BOOK 57 Page 28745 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. MINUTES OF THE EMERGENCY SARASOTA CITY COMMISSION MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 27, 2004, AT 3:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Richard F. Martin, Vice Mayor Mary Anne Servian, Commissioners Fredd "Glossie" Atkins, Danny Bilyeu, and Lou Ann R. Palmer, and City Manager Michael A. McNees, City Auditor and Clerk Billy E. Robinson, and Assistant City Attorney Robert Fournier ABSENT: None PRESIDING: Mayor Martin The meeting was called to order in accordance with Article III, Section 9(c) of the City of Sarasota Charter at 3:00 P.M. 1. REPORT RE: : DAMAGE ASSESSMENT FROM HURRICANE JEANNE (AGENDA ITEM I) CD 3:04 through 3:25 Mayor Martin stated that the City Manager will provide a damage assessment regarding Hurricane Jeanne. City Manager McNees stated that a crew of 12 to 13 employees from the Engineering Department, the Public Works Department and the Building Department conducted an assessment of City-owned properties to ascertain the impact to the City from Hurricane Jeanne; that the assessment has been completed but is considered an estimate since the details have not been tabulated; that the Director of Public Works indicated City-wide debris removal will likely cost $500,000; that the City Engineer indicated direct damage to City property may be as high as $1 million; that the shoreline along the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall (VWPAH) was damaged suffering significant erosion and a sailboat is on the rocks; that a corner of the foundation of the existing sculpture is completely exposed; that a light pole snapped; that fishing piers along the VWPAH and at Ken Thompson Park have been somewhat damaged, although not destroyed; that the Ed Smith Sports Complex has some damage to signs; that malfunctioning traffic signals were out due to power outages; that the City did extremely well for the most part, although not quite as well as during the prior recent storms; that the cost of the repairs will be documented; that detailed information will be provided. City Manager McNees continued that people were extremely cooperative; that discussions took place on Sunday, September 26, 2004, at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), regarding the amount of debris which will remain from the hurricane; that ironically the routine yard waste removal and debris clearing from previous Hurricane Frances was scheduled for completion by the subcontractor on Saturday, September 25, 2004, which is no longer the case; that the possibility of engaging some additional subcontractors to advance the schedule was discussed; that the Director of Public Works indicated an emergency contract exists with a contractor who is on retainer; however, the contractor may be working in other parts of the State assisting people with greater needs such as removal of trees from homes; that a decision was made to send a Countywide message to the citizens of Sarasota indicating two to three weeks may be necessary to complete the debris removal and to request patience; that drawing resources from other areas of the State having significantly more damage than the City is not the desire; that the message coming out through the press will be to encourage patience; that the City understands the schedule is behind but will keep pace with the cleanup; that citizens should keep any yard waste for pickup on the street; that trees should not be conveniently cut down on the pretense of being damaged by the hurricane. City Manager McNees further stated that response was extremely good; that Public Works employees worked all night on Sunday, September 26, 2004, to make street lights operational; that many street lights were out due to power outages; that the Sarasota Police Department and Public Works employees were available and responded well; that the situation is becoming routine due to the other recent hurricanes. Mayor Martin asked if the Commission is comfortable with the suggestion to not contact the emergency contractor on retainer with the City to assist with the cleanup of debris since other areas of the State require the assistance. Vice Mayor Servian stated yes. Commissioner Palmer asked if Staff has ascertained if the contractor has other contracted jobs? City Manager McNees stated that the Director of Public Works indicated the City would be pulling the contractor from other work; that the situation will be verified; that most contractors BOOK 57 Page 28746 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. BOOK 57 Page 28747 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. and subcontractors are engaged in work somewhere in the State; that idle resources are unlikely at this time. Commissioner Palmer stated that the situation should be verified; and asked the status of the power outages in the City? City Manager McNees stated that a precise answer cannot be provided; that the Administration has provided Florida Power and Light (FPL) with a list of priorities; that sewage lift stations are out of service which are obviously high priority, particularly those without backup power; that some of the sewage lift stations have generators which avoids the necessity of having to bypass or pump out; that specific information as to when power will be restored in certain areas of the City cannot be provided; that the City can only request patience from the citizens; that citizens should be grateful for still having roofs; that lengthy delays in restoring power are not anticipated; that FPL is working hard; that FPL is willingly addressing the City's priorities from a health and safety standpoint; that information as to when the power will be restored in a particular neighborhood cannot be provided. Commissioner