· There shall be a City Council (the "Council") ~ with all legislative powers of the City vt:ted '&crein, consisting of six members CCouncilmembers") and the Mayor. ~!~ ..... Section 2.02. Mayor and Vice Mayor. (a) Mayor· The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council, be a voting member of the Council, and ~iiii~!ii~ ~~ii~ommittees of the Council... Section 2.03. Election and term of office. (b) Residential Areas .... Two Councilmembers shall reside in the Northern Area (Seats 1 and 2), two Councilmembers shall reside in the Southern Area (Seats 3 and 4), and two Councilmembers shall be elected without regard to residence in any ~. Ccu.':cl!:'...c:'...~cr3 ~ running from a particular ~ ~area must be a resident of the ~::i::ii!~area which s/be the time of his/her election and must continue to reside in such ~i;i;i;i;i;i~area during his/her term of office. The Councilmembers from ~:~ Areas 1, 2, 3, and 4 are collectively the "Residential Area Councilmembers;" individually, each is a "Residential Area Councilmember." ... Section 2.04. Qualifications. · . . A ................... .~tt ma not be a candidate for Councilmcm~cr ~!~iiin the same election. Only electors of the City who have resided continuously in the City for at least ?:,'c, ~ years preceding the date of such filing shall be eligible to hold the office of Mayor. Section 2.05. Vacancies; forfeiture of office; filling of vacancies. (a) Vacancies .... 3 (b) Forfeiture of office. (i) (c) (iv) Forfeiture by disqualification. A Councilmember shall forfeit his/her office if at any time during his/her term s/he ~i~ ceases to maintain his/her permanent residence in the City, !~ in the case of a Residential Area Councilmember, upon his/her ceasing to reside in his/her respective Residential to be a qualified elector of the City. Filling of vacancies .... If the Mayor's position becomes vacant, the Vice- Mayor shall complete the term of Mayor. The vacancy ~ii~ii~iii~ shall be filled in the manner that the vacancy of an At Large ........ ~i~lSlled ~ ~!.!~]" 'Th~'"C~iih~il shall then '~i~point a new Vice-Mayor· (v) Vacancies in Northem Area seats ~i~ili~!ii~ shall be filled by ~ persons residing in the Northern Area and vacancies in the Southern Area seats ~i~} shall be filled by ~ persons residi~ (vii) (ix) If .......no -t ........and~date for a~y vacancy person qualified under this Article to fill the vacancy. In the event that all the members of the Council are removed by death, disability, recall, forfeiture of office and/or resignation, the Governor shall appoint interim Councilmembers who shall call a special election within not less than 30 days or more than 60 days after such appointment.and s~UCh election 4 shall be held... · . . (Deleted in its entirety)... The motion passed unanimously by voice vote· The Commission then addressed Article III of the proposed Charter and discussion ensued as to the removal procedure for the City Manager and City Clerk. Mr. Young suggested that the Charter provide the same removal procedure for the Clerk as for the Manager. It was the Commission's decision not to include a removal procedure for the City Attorney. The Commission requested that Mr. Weiss add "proposals" to the competitive bid requirement· A motion was made and seconded to approve Article III as presented, with the following changes: Section 3.02. Appointment; removal; compensation. ... The compensation ~i!ii~{~ of the Manager shall be fixed by the Council. Section 3.03. Powers and duties of the City Manager. The Manager shall: (1) Be responsible for the ~~, supervision and removal of all City employees; (4) Section 3.04. ~i~ that all laws, provisions of this Charter and acts of the Council, subject to enforcement and/or administration by hi~ or by officers subject to his/her direction and supervision, are faithfully executed; Absence or disability of City Manager. To perform hi~ duties during hi~ temporary absence or disability,.., the Council may by resolution appoint an officer of the City to perform the duties of the Manager until ~e shall return or hi~ disability shall cease. Section 3.05. Bond of City Manager. The City Manager shall furnish.., faithful performance of 5 hi~ duties .... Section 3.06. City Clerk. (a) The Council shall appoint a City Clerk (the "Clerk"). The Clerk... shall keep minutes of its proceedings w?2eh :ha!! he · - v ........... and shall perform such other duties... (b) Appointment; removal; compensation .... The Council may remove the Clerk at any time ':A'Z zr vd'&z'at ca',::z ~ ~i::.i~i~i:.