The coming week in City government

Below is the breakdown of what the Pensacola City Council will consider in the coming week. As always, expenditures are highlighted. Links to the full agendas are included at the bottom of the page. Included in the full agendas are copies of any contracts, agreements, ordinances, or resolutions.

As the first set of committee meetings since City voters approved a new charter last month, Monday’s committee meetings are expected to be lengthy. In addition to a large agenda otherwise, the Committee of the Whole meeting will likely include extensive discussion on the charter transition process.

Note: This meeting will take place on Monday, December 14. The meeting begins at 3:15 PM in the Hagler/Mason Conference Room, second floor, City Hall.

Committee of the Whole

Charter transition. Discussion of the new charter and its implementation is expected to dominate the Committee of the Whole meetings. City Attorney Rusty Wells has prepared a memorandum outlining the various sections of the proposed charter and identifying what issues require City Council action immediately. Below is a short summary; Mr. Wells’ complete memorandum is available in the full committee agenda.

Issues requiring immediate Council attention

• Article III of new charter: Council must review the election provisions in Chapter 2-5 of the City Code and the interlocal agreement with the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections to ensure both conform to the requirements of Article III of the new charter.
• Article IV: Council must establish a salary for the executive mayor and a budget for the mayor’s office.
• Article VII: Council must approve an “appropriate petition form” as referenced in Section 7.04.
• Article IX: Council must begin the process of establishing a Code of Ethics, as required by Article IX.

The new charter specifies that any provisions of the current charter not addressed in the new charter would remain in effect as ordinances after January 1. The City Attorney has reviewed the current charter and has determined that, save for two minor issues, there are no substantial provisions in the current charter that would be retained as ordinances.

The City Attorney’s memorandum also details many other issues which the City Council must take up in the coming months. We’ll have more detail on the charter transition process tomorrow.

Board appointments. Council is being asked to approve Mayor Mike Wiggins’ five appointments to the International Relations Advisory Board. Also, the Council will make one appointment to the Firemen’s Relief and Pension Fund Board of Trustees. The sole nominee is incumbent Sam Horton, nominated by Mayor Wiggins.

16 South Palafox lease. After unsuccessfully trying to sell the City-owned building at 16 South Palafox Street, City staff decided to explore leasing the building. They’re now asking Council to approve a lease of the building’s second story to UWF’s Small Business Development Center. The five-year lease would generate $1,000 per month for the City, and that amount could increase if the SBDC receives additional funding.

Police lieutenants bargaining agreement. The City has come to a collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 71, the union representing Pensacola Police Department lieutenants. Staff is asking Council to approve the agreement.

CMP financing. Staff will also distribute an information to City Council members concerning the Community Maritime Park financing plan. An citizen attempt to force a referendum on the plan failed to secure enough signatures earlier this week.

Economic & Community Development

Right of way license. Staff is asking to approve a new license to use right of way with Moulton Properties concerning its property at 25 West Cedar Street (Harborview on the Bay). A license has been in place since 1993, when the City Council approved an agreement with the building’s previous owners. Since purchasing the property, Moulton Properties has maintained that license, but City staff says a new agreement must be approved reflecting the change in ownership and other special conditions. The license area is a 743 square foot portion of the City’s right of way on the south side of West Cedar Street, on which the building’s entry steps, a pedestrian ramp, and a landscape planter were constructed.

Public hearing on Baptist Hospital zoning. A public hearing will be held at the regular City Council meeting on December 17 concerning the future land use and zoning map amendments for the Baptist Hospital properties annexed into the City in 2008. The amendments were approved by the Planning Board in October.

Public hearing on Capital Improvements Schedule. A public hearing will also be held at the December 17 meeting concerning the Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Capital Improvements Schedule for FY 2010-2014. The list of capital improvements is lengthy and available in the full committee agenda.

Finance Committee

Human Services funding recommendations. Staff is asking Council to approve the Human Services Appropriations Committee’s recommended allocations of the $30,000 in human services funding approved by the City for FY2010.

Purchasing. Several contracts and purchases are up for approval:

• First up are contracts with three vendors for hardware supplies for a total cost of $37,019.29. The vendors are Pensacola Hardware Company and Pensacola Mill Supply Company, both located within the City, and Applied Industrial Technologies of Mobile, Alabama.
• Next up is a purchase of “radio controller components” for the City’s legacy 800MHz analog radio system. The $422,695.70 purchase from Motorola would “extend the service life of the existing radio system from year 2014 to 2016.” Staff says a decision must be made now because Motorola will not guarantee the availability of the parts after December 31.
• Lastly, staff is asking Council to approve the purchase various computer and network equipment: switch an router components, Data Domain data storage devices, and Lefthand StorageWorks storage devices. The total cost is $176,115. The purchases will be made from two vendors: WaveNet Technologies, a regional retailer with an office located within the City limits; and CDW-G, a national retailer. The purchases will replace aging network equipment, and provide the City’s MIS department with additional space for virtual servers and storage of documents.

Claims against the City. City staff is recommending Council approve settlements in two claims against the City:

• $12,000 to settle a claim from Jacqueline Glover; Ms. Glover’s claim arises from an October 2005 incident in which a Pensacola Police vehicle collided with a vehicle in which Ms. Glover was a passenger. According to the staff memorandum, Ms. Glover has received close to the settlement amount in therapy and other treatment and the City’s defence counsel feels the settlement amount is quite reasonable given the City’s potential liability.
• $13,000 to settle a claim from Igor Burbel; Mr. Burbel’s claim stems from an August 2004 incident in which Mr. Burbel claims he was falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted. The settlement plus the City’s defence costs in this case will be less than the police liability insurance deductible.

