Approval of Minutes from the August 3, 2015 meeting.

Approval of Minutes from the July 9, 2015 and August 6, 2015 budget workshops.

Waive interest, penalties, and administrative fees in the amount of $3,765.90 for lot clearing lien against 306 N 16th Street, Ft. Pierce, FL 34950 owned by Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency (FPRA), 100 N US Highway 1, Ft. Pierce, FL 34950 contingent upon payment of $824.50.

Waive interest, penalties, administrative fees totaling $7,007.00 and $2,760.00 of  demolition costs totaling $7,185.00 against 306 N 16th Street, Ft. Pierce, FL 34950 owned by Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency (FPRA), 100 N US Highway 1, Ft. Pierce, FL 34950 contingent upon payment of $4,425.50.

Approval to award the contract for emergency replacement of engine in the Downtown Trolley to the lowest and most complete bidder, Palm Truck Centers, Inc. of Fort Pierce, Florida, in the amount of $17,417.81.

Approval to expand the Dunn's Tractor Service's Right-of-Way Mowing and Debris Removal Services contract, Bid No. 6099, to include the mowing and maintenance of Indian Hills Recreation Area Phase I in the amount of $33,000.00.

Approval to award a contract under the 2015 Florida Sheriffs Association & Florida Association of County Bid #12 (14-12-0904), to Palmetto Ford Truck Sales, Inc. Miami Florida in the amount not to exceed $133,999.00 for the purchase of a 2015 Ford F 750 Grapple Truck.

Ordinance No. 15-048 - Approval of a Zoning Atlas Amendment (Rezoning) from R-4A, Hutchinson Island Medium Density, to PD, Planned Development, along with Planned Development Plan for the Inlet Palms Townhomes located at 1502 Seaway Drive,  Fort Pierce, FL.  SECOND READING

Linda Cox, City Clerk, introduced the ordinance, read by title only, into the record.

Clarissa Davis, Planner, was available for questions.

Mayor Hudson opened the public hearing.

Seeing no one, Mayor Hudson closed the public hearing.

Ordinance No. 15-049 - Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment to eliminate the 40% total floor area minimum requirement for residential uses, reduce the required number of uses from three (3) to two (2) and modify the open and green space requirements.   (Staff recommends postponement of this item until the September 8, 2015 meeting for First Reading) 

Linda Cox, City Clerk, introduced the ordinance and announced that Staff recommends postponement of this item to the September 8, 2015 meeting for First Reading.

Approve with conditions an application for Site Plan and Conditional Use submitted by St Andrews Episcopal Academy Inc. and St Andrews Episcopal Church for the construction of new structures to expand the existing private school campus generally located at 210 & 320 South Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce, FL.  
 
Rebecca Grohall, Planning Manager, appeared and was available for questions. Ms. Grohall gave a general overview of the project, site-plan and aerial. It is a multi-phase program. Phase 1 consists of the driveway, parking, recreational field, pedestrian plaza (which will be deeded to the City as well as the sidewalks for this development). Phase 2 is proposed to add 12,587 square feet to the upper school as an addition to the back of the Willie Gary Building. Phase 3 is the addition of the gym with the dock which will service the facility for recreational and water-based activities. Phase 4 is proposed to add about 24,000 square feet to the Middle and Upper Schools combined.
 
The plan itself covers the gym, auditorium, additions to Upper School, docks and multi-purpose field. It encompasses a two-way driveway access to Indian River Drive for drop off, pick up, and parking. There are 29 parking space additions which will bring it to 35 spaces. Phase 2 will move K-12 from 29 to 39 classrooms, which will bring enrollment to 390 students. Phase 2 is proposed for 2017 / 2018, with the final phase occurring in 2023 / 2024.

St. Andrews came to us with a proposal to help alleviate any parking problems the community may have. They would like to lease parking spaces from City of Fort Pierce in the parking garage. They have agreed to create parking policy, parking sticker program, and work with City to monitor its effectiveness. The gymnasium has been reviewed extensively by the Historic Preservation board and Planning Department for compliance with applicable codes. The Planning Board has recommended unanimously to approve, and the Historic Preservation Board conditionally approved a Certificate of Appropriateness. Letters have been sent to adjacent property owners and to date there has been no opposition.