~ii::.i~:.i~i The compensation ~ii~~ oft~ Clerk shall be fixed by the Council. Section 3.07. City Attorney. Section 3.08. Removal Procedure. ~i~!::~ may be suspended vath,~,.~ pay pending... A copy of such resolution shall be served immediately upon the ~ ~!ii~//i~i' The ~i!~a~;f/l~/i~/i~ shall have 15 days in which to reply thereto . . . The ~i shall continue to receive full :,ala:7 ~il/;~!~:':'~ili the effective date of a final resolution of removal. Section 3.10. Competitive bid requirement. ~i~::;~ii~ ~?~j)i~!}!!i~ontracts for public improvements and purchases of supplies, materials or services shall be awarded or made on the basis of clearly drawn specifications and competitive bids ~ii~, except in cases... Section 3.11. City boards and agencies. Council shall.. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Article IV of the proposed Charter document was then addressed by the Commission. Mr. Weiss advised the Commission of the minor changes that he had provided for. After brief discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve Article IV with the following changes: 6 Section 4.01. Council meeting procedure. (a) Meetings .... Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or by ~ii!~i!?i~!i!i!~ four members of the Council Section 4.02. Prohibitions. (b) Interference with administration.. . . No ~i~ii!~o individual Councilmember shall give orders to the Manager. Section 4.03. Action requiring an ordinance. (7) Convey or lease or authorize by administrative action the conveyance or lease of any lands eft ~iii[~ the City; or Section 4.04. Emergency ordinances. (a) Authorization; form. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, the Council may adopt, in the manner provided in this Section, one or more emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not: iii~ emergency ordinance may be adopted... After its adoption, the ordinance shall be v .........~ and printed... (e) Emergency appropriations .... the Council may, by affirmative vote of four ~:, f:~ members, enact an emergency... Section 4.08. Authentication, recording and disposition of ordinances; resolutions and Charter amendments. (b) Recording. The Clerk shall keep properly indexed books in which shall be recorded, in full, all ordinances and resolutions ~iiii~iii!iipassed by the Council. The Clerk shall also maintain the City Charter in current form ........................ ~.1 ~1~.1! ~t-~ ~11 t~l~.~-~. ~:~;;~::':':::':?;::';:;[:;':' i amendments. (c) Printing. The Council shall, by ordinance, establish 7 procedures for making all resolutions, ordinances, technical codes pt d by .~ .....~ ~,u~ ado e reference, and this Charter available t~ ~.~ r""r ....... C'~' for public inspection and available for purchase at a reasonable price. Section 4.09. Tax levy The City shall have the right to levy, assess and collect all such taxes ~!ii. --. Section 4.10. Borrowing. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Mr. Weiss briefly explained the provisions of Articles V, VI and VII and then reviewed Article V in detail. The members of the public addressing the Commission relative to these provisions were as follows: Ken Cohen, Harry Crook, Samantha Yakutiel, Ginger Grossman, Dr. Paul Lifer of Tumberry South and Abe Menstate of 701 N. Country Club Drive. A motion was made and seconded to approve Article V as presented, with the following changes: Section 5.01. Elections. (c) Election dates. A ~~.~!~¢tion shall be held A regular ~ff election, ~i' ::::i~ shall be held in November of each even-numbered year,... (d) Prlr.:aG' ~....~ election; The ballot for the Fnma.'3- ~ election shall contain the names... If any candidate for Mayor receives a number of votes greater than 50% of the total number of ballots cast, such candidate shall be the duly elected Mayor, and no regular ~ election for Mayor shall be required. If any candidate(s) for a Council seat receive(s) a number of votes greater than 50% of the total number of ballots cast, such candidate(s) shall be duly elected to the Council and no .~..~ ~ election for that Council sea~ shall be required. (e) Ra~'.;!ar ~election. The ballot for the regular ~ ~ election shall contain the names of the two candidates for Mayor, if applicable, and the names of the two candidates for each 8 Council seat who received the most votes in the primm"y ~ election .... The candidate for each Council seat receiving the most votes, -~ov ....... j, shall be duly elected to that Council seat. Section 5.02. Initiative and referendum. (b) Commencement of proceedings. electors may... (c) Petitions. (i) Number of signatures. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by electors of the City equal in number to at least ~!!0% of the total number of electors· . . (iv) Filing de dli r~ .... · n. ~*u~-.a ....... :a~a :~ 91 initiative and referendum petitions must be filed... (d) Procedure for filing. (i) Certificate of Clerk; amendment. Within 20 days.. the Clerk shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency ~!~ ~. :Fcc'L~'ing, ! ~[f it is insufficient,'"':':':':~ .......... iiiiiiiiiii~iiii!ii!ii~iiiiiiiiiii~ ~enificate ~~~ to ~e petitioners' co~i~ee by registered m~l. ~o~ds for... A petition cenified insufficient . . . M~n ~o business days ~er receiving the copy of ~e ~enificme ~d files a supplemen~ petition upon additional papers M~ ten days ~er receiving the copy of :uz5 ~ ~enificate. Such supplemen~ petition sh~l comply M~ ~e requirements of ........ ~ t:~ ~_~ t::~ ~c subsection (c) of ~s Section~, mn~ ~in five days ~er it ~ ?~:~ is file~ ~e Clerk or o~ officiM desig~ted by ~e Co~cil shall complete a ~enificate as to ~e sufficiency of ~e petition ~ ~ended ~d prom~ly send a copy of such e~e~ificate to ~e petitioners' co~iRee by 9 registered mail as in the case of an original petition. If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, . . . under paragraph (ii) of this subsection (d) within the time required, the Clerk or other official designated by the Council shall promptly present ~:~x:~'~- ~ ~ertificate to the Council and such ~rtificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition. (ii) Council review. If a petition . the committee may, within two business days after receiving the copy of such ~rtificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the Council. The Council shall review the e~rtificate at its next meeting... (e) Action on petitions. (i) Action by Council. When an initiative or referendum ...................... ~on. If the Council fails within 30 days, ~^- :- '~' ..... zf ~ .... :-~ ,~ ~. .... c~.~:--,~, it shall submit (ii) Submission to electors. The vote of the City on a proposed or referred ordinance . . . pursuant to paragraph (i) of subsection (e) of this Section *&.ct ~-~ v ................................ t. If no regular (iii) Withdrawal of petitions. An initiative or referendum petition . . . a request for withdrawal signed by at least eight~!i~i~ members of the petitioners' committee. Upon the filing of such request, . . (f) Results of election. (ii) Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred ordinance vote ~-:~' :' ~ ~, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. 10 After explanation by Mr. Weiss and brief discussion by the Commission, a motion was made and seconded to approve Article VI as presented, with changes, as follows and Mr. Weiss's review of the Dade County Home Rule Charter: Section 6.02. Procedure to amend. (a) (ii) Initiation .... By petition. The electors of the City may propose . . . and/or withdrawn in the same manner di ance proposed by initiati or n ve ......... *'~ 5.02. (b) Submission to electors. Upon certification of the sufficiency of a petition, the Cotmcil shall submit the proposed amendment to a vote of the electors at ......... ~ general election ~ ........ lect~on :~ ~u~..~.~ to be held not less than 60 days or more than 120 days from the date on which the petition was certified or at a special election called for such purpose. A *The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Article VII was then addressed by the Commission. Mr. Weiss explained the provisions contained in this Article. Chairman Young suggested that a previous member of the Charter Commission be appointed to serve in furore Charter revision processes. Mr. Young requested public input on the issue of incorporating a provision into the Charter prohibiting gambling in the City of Aventura. Those who addressed the Commission were: Ginger Grossman, Ken Cohen, Dr. Lifer, Harry Crook and June Stevens. No action was taken by the Commission on this issue. A motion was then made and seconded to approve Article VII as presented, with the following change to be made: Section 7.06. Charter revision. At its first regular meeting in December of every fifth year after the adoption of this Charter, commencing with December, 2000, the Council shall appoint a Charter revision commission 11 consisting of five persons, one of whom shall be a member of the Council serving a second consecutive term as Councilmember, ~ii~~ and et:r ~ of whom shall be electors of the City. If there are no Councilmembers serving a second consecutive term, the Council shall appoint to the revision commission one revision is needed, including but not limited to a change in ~ ~!!i~iii~;:.