Budget resolution. Staff is asking Council to approve two carryover budget resolutions for FY2010. They carry over to the next fiscal year’s budget appropriations for purchase orders issued prior to September 30, 2009, for which final payment has not yet been made, and other purchases which were budgeted but for various reasons not purchased in FY2009.

Local bidder preference program. Councilman Sam Hall recently asked City staff to investigate Marion County’s unique local bidder preference program. Staff will provide information to Council as a discussion item. In Marion County’s program, if the second lowest bidder is a local vendor and the bid is within 5% of the lowest bid, the top two bidders are asked to submit new bids, in a “bid off” process.

Preliminary FY2009 financial report. Finance Director Dick Barker will present to Council a preliminary report on the City’s finances for FY2009. The full report is included in the agenda.

Public hearing on stormwater management fees. A public hearing will be conducted at Council’s regular meeting on December 17 to adopt a “Resolution of Intent” to notify the County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector of the City’s intent to use non-ad valorem special assessments to pay for stormwater management costs, should the City decide to continue the stormwater assessment program.

Insurance savings. An information item details various insurance purchases for police, fire, the Airport, and other equipment. City staff was able to save us a bit of money, with an overall savings of $10,083 over last year’s purchases of the same items.

Enterprise Operations

Additional appropriation for Lakeview repairs. Staff is asking Council to approve an additional $5,451.63 for the Lakeview Avenue Concrete Street Repair Project. According to staff, as work began on the project (Lakeview between 12th and 20th), additional areas were identified which needed repair.

Airport lease. Also up for approval is a new lease with Airport Mailers, Inc. for a small area inside the terminal. Airport Mailers provides a service allowing travellers to mail home items prohibited from being carried onto flights, such as knives. Airport staff views the concession as a customer service benefit and as such charges no rent for the approximately six square feet used by Airport Mailers.

Grants. Staff is asking Council to concur with the City Manager’s acceptance of a $606,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) will be added to the budget for construction of the new downtown library, resulting in a total budget of $6,606,500. Staff is also asking Council to approve the submission of another grant which would benefit the Housing department.

ESP supply contract. Council will also consider contracts to purchase various pipe, fittings, water heaters, and other accessories for the City-owned Energy Services of Pensacola gas company. The purchases, which will be made as needed, are split over six vendors: Pensacola Hardware Company, located within the City; Ferguson Enterprises, a national retailer which maintains an office locally in unincorporated Escambia County; Gorman Company and Gulf Coast Marine Supply Company, regional retailers which both maintain offices locally in unincorporated Escambia County; Tempaco, Inc. of Crestview; and Sexuaer of Jacksonville.

ESP computer systems upgrade. Staff is also asking Council to approve a contract with Advanced Utility Systems for a planned upgrade to ESP’s billing and customer service computer systems. Staff expects the upgrade to increase efficiency and reduce paper usage as the new software will enable electronic orders to be sent to laptops in the field. The $74,600 contract includes the upgrade as well as a “business process review” to “maximize system utiliztation efficiency.”

Housing memorandum. Council will consider approval of a memorandum of understanding between the City’s Housing department and the state Department of Children and Families. The MOU will enable the City’s Housing department to pursue additional vouchers under the federal Family Unification Program (FUP).

Port tariff changes. An information item will outline various changes to the Port of Pensacola’s tariff, including an increase in dockage rates and cargo and security fees.

Neighbourhood Services

Police uniforms. Council will consider approval of a contract for police uniforms. The uniforms will be purchased as needed but staff estimates an $18,000 cost. The vendor, Bosso’s Uniform Company, is located within the City.

Sanders Beach Park improvements. Also up for approval is a $129,800 contract for improvements to Sanders Beach Park, including construction of a restroom building, installation of an irrigation system, renovations to existing picnic shelters, and the installation of sod. The low bidder, A Needles Construction, is based in Pace.

Waste collection at City facilities. Staff is asking Council to approve a $43,692 contract with Titan Waste Services of Milton for collection and disposal of refuse generated by City facilities. Titan would provide 29 dumpsters of various sizes to be located at various City facilities. This service has been provided by another vendor at a contract price of $48,860; this proposal represents a $5,168 savings.

Police vehicle purchases. Council will also consider purchases of various vehicles for the Pensacola Police Department. The proposed purchase includes two Ford Crown Victorias from Hub City Ford of Crestview, and four Chevrolet Impalas and three Chevrolet Tahoes from Bartow Chevrolet of Bartow, Florida. The Crown Victorias and Impalas would replace older administrative, unmarked, and K9-unit vehicles. The Tahoes are “police pursuit vehicles.” The total purchase price is $182,576.

Parks & Rec update. The Parks & Recreation will also provide Council with a report detailing progress on capital improvements at various parks and facilities, including Roger Scott Tennis Centre, the pool at Roger Scott, Fricker Community Centre, Malaga Square, Bayview Senior Centre, Sanders Beach Park, Cobb Community Centre, the Hunter Pool, and Osceola Golf Course.

Community Redevelopment Agency

Proposed CRA Plan update. The Council, sitting as the CRA, will decide whether or not to set a public hearing for January 14 to adopt the proposed CRA Plan update. The CRA held a special meeting in November to unveil the expansive plan.

Links

• Committee of the Whole agenda
• Economic & Community Development agenda
• Finance Committee agenda
• Enterprise Operations agenda
• Neighbourhood Services agenda
• Community Redevelopment Agency agenda