##VIDEO ID:f2-Z_a9MJfw## e good evening I'd like to call to order the Board of Commissioners special meeting today is Wednesday November 20th 2024 it is 6 PM city clerk would you call the role please Mayor Brooks here vice mayor tagini here commissioner McAn here commissioner gabay here commissioner Kerr would not be in attendance tonight public comment public participation is encouraged if you are addressing the commission step to the podium and state your name and address for the record and the organization or group you represent please limit your comments to five minutes and do not include any topic on the agenda public comment on agenda items will be allowed when they come up if you would like someone at the city to follow up on a comment or question made at the meeting you may fill out a comment card with the contact information and give it to the city manager comment cards are available at the back table in the commission Chambers completing a comment card is not mandatory for any quasi judicial public hearings that might be on the agenda an affected person may be a party to a quasi judicial proceeding and can be entitled to present evidence at the hearing including the sworn testimony of witnesses and relevant exhibits and other documentary evidence and to cross-examine all Witnesses by filing a notice of intent to be a party with the community development director not less than five days prior to the hearing do we have any public comment good evening Chuck Dyan 529 Lillian Drive I've got a couple of things that I don't know I was going to try to come to the workshop last week but ran out of time and had to go out of town I brought this up before but especially now once again Banning of wood mulch in our city we're doing a lot of things and everything and and it's kind of like one of these things like it's cheap but it's nasty and it does nothing but clogs up drains so I'd like to see if that could get further along on that and then other is um RVs I know we're doing a great job allowing RVs on property while people are rebuilding and I was looking through last week's meeting and then today I can't remember where it went but uh I was thinking that we it's it's good that we're doing this but I think we have to have a limit on it so people are not living in their RVs as opposed to living in their homes so Poss POS put a limit on the time frame if they are in the process of building I think it should be allowed no problem but if there's no building going on or the permits have expired or something like that to you know say okay like hey folks you you know you've got a house and whatever and I know everybody's been very hard struck by this but I think to put a limit on how long they can be in the on the properties because we we're not a trailer city thank you thank you do we have any additional public comment with no additional public comment I lost my page we will move on to ordinance 2024-25 and I will hand this over to the City attorney thank you ordinance 202 24-21 an ordinance of the city of madira Beach Florida revising section 94-32 of Division 9 general of chapter 94 flood plane management to delete the requirement to elevate previously issued building permits amending the definitions of substantially damaged substantial damage and substantial Improvement in section 94-93 of Division 9 general of chapter 94 flood plane management of the code of ordinances to delete their repetitive flood damage provision and the one-year look back requirement revising section 1439 of Article 2 technical codes and standards of chapter 14 buildings and building regulations of the code of ordinances to delete paragraph D regarding the definitions of substantial damage and substantial Improvement in the Florida building code providing for conflict codification and severability and providing for an effective date do we have any public comment Commissioners any comments Madame mayor like to make a motion to approv uh ordinance 2024 D21 revising definition of substantial Improvement second reading do we have a second second city clerk would you call the role please commissioner gabay yes vice mayor tagini yes commissioner mcgean yes Mayor Brooks yes the motion carry four to zero we will move on to the next item on the agenda ordinance 20 24-22 and we'll hand this over to the City attorney thank you ordinance 202 24-22 an ordinance of the city of madira Beach Florida adopting a revised appendex a fees and collection procedures Manual of the code of ordinances of city of madira Beach Florida repealing ordinance 202 24-5 providing for conflict codification and severability and providing for an effective date do we have any public comment Commissioners any comments no comments do we have a motion I I move we pass uh ordinance 20 24-22 do we have a second I second that city clerk would you call the role please V mayor tagini yes commissioner McAn yes commissioner gabay yes May Brooks yes the motion carry four to zero before we adjourn the meeting just to keep inke keeping with public comment um we had two items that came before us for public comment that were not on the agenda one was Banning of wood mulch and the second was on the RVs for limits if the commission is agreeable We'll add this for discussion to our next Workshop yes yes we could add that Robin if anyone has anything further Madame mayor uh just wanted to ask a quick question uh with regards to our citizens or residents and uh and um or businesses um next year year after we are going to be hurting for tax dollars um so um is there any possibility we can probably discuss this or put something on the agenda to to see what we can do not only to facilitate the residents residents to move in as quickly as possible I understand we have to work um with our staff and uh and allowing them to build and um businesses move in um I I I just uh would love to look into the future next two years and see how the negative tax dollars could affect this city so I think that we have a our our next Workshop is scheduled for December and I feel confident that at that meeting we could have an update on the status of where we are with permitting get a percentages of houses of where they are in build backs or tear Downs that that would give enough time to the um planning department and building department to be able to come back with some some information and we could start that conversation I don't think that we'll have a clear view of that until into next year the financial side of it but I I definitely think we should have an update on the agenda for discussion yeah we do we have an update on the hurricane as we gave at the a week ago and just as we did a week ago we will provide you another Financial update but we did provide that last week I but I to show what our Revenue impacts will be for fiscal 25 um but we'll provide an update to that and look at fiscal 26 as well I just like to iterate or reiterate that our residents our business owners need to know that we are here for them we're we care we're caring about them we want them to move in as quickly as possible and our staff's making every effort to issue as many permits as possible so I I so I will tell you just to be clear for anyone who's watching yes because