INPIANVESIBAHORES OFFICIAL MINUTES REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING THURSDAY, JULY25, 2024 IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING BUDGET WORKSHOP TOWN OF INDIAN RIVER SHORES 6001 HIGHWAY A1A INDIAN RIVER SHORES, FL 32963  The regular monthly meeting of the Indian River Shores Town Council was held on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Council Chambers, 6001 Highway A1A, Indian River Shores. Councilmembers present were Brian Foley, Mayor; Sam Carroll, Vice Mayor; Bob Auwaerter, Councilmember; and James Altieri, Councilmember. Also, present were. James Harpring, Town Manager; Heather Christmas, Deputy Town Manager/Town Treasurer; Peter Sweeney, Town Attorney and. Janice C. Rutan, Town Clerk.  1. Callto Order a. Invocation b. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call  The Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance took place at the Budget Workshop immediately preceding the regular Town Council meeting. The Town Clerk called the roll. All Councilmembers were present except A motion was made by Vice Mayor Carroll, seconded by Councilmember Auwaerter, and unanimously passed (4-0) to reorder and approve the agenda as amended by moving item number 3a to 8g.  Councilmember Smith.  2. Agenda Reordering, Deletions, or Emergency Additions  3. rsensiton/Podemston: -PPSMSAPAsRSNeN  b. Solid Waste and Recyclables Collection Franchise Agreement Overview  Town Manager Harpring discussed solid waste and recycling collection procurement, noting the Request for Proposal process has been completed witht the: award of bid granted to Waste Management. The Board of County Commissioners ratified and executed the franchise agreement at their July 2, 2024 meeting. Town Manager Harpring presented a slide presentation that highlighted the comparison of current costs for residential services through the current provider with those of Waste Management's under the new Town Attorney Sweeney noted at three-month timeline for changeover in billing. Attorney Sweeney next explained the process that the Town would need to adopt toi implement the collection of non-ad valorem taxes. Thei intent to use that method of collection would havet to be advertised for four consecutive weeks Councilmember Altieri referred to both pages 11 and 38 of the Franchise Agreement that referred to residential customers to self-hauling waste. Town Manager Harpring noted the Town's ordinance requires that every residential and commercial unit within the Town participate in the Town's solid waste and Town Manager Harpring introduced Himanshu Mehta, Managing Director for thel Indian River County: Solid Waste and Disposal Department. Mr. Harpring expressed his appreciation to Mr. Mehta for his assistance  franchise agreement. New costs resulted in significant savings fort the residents.  and adopted by. January 2025.  recycling program.    with including the Town in the newly awarded Franchise Agreement. Mr. Mehta explained that the franchise agreement's reference to self-hauling did not relieve the resident from participating but did allow them to self-haul their debris and use the County's service centers. He also spoke of the non-ad In response to Council's inquiry, Mr. Mehta noted the County was discussing the ability to have all: services (solid waste, recycling, bulk, and vegetation) picked up on the same day of the week. There was concern about four trucks coming through each neighborhood on one collection day and the resulting wear and  valorem assessment and that all residential properties will be assessed.  tear on the streets.  Methodology of invoicing, billing and collection by the Tax Collector was discussed.  In response to Councilmember Auwaerter, Mr. Mehta confirmed that all rate accelerations related to the fuel cost adjustments increase had been removed from the agreement. Mr. Mehta would follow up to be Councilmember. Auwaerter noted that the savings resulted in $456.00 per year per residential unit. Mayor Foley thanked Mr. Mehta for his assistance. He echoed the concerns over the wear and tear on the roads, and further asked that, if possible, to add clarifying verbiage pertaining to the "opt out" language.  sure that the acceleration clause was omitted.  4. Comments From the Public Regarding Agenda Items(s)  None. 5. Consent Agenda  a. Approval of Regular Town Council Meeting Minutes dated. June 27,2024  Ar motion was made by Vice Mayor Carroll, seconded by Councilmember Altieri, and unanimously passed  (4-0) to approve the consent agenda as presented.  6. Mayor's Report  Mayor Foley announced that the qualifying period for the municipal election for Town would end at noon on Friday, July 26, 2024. He then introduced Mr. William Dane, who recently qualified for the election. He explained that if no one else should qualify before the deadline, there would be no election as the three seats up for election would be filled by those who had qualified; Councilmember Auwaerter, The Town. Attorney would opine on whether Mr. Dane, as a candidate, would fall under Government in  Councilmember Altieri and Mr. Dane.  the Sunshine rules, or if that would happen only after being sworn in.  7. Councilmember Items  None.  8. Discussion with Possible or Probable Action a. Set Maximum Tentative Millage Rate for FY24-25  Ar motion was made by Councilmember Auwaerter and seconded by Vice Mayor Carroll to set the maximum millage rate for FY 2024-2025at1.3349. The Town Clerk called the roll. All presentvotedi int the  affirmative with the motion passing 4-0. b. Approval of Tentative Budget for FY24-25    A motion was made by Vice Mayor Carroll and seconded by Councilmember Altieri to approve the tentative budget for FY2024-2025." The Town Clerk called ther roll. All present voted ini the affirmative with A motion was made by Vice Mayor Carroll and seconded by Councilmember Auwaerter to approve the Solid' Waste and Recyclables Collection Franchise Agreement. The Town Clerk called the roll. All present Mayor Foley explained that there had been two applicants for thet fifth seat on the Public Safety Pension Board. The Pension Board unanimously selected Joseph D'Agostino. The Town Council, as part of its ministerial duty, must appoint a person selected by the Board of Trustees. A motion was then made by Vice Mayor Carroll, seconded by Councilmember Auwaerter, and unanimously passed to appoint Joseph Town Attorney Sweeney read the title. