Apopka City Council Meeting Preview

The packet for this week's Apopka City Council meeting is 413 pages long. Many items look routine, but there are several items that should prompt some interesting discussions and public comment.

Here is a guide with links to some of the most interesting items on tomorrow's 1:30 PM Apopka City Council Meeting agenda:

Proclamations

Two proclamations are on the agenda. Tim Brodour will be presented with a Water for People Week proclamation. Seminole County issued a Water for People Week Proclamation last week. Use this link to learn more about Water for People.

July is Park and Recreation Month. The Mayor is scheduled to read a proclamation and present it to David Burgoon, Apopka's Recreation Director.

Employee Recognition

Several employment milestones will be recognized:

• Five Year Service Award - Justin Rawls - Fire/Suppression
• Ten Year Service Award - Rogers Beckett - Community Development
• Ten Year Service Award - Juan Moreno Jr. - Public Services/Grounds Maintenance
• Ten Year Service Award - Billy Preston Jr. - Public Services/Sanitation
• Fifteen Year Service Award - Andrew King - Police/Support Services
• Fifteen Year Service Award - Marciana Williams - Public Services/Fleet Management
• Twenty Year Service Award - William Alvord - Public Services/Fleet Management
• Thirty-Five Year Service Award - Robert Elmquist - Public Services/Design Engineering

Presentations

Apopka hired five new Police Officers. They will be introduced at the Council Meeting

The 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report will be presented by the City's CPAs, from Moore Stephens Lovelace.

Sale of Alcoholic Beverages

The first two Consent Agenda items involve the sale of alcoholic beverages. Ordinance No. 2376 requires City Council approval for the sale of alcoholic beverages on City-owned property. Alcohol is proposed to be sold at the Travis Tritt Concert on August 13th at the Amphitheater and the Debbie Turner Block Party at Kit Land Nelson Park on October 1st.

The "Consent Agenda" is a meeting practice which packages routine and non-controversial items not requiring discussion and/or separate approval as one agenda item. However, any member of the Council can request that any item on the Consent Agenda be "pulled," and discussed separately.

Police Officer Cameras

The 4th Consent item is a request from the Apopka Police Department for authorization to apply for a $12,708 grant. If the grant is awarded the funds would go towards the purchase of 70 digital cameras that would be used to document domestic violence crimes.

Police Vehicle Cameras

The 5th Consent Item is a request from the Apopka Police Department for approval to spend $24,995 from the Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund to equip the five new patrol vehicles with in-car cameras. If approved Apopka would have 15 patrol vehicles with in-car camera recording technology. APD proposes to purchase the equipment on a no