Notes of the Commission Workshop of May 19

On May 19, 2008, the Commission met at its Regular Commission Workshop, with a large crowd in attendance. The following are a list of items of interest:

1. PRESENTATION OF GREEN STANDARDS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS (REQUESTED BY MAYOR RICHARD J. KAPLAN). A presentation was done under a Research Grant paid for by the Mayor, to study and recommend green standards for the City of Lauderhill to adopt. The recommendation to the Commission was to adopt the US Green Building Councils LEED Silver standard for Pre-Existing Buildings for operations, and the Florida Green Building Coalition standard for Landscaping Operations and Fleet Maintenance Operations. These standards, when adopted and implemented, will save the city on operational costs. It should be noted that in Florida House Bill 7135, which is going to the Governor for his signature, will mandate the cities to adopt such standards. In this particular case, the city is proceeding ahead of the new State law, and the city is expected to be in compliance with the new before it is required to be effective. Further legislation may be required to implement the law in a manner required by Florida Statute. The Commission supported the initiative with constructive comments.

2. DISCUSSION OF ORDINANCE NO. 080-02-105 TABLED AT THE APRIL 28TH, 2008 COMMISSION MEETING:

TO ALLOW AS A PERMITTED USE SUBJECT TO SPECIAL REGULATIONS A LARGE FAMILY DAY CARE HOME IN THE RESIDENTIAL SINGLE-FAMILY AT FOUR (RS-4) AND FIVE (RS-5) ZONING DISTRICT. After significant discussion with the public, a proposed major modification was presented to only grandfather those facilities in existence. Other issues and proposed solutions were considered and may be adopted as well. Presently there is one facility in operation with 12 children, three in operation that serve 10 children presently but have applied to increase it to 12, and one that has applied but is not in operation yet. Though not everyone is in agreement, consensus seem to agree to propose this solution in substitution of the present legislation at the next commission meeting on June 9. At this time, it is not known if the new legislation will be approved or not.

3. REVIEW OF PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CHARTER REQUESTED BY MAYOR RICHARD J. KAPLAN AND REVIEWED BY THE CHARTER REVIEW BOARD.

A. AMEND SECTION 3.04 REGARDING THE FIRST MEETING FOR THE NEW CITY COMMISSION TO BE 14 DAYS AFTER THE ELECTION. The reasoning is that the city was notified that the Supervisor of Election can no longer certify the city results in the 3 days required by the City Charter. The extension of 14 days is hoped to be sufficient time for the Supervisor to complete their certification. Consensus of the Commission was to place it on an agenda.
B. AMEND SECTION 3.08(B) REGARDING THE FORFEITURE OF OFFICE. This is requested since the Charter prohibits the Commission from Interfering with the Administration. However, the Charter provides no penalties if it is violated. This section would provide there are penalties, plus a procedure for any penalties to be imposed for any violation within the Charter by Commissioners. With some additional modification, consensus of the Commission was to place it on an agenda.

4. DISCUSSION OF THE LACK OF VOLUNTEERS SERVING ON CITY BOARDS (REQUESTED BY MAYOR RICHARD J. KAPLAN). The city is in great need of volunteers to serve on city boards. There are several vacancies and at the same time Commissioners are requesting new boards to be created. Without volunteers, these boards cannot function. The purposes of the discussion is to determine how many vacancies we presently have, and what the Commission can do to consolidate boards or seek volunteers. The Commissions expressed they will do what they can to seek qualified applicants.

5. DISCUSSION OF JUNIOR LIFEGUARD CAMP AT VETERANS PARK (REQUESTED BY MAYOR RICHARD J. KAPLAN). At the request of the public, the Commission is reviewing the decision of the city to discontinue the Junior Lifeguard Camp due to lack of staffing and other financial constraints. The city explained that they had no qualified staffing to perform this function. It was also expressed that the cost per camper would have to increase from $600 to $2500 to fully cover the cost of this 9 week summer camp. It is hoped that next year a way could be found to hold the camp.