Palmer stated that receiving any information as to when work will begin would be heipiul; that FPL's public relations office can be contacted; that telephone calls are being received from citizens expressing concern regarding the status of restoring power; that the citizens are requesting the Commissioners contact FPL to request restoration of power; that the Commission does not have the authority or the power to request FPL to restore power in specific areas. City Manager McNees stated that the City could begin to badger FPL to restore power for certain locations; that, frankly, doing SO would be counterproductive, that FPL has many issues of concern; that people are encouraged to be patient; that citizens should be grateful for having roofs and safe homes; that FPL is working 24 hours per day to restore power as quickly as possible, which should be appreciated by everyone. Commissioner Bilyeu stated that being provided information as to when the power will be restored is a personal concern since citizens observe FPL trucks in the neighborhood but the power is not being restored; that being provided information indicating the areas having no power would be helpful; that the concern is with District 3 as well as the entire City; that citizens from District 3 are telephoning him with concernsi that the preference is to indicate debris removal will be complete in four to six weeks rather than in two weeks which will avoid complaints; that people will be pleased if removal of debris is completed in two weeks which would be ahead of the scheduled four to six week timeframe; and expressed thanks to the Administration and Public Works Staff for tree limbs which were picked up on Floyd Avenue prior to the arrival of Hurricane Jeanne; that his constituent was pleased the City removed the tree limbs. City Manager McNees stated that the promise was to pick up all the debris prior to the end of the week which was pushed to late Saturday, September 25, 2004; that the Administration will ask if FPL can identify power outages by block; that the question was posed during the EOC meeting on Sunday, September 26, 2004; that the information could not be provided at the time; that three weeks is estimated for removal of debris; that indicating four weeks with the hope for removal of the debris in two weeks is a good idea; that the intent is to consistently send a countywide message, particularly with regard to debris removal sO the information on the news will apply to everyone; that the main message is for citizens to remain patient; that a pile of limbs existing in front of residences for a few weeks is not aesthetically pleasing; however, the City could be facing a worse predicament; that everything will be addressed. Vice Mayor Servian stated that thanks are expressed to the Department Heads who worked throughout the storm and kept the Commission informed; that people have also raised a concern regarding traffic lights, specifically on US 41; that some of the intersections with malfunctioning traffic lights are not manned; that small stop signs exist but cannot be observed by people traveling in the inside lane; that people are traveling through the intersections without stopping; that the possibility of serious accidents is a concern; that the police are strained at this time; however, manning the intersections, especially during rush hour is necessary. City Manager McNees stated that the plan was to man any major intersection without signalization during rush hour. Vice Mayor Servian stated that the intersection of Myrtle Street and US 41 was not manned during the morning rush hour. City Manager McNees stated that the number of intersections which can be manned effectively may be an issue; that the situation will be addressed immediately. BOOK 57 Page 28748 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. BOOK 57 Page 28749 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. Vice Mayor Servian stated that an issue of most importance is to treat an intersection without signalization as a four-way stopi that people do not seem aware of the manner in which to treat an intersection with malfunctioning signalization. Mayor Martin stated that the manner in which people were negotiating the intersection of US 41 and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Way, which had malfunctioning signalization was impressive; that for the most part, people are able to manage situations at difficult intersections. Commissioner Atkins stated that some wires are down in his community; that repairing downed wires should be a priority; that he was in Tallahassee and Ocala, Florida, and was unable to return to the City until approximately 6:00 a.m. this morning due to the hurricane; that his electricity has been out since late Friday, September 24, 2004; that the downed wires in his neighborhood do not appear to have fallen due to a tree; that children pass by the downed wires while going to school; that if the wires are electrical lines is not known. City Manager McNees stated that downed wires are a high priority; that no one should assume the downed wires have been reported to FPL; that the Administration will follow up if the street address of the downed wires is provided; that FPL usually addresses downed wires first; that FPL may have determined the downed wires are telephone lines; that the situation will be verified. Commissioner Palmer stated that construction signs and construction barricades are a concerni that some construction signs were sand bagged; however, some were blown as far as one block away; that construction debris in general is a concerni that campaign signs are also a concern; that the concern has been previously mentioned; that candidates were requested to remove campaign signs during an EOC Press