Staff recommendation is to approve the request with conditions to record and provide a copy of the Unity of Title, that the City Commission accepts the proposal to use the parking garage, and that the City Commission approve the final developers agreement.

The Commission discussed that the applicant and developer should be complimented for creating a design plan that is congruent with architectural styles we have downtown based on the Renaissance and County Clerk buildings. In reference to the parking garage, Robert Bradshaw, City Manager, stated that a paid garage is not where we are going; we simply want to accommodate this proposed development; we need some kind of development to get things done down there. In 2011, the code was changed to waive parking requirements to give an incentive and attract businesses to our downtown. We have a great parking garage with 450 spaces that are under-utilized. Walking from the parking garage to St. Andrew's passes them through our business section, in hopes that they will patronize downtown businesses. It is appreciated that they came to us with a request as well as a solution.

Mayor Hudson opened the Public Hearing.

Lee Dobbins, Dean Mead Law Firm, thanked Staff for all their hard work on this process. This is a continuation of a downtown expansion that St. Andrew's has been a part of for years. We’ve tried to integrate the expansion to being a good neighbor. Regarding the pedestrian plaza, the school will provide over $122,000 worth of improvements in exchange for the abandonment of Boston Avenue project. It will be a nice addition to the entrance of the new fishing pier. An economic report has been provided that shows the business impact on downtown. The school already provides benefits to downtown business with the students buying lunch from restaurants, student performances at Sunrise Theatre, partnering with businesses for culinary arts and  online classes, sporting events, fundraisers, and dances which brings thousands of dollars to downtown; in one year the impact is over $3.3 million dollars to the business of downtown, prior to this proposed expansion. Mr. Dobbins specified that they are asking for approval of the development agreement as a part of the motion to approve.

Commissioner Becht stated that he can not support this due to the lack of public access to the waterfront. 
 
Seeing no one else, Mayor Hudson closed the public hearing.

Approval and Acceptance of the FPUA FY2016 Annual Budget and FY2015 Amended Budget.

Nina Hurtibise, FPUA Director of Financial Services, and Clay Lindstrom, FPUA Director, appeared and were available for questions.  Ms. Hurtibise stated that the Budget process started in January and from there we processed the worksheets through all of the department heads. It is all brought to a public workshop that is open to the public that can address any questions or concerns. So far the process has been approved by the FPUA board; it has been reviewed thoroughly and we find that we are spending the money wisely and only on what is needed, regardless of the amount budgeted. The capital budget is about $20M for FY2016, which is down from a couple of years ago. We have spent an enormous amount of money on water treatment plans, and significant work at the waste water plant and water reclamation facility.

The top 9 projects we anticipate for FY2016 capital projects are Jaycee Park Repump #1 rehabilitation, 2^nd Street renovations from Seaway to Taylor Creek, Parkland Boulevard Water Main (MSBU) in collaboration with St. Lucie County, Sand Filter Rehabilitation; the end of a very expensive water treatment rehabilitation, High Service Pump #4, Main Service valve replacements, Wastewater Main Lining; a blanket project where we try not to do any damage to the surface areas, and Transmission and Distribution improvements. These make up 38% of total capital budget. This is a conservative budget. We are not budgeting for a great deal of growth. If the revenues are higher, the distribution numbers will increase. In conclusion, we are requesting approval of our Operations Maintenance and Capital Budget, Annual Budget for FY2015 Amended and FY2016 Original.

The Commission discussed road improvements after repair, expansion of the FPUA customer base, as well as better coordination and communication with the City going forward.

Presentation on the financial status of the different funds of the City for the month ending July 31, 2015.

Ms. Gloria Johnson appeared, was available for questions, and presented the financial report for month ending July 31, 2015.

City Manager's Departmental Activity Report

Mr. Bradshaw reminded the Commission that the first budget public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2015 and the second hearing is set for Monday, September 14, 2015. To follow up on the Charter School discussion, Wayne Gent has been invited to the Conference Agenda on September 14, 2015. We have also invited Pete Tesch for an update on the strategic plan on the Economic Development coordination. The Legislation delegation meeting at IRSC is on September 25, 2015.