~:.~:~ Residential Areas, it shall draft such amendments to this Charter as it deems appropriate and... Section 7.09. No Discrimination. The City shall not discriminate against... Section 7.11. Deferred Compensation; Pensions. Contributions to pension and ,other deferred compensation plans or arrangements for City employees may be made under such terms and conditions as the Council may establish from time to time in accordance with sound actuarial principles. Section 7.12. Calendar Day. For the purposes of this Charter, a day shall mean a calendar day. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. The Commission addressed the provisions in Article VIII of the proposed Charter document. Clifford Schuman and June Stevens addressed the Commission. After discussion and extensive explanation by Mr. Weiss, a motion was made and seconded to approve Article VIII as presented, with the following changes to be made: Section 8.02. Interim governing body. · . . In acting as a governing body.., the Dade County Board of County Commissioners shall ~:~:~:,:~ ~iiiiii~::i::ii~iiinot make decisions which could reasonably be postponed... 12 Section 8.03. Interim adoption of codes and ordinances. . .~..n~il otherwise ............................................. modffied ~!?~i~i~ Section 8.07. Initial election of Council and Mayor. (a) Transition. This Section shall apply to all F~r~ma:3' ~ and ..... ~- ~ elections for Council and Mayor held on or before Decem~;::'~':i:'~' 1999~, . . . (b) Election dates. The first City ~iiiielection shall be held on March 12, 1996 Pr:.ma:3' ~ ~'i~ns shall also be held in 199:;tg c,n~ !999 on the day of the second State primary election, or if none are held in any such year, on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of October. The first City ..... '~- ~ff election, ~ii~l shall be held on March 26, 1996. P,z;u!ar ~ elections shall also be held in November of 199~ c~n~ 1999 on the same day that the U.S. congressional election is held, or if none is held, on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of said month. (c) 1996 elections. The pr'imam-.; ~ and rcg-,;lar elections in 1996 shall be held pursuan(~'"~'"procedures in Section 2.03 and Section 5.01(d) and (e), except as follows: (i) . . (A) . . . (iii) (B) contain the candidate's certification that ~e is a qualified elector of the State of Florida, is registered to vote in the City and a) if r,a~Ang for '~ cfficc ~,f ~ ..... ~?:i::i~iii::i~:.:: has resided continuously within the area comprising the City since January 26, 19945 ~ ~) :f r,:.m~ng ~^- *~-~ the Mayor will be elected to a term expiring in 13 (iv) Councilmembers elected to seats 1, 3 and 5 will be elected to terms expiring in November, 199~; (v) Councilmembers elected to seats 2, 4, and 6 will be elected to terms expiring in November, !999 ~. (d) 199~ elections. The ~rlmca7 ~ and elections in 199:;t~ shall be held pursuant'{6'~'brocedures in Section[s] 2.03, 2.04 and Section 5.01(d) and (e), except that: (f) Induction into office .... shall be held at 7 p.m. on March 28, 1996 at the Avcn?-~ra ~ Medical Ccntzr The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. After motion made, seconded and unanimously passed by voice vote, the Charter for the City of Aventura, as presented and with the changes to be made by Mr. Weiss, was adopted. Chairman Young thanked the Commission members for their hard work, advised them that the Aventura Charter Commission expires at the end of this meeting and encouraged each member to make themselves available as private citizens to answer questions that the citizens of Aventura and interested groups may have regarding the preparation of the Charter and incorporation of the City. Mr. Feffer expressed h/s personal appreciation to all Commission members, Mr. Weiss and Mr. Lenard. Ken Cohen offered his personal appreciation to the Charter Commission. 5. OTHER BUSINESS: None· 6. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, after motion made, seconded and unanimously passed, the meeting adjourned. Prepared by: ~ Teresa M. Smith '-,..~ ~e_~Appr°ved this ~/~~ 1995. Irene Barouh, Secretary *Break in videotape. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made by the Charter Commission with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing will need a record of the proceedings and, for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. 14