Conference; however, a significant number remained; that the City has experienced four storms in six weeks; that candidates should be responsible if failing to remove campaign signs during times of emergency; that sufficient time may not have been available during the first storm; however, sufficient warning was provided for the second, third and fourth storms. Commissioner Palmer continued that individual grocery carts were seen all over Fruitville Road near Beneva Road; that the stores are not at fault; that in the future, Kmart, Kash n' Karry, Publix, Albertsons and other grocery stores in town should be requested to canvas areas and secure grocery carts; that the grocery carts have flipped over and disturbed foliage; that grocery carts could end up in a resident's front window during hurricane force winds. City Manager McNees stated that typically stores tend to grocery carts well since the carts are expensive; that the Administration will follow up on the situation; that he personally visited each major construction site in the Downtown during the afternoon on Sunday, September 26, 2004; that the construction sites were in remarkably good condition; that a significant amount of temporary construction fencing was blown down; that the fencing was not a hazard; that many plastic construction barricades were sandbagged but were blown over and scattered; that other than blown over port-o-lets, the major construction projects in the Downtown were in remarkable condition; that the Administration communicated with all the construction sites prior to the hurricane; that building inspectors visited each site; that the construction sites were personally visited in the middle of the storm; that the construction site managers and Building Department Staff did an excellent job; that everyone tries harder with each storm. Commissioner Palmer asked for clarification regarding the campaign signs. City Manager McNees stated that candidates are continually requested to remove campaign signs; that the City does not have resources to go out and remove the signs; that the City can only continue to send the message to remove the campaign signs during storms; that campaign signs in yards should be removed to avoid the sign projecting into someone's window; that the City's power to demand people remove the signs is limited. Commissioner Palmer stated that the City should follow up with the Supervisor of Elections; that Kathy Dent, Supervisor of Elections, was contacted regarding the issue; that Ms. Dent contacted all the candidates prior to Hurricane Frances and requested the signs be removed; that many candidates did not remove the signs; that the signs on the major thoroughtares, rather than the yard signs are the concern. Mayor Martin stated that the lift stations without power are a concern; that some of the lift stations have emergency generators; that the lift stations most vulnerable should have alternative BOOK 57 Page 28750 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. BOOK 57 Page 28751 09/27/04 3:00 P.M. generation which would be a good investment of funds; that a report back to the Commission would be helpful. City Manager McNees stated that all the major lift stations have emergency poweri that on Sunday, September 26, 2004, the power was out in some remote areas of the system; that the major pump stations with backup power were not necessarily in areas without poweri that although room may not be available for emergency generators, the Administration will evaluate the situation; that many issues will be evaluated prior to fiscal year (FY) 2005/06 based on the recent emergency situations experienced during FY 2004/05. Commissioner Bilyeu stated that the Zoning Code (2002 Ed.) does not indicate political signs must be removed during a hurricane; that the Commission can set a policy if the desire is for removal of political signs during hurricanes; that signs other than political signs were damaged during the storm. 2. ADOPTION RE: EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 04-4587, DECLARING ORDINANCE NO. 04-4586 TO BE NULL AND VOID; FINDING THAT NO PRESENT DANGER EXISTS WHICH WOULD NECESSITATE THE EXERCISE OF EMERGENCY POWER PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE FLORIDA STATUTES, : ETC. (TITLE ONLY) = ADOPTED (AGENDA ITEM II) CD 3:25 through 3:26 Mayor Martin stated that the item is adoption of proposed Emergency Ordinance No. 04-4587, declaring Ordinance No. 04-4586 to be null and void; and requested that Staff come forward. Assistant City Attorney Fournier stated that the Commission met in an emergency session on Saturday, September 25, 2004, and invoked the emergency management powers conferred by Statute to adopt Ordinance No. 04-4586; that Ordinance No. 04-4586 delegated emergency powers to the City Manager sO he could act in an expedient manner to deal with conditions created by the passage of the storm; that proposed Ordinance No. 04-4587 before the Commission at this time repeals Ordinance No. 04-4586 which was passed on September 25, 2004, declaring the Ordinance null and void and revokes the powers granted to the City Manager. City Auditor and Clerk Robinson read proposed Emergency Ordinance No. 04-4587 by title only. On motion of Commissioner Bilyeu and second of Vice Mayor Servian, it was moved to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 04-4587. Motion carried unanimously (5 to 0): Atkins, yes; Bilyeu, yes; Martin, yes; Palmer, yes; Servian, yes. 3. ADJOURN (AGENDA ITEM III) CD 3:27 There being no further business, Mayor Martin adjourned the Emergency meeting of the City Commission of September 27, 2004, at 3:27 p.m. Packaue dlafhrn RÉCHARD F. MARTIN, MAYOR ATTEST: Bill E Rolnsor BILLY BZ ROBINSON, CITY AUDITOR AND CLERK BOOK 57 Page 28752 09/27/04 3:00 P.M.