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Carroll and seconded by Councilmember Altieri to approve Ordinance No. 573 on second reading. The Town Clerk called the roll. Councilmember Auwaerter announced he would not be attending the Florida League of Cities Conference this year, but instead would be attending the Florida Resiliency Conference that he believed would be more beneficial to the Town as the Resiliency Conference would focus on beach Maggie Giraldo of Kimley-Horne and Associates offered a power point presentation on the Town'sNPDES - MS4 Stormwater System. The purpose of the presentation was to educate the public through  the motion passing 4-0.  . Approval of Solid Waste and Recyclables Collection Franchise Agreement  voted in the affirmative with the motion passing 4-0. d. Approval of Pension Board Member  D'Agostino as thet fifth member tot the Public Safety Pension Board. e. Ordinance No. 573- Cemetery Grave Markers All present voted int the affirmative with the motion passing 4-0.  (Second Reading)  f. Appoint Voting Delegate for 2024 Florida League of Cities Conference  erosion and coastal flooding. No action was taken. g. NPDES MS-4 Presentation communityoutreach. 9. StaffUpdates  a. Building Official Report & Statistics  Town Manager Harpring explained that the Building Official and Code Enforcement Officer were both taking a seminar and any questions the Council may have on either of their reports should be addressed The Town Council had no questions for Deputy Town Manager/Town Treasurer Heather Christmas. Chief Stone addressed the Town Council. He commented that traffic enforcement had almost doubled with many speed warningsi issued. Thel Detective Bureau had been busy with its fraud program. Therewas a report and public service announcement issued alerting residents to the fraud scams, with the department: sending out an informational mailer toi the residents. Recent training scheduled over the past 30 days included advanced EMT techniques, and ladder truck training. The Town Council expressed their Larry Bryant, Director of Public Works addressedi the Town Council. Mayor Foleycomplimented Mr. Bryant  to him. Sea turtle lighting review and enforcement was also discussed.  b. Town Treasurer Report  C. Public Safety Department Report & Statistics  compliments to the Chief on the fraud public service announcement.  d. Public' Works Department Report on the conditions of the Town. e. Code Enforcement Report (See above). f. Town Clerk Report  The Town Clerk gave an update on the election qualification process.    10. Town Attorney Report  Attorney Sweeney reported that he would follow up with Council regarding the application of the Sunshine Law to candidates. He reminded all that the incumbent Councilmembers will still be required to He willl be attending the Municipal Attorney'sconference in Naples over the next few days. He then announced that he had been appointed to serve as Chair of the County, City and Municipal Attorneys practice area of the Florida Bar Association. Presently the Florida Bar Association has over 110,000 members and over twenty-six practice areas. Council offered congratulations.  follow Government in the Sunshine and Ethics Guidelines.  Attorney Sweeney then reported on recent legislation.  11. Town Manager Report  Town Manager Harpring reportedt that the engineering for road projects on Beachcomber Lane and Pebble Lane in response to HB 1379 were underway. Correspondence has been sent to those property owners  affected. An open house is scheduled for September. 12. Councl/Committee Reports or Non-Action Items  a. Call for Committee Reports, Informational Updates or Comments  Councilmember Auwaerter offered an update on the Beach and Shore Advisory Committee Meeting. He announced that the County may get additional funds for the Sector 4 construction, although the desgnationasacriticaly, eroded beach was still forthcoming. Funding will come on at first come first serve basis. Bid documents are undergoing review and will go out in August to obtain bids. Construction  anticipated for the November 2024-April 2025 window. There was discussion about creating an offshore sand bar.  Councilmember Auwaerter next reported on the City of Vero Beach Utilities Commission meeting. He presented a handout for Council consideration. He highlighted the projected cost of the proposed sewer project for the City which has escalated 92% from thei initial cost of $82,000,000 in 2022 to $156,000,000 in 2024. The proposed cost of the project was disclosed at a taxpayer's meeting and had never been disclosed tot the Utilities Committee. He had to obtain the proposed costs througha publicrecords request tot the City. Councilmember Auwaerter compared the costs proposed by the City of Vero Beach to those from the United States Interior Bureau of Reclamation's Construction Cost Trends and commented that the City's costs cannot bej justified. In addition, through his public record request, he questioned the cost for the bonds and discovered that the scoring by the underwriter was done incorrectly, resulting in He: also noted that the ninety million dollars in financing costs do not include the cost of demolition of the existing plant. He stressed that there is no way the ratepayers can carry the cost of the project. Mayor Foley thanked Councilmember Auwaerter for his analysis and agreed that the cost of demolition and/or environmental remediation was not included in the cost. He too commented that the costs have kepti increasing from thet time when the City said they could do the jobi fori fifty-one million. He commented that the cost is nearing a quarter ofa al billion dollars with financing and asked when it will stop.  additional costs to the ratepayers.    Discussioni followed and alla agreed that the Town Council would keep a watchful eye on the proposal and would continue to function as a guard dogf for thet taxpayer's money. The Town Council will explore other  options as well. 12. Call to Audience None. 13. Adjournment  With noi further business to come before the Town Council, the meeting adjourned at: 10:16a.m.  Approved: August 29,2024  Janice C.Rutan, Town Clerk