there's been a little bit of misunderstanding in the public on what our staff is doing our staff is working six days a week our building department is working six days a week our planning department is working six days a week it is all Hands-On they have brought um staff in from other departments that their departments are not functioning currently because of flood damage and they are utilizing that staff in the planning department and the building department mostly I believe planning that being said our permit department is offering in addition to their six days a week they are offering face-to-face meetings for people who need assistance in filing demo permits so when people see a post on social media that says the permit hours are that is in addition to the regular hours of or not regular because Monday through Saturday is not regular but they are working Monday through Saturday and in addition to that they are providing two staff members to sit out and work with people who need assistance on building permits or come in and have general questions and I don't see that changing I see it flowing into more assistance once we get to the rebuild phase and there are people who have already submitted for interior rebuilds there are that that will be what I think Marcy can really provide us coming um in December is how many SD letters have gone out how many were complete tear Downs how many are people that are going to rebuild and that'll give us that what you're talking about is a um Financial snap look at where the effect of the city is when you talk about how many houses are we thinking we're going to tear down as of December and that obviously could change as the continuation goes and also remembering and keeping in mind that there are 17 over 1,700 affected properties in madira beach and a property does not mean a single family house duplex Triplex hotel or um condos apartment buildings an apartment building is considered one property so if people if you think about that in perspective I don't think there's anyone in in my opinion of what I've seen in the city and I'm here quite a bit and I haven't seen a staff member that isn't working as hard as they can and long hours to be able to help our residents go home and I think it's important that the community understands nobody's just sitting around people are working six days a week to make it happen and that's very important to give them that credit and some seven some people seven days a week it is commendable yes and we can watch our staff I I'm here too and not as often as you are mayor but uh and our staff's really working around the clock now one other thing I was going to ask and I think it the idea has been floating around uh what about like engaging some professionals like maybe an electrician or some um some licensed professional that can help in certain aspects of of reconstruction so that we can depend on those professionals to sign off whether it's for power whether it's for drywall whether it's for plumbing or whatever could we utilize their services so the the the discussion that I am under understanding is that currently we don't have a need for that that's you're talking about building inspector um not inspectors no just uh just professionals and their Fields so in other words hire an electrician that is licensed that can submit and basically to the city and say this is how we're going to address this electrical we cons so when a property owner submits a permits the permit for work the onus is on the property owner to hire their own electrician and Builder what is on the city is once the build permit the build back permit is issued the city building inspector then goes out and does it does inspections depending on the work that's done does inspections along the way to move it to the next phase currently our building inspector is able is not having any issue carrying that load as things move along and we become busier if there is a need for an additional building inspector or two or 10 or whatever that number is I don't know but if there is a need staff has already had that discussion of where that might would come from and it is available to the city but today if we had a second building inspector my understanding is there is no real work for that person today but that could change in a week or two weeks depending on the amount of permits that come into the building department am I right Marcy yes yes I I would agree with that assessment yeah so I think they are they've got Marcy definitely has got her um finger on the pulse of what's going on in that area and I also feel confident that if she sees a need for additional staff she'll ask for it yeah we we cannot hire professionals to assist Property Owners whether businesses single family we cannot hire electricians what was your I guess I misunderstood your the residents can hire an electrician who's licensed professional just to go and fix the issue right and and basically say you know you're good just go ahead and put your drywaller no they got to have a permit they need to get a permit though to do the the importance of going through the process is if we do not go through the proper process following FEMA's guidelines there's punishment for lack of a better word that comes down and it's not about it's not just about the city being punished the punishment comes down on everyone the homeowner so the we are lead our staff is lead leading the community to follow down the path so that there are no issues at the end of the road at the end of the rebuild because can you imagine in a world where you just did whatever you wanted and at the end of the path they said yeah you got to tear that down so you've just spent every penny you had in your savings to build back and FEMA says no you can't not not Mader Beach because this is FEMA that is it's still Within 50 I mean lower than 50% so you can still calculate that but uh well right we have to calculate that based on the FEMA parameters yeah but yeah I'm I I still didn't I'm sorry I didn't understand what your request or comment was though Comm my question actually is and it's a question it's not a comment it's a question let's say somebody has a house that's been obviously damaged through the hurricane and and we are basically backed up you know I mean we if we don't have the manpower to issue as many permits as quickly as possible right we would seek to get assistance and that's what we've done actually from through our the it's called the web emergency Operation Center for pelis County to request additional staff for plans reviewers permit technicians we haven't received any but we made the initial request on October the 2nd um but we're moving Marcy and her staff have been moving through these as quickly as they can and we've issued permits to date so we will continue to do that but we can only do so much it doesn't help us to hire an engineer it doesn't help us to hire a plumber a licensed electrician we actually need individuals that are familiar with th those specific actions to be able to process a building permit and if we need inspectors as the mayor stated we've requested inspectors as well to go out and do inspections once the rebuild repair permits start coming in we we've already received quite a few but now as as they're receiving their substantial damage substantial Improvement letter then the work is beginning and then inspections will be called in and we will need to go out and make those inspections again to complete the repairs on people's property and get them back into their homes and or businesses thank you thank you any further comment uh first of all I believe um the city staff is doing an excellent job I know you guys are working really hard and that includes everyone um even up here um I do appreciate that um one of the things that some of the residents have brought up to me is communication like per individual inspection are we doing it by District are we doing it by when they filed or can say for instance I have someone in my district that says commissioner I'm just waiting on a permit I have everything I'm ready to go I'm wanting to get back in can they call and say okay we we're going to get to you on a certain timeline within a week or a couple days I know that some of it's been brought up like the timeline might be all the way to even March or um but that's what they're I just want to um help them you know rest easy and say it's not going to be March you know here's when we're going to get to you when we can or this is our timeline is there something like that where they can talk to you or someone and say we're going to get to you on Friday or next Friday so even coming into this meeting I was looking at the amount of substantial damage estimates that we've been doing so we've got uh several workbooks going because we have a significant amount of data that we're trying to to keep track of as of today the team is actively inputting substantial damage estimates for properties that we have inspected through October 30th so once that data goes in then it's being qced now those are being done in order of the demo permits that we did and the inspection request so we're trying to do those in order of kind of first in first out but combining that with the work that tidle Basin did Title Basin is they canvas the city and now they're qcing their results as of Monday we got QC data for roughly 50 properties our team has done substantial damage estimates for a little over 150 so we're qcing that but they did it in a grid format so they started like they may have information from for Harbor and second they didn't do it her date in out so we're trying to mesh those together and try to kind kind of take it from both ends based on what we're getting but still reviewing the information that's coming in from Title Basin but as of today we are looking at substantial damage from properties we visited on the 30th I'm trying to correlate that into if they've done it and I can review it and QC it next week does that mean if you were inspected this week you can results in two weeks so I'm trying to put that calendar expectation together um I keep wanting to do all those data points and try to give people something to sink their teeth into I know it's very important um so the moment I can I will but that is my goal is to say listen if you were inspected or if you started your permit here you should get your determination notification in two weeks from from this or here's where you'll fall that's what I'm trying to do right now that's excellent excellent um also I know there was talk about bringing and um County inspectors at one time didn't we talk about that bringing in help to inspect the uh with the county inspectors yeah that's what I just I mean a few moments ago we've requested additional staff to assist right now we're not in the process of of really the inspections that are being done now are for those that have obtained a permit to rebuild their property and but we're not we don't there aren't hundreds of inspection to be made it's just a we're able to handle those now but we've requested information so we're not I mean and Marcy can correct me but we're not performing inspections now for anyone who has been removing damage from the storm so if you're taking out your drywall whatever you're flooring we're not inspecting that we're allowing people to take photos of the work and upload that into the software yes once they receive their letter as to whether you're substantially damaged which gives you options or you're not substantially damaged then they can proceed with the rebuild and repair they they still need to get a permit to do that work that permit will come in it'll be reviewed fairly quickly so they the work can begin as the work proceeds progresses inspections are called to go and inspect work that has been that is in progress has been completed Etc that's where we've requested additional inspectors because at guessing within a couple of weeks we will probably have hundreds of repairs happening every day so we will need and you know an inspector to go out and inspect all of those right okay one more point and that's um some citizens brought up uh the problem with looting and IL legal dumping and I'm just asking like um have we increased our uh police presidents they're going out in Patrol and they've made some arrest we I have not heard of any looting I know that they arrested a person trying to break into a house I'm not sure what they're looting because if they're going into we do have um staff gave me an update that we have 36 properties that appear completely to be abandoned we reached out to dozens more to advise them you need to secure your property the doors are open the windows are open but not so concerning about the windows but certainly the doors so a lot of those have been secured we still have again about 36 that are abandoned so we've you know telling our deputies go drive by those properties those properties are empty there is nothing to loot in them unless somebody wants to I don't know steal trash that may be inside side or I'm I'm not sure what would be looting we have had people trying to break into homes and they have been arrested and we do encourage if anybody sees anything out to call 911 but our deputies are they're not that busy because the call volume drastically reduced after this during and after I after the storms right so they're ready willing and able to go out and they are patrolling I see them when I drive around looking at the debris from early in the morning to late in the evening and at night and they're out there patrolling I probably scared off a few people as well just because I tend to be annoying at night so and flashlights and you know beep the horn and you know keep people moving but if anybody has been taking anything I've observed a dozen folks just in the last week still driving down the streets with a trailer and taking items that are at the curb why you would do that I would never do that but to each their own and because that stuff is disgusting that's at the curb all 10 and some of it that's been recently put out has been sitting in a house that was full of water for six to seven weeks now I'm guessing it's not very clean and it doesn't smell very good but again if that's what you like to do but and they're not stealing anything that out of someone's home or someone's property if it's at the curb all right thank you it is oh yeah it is 6:26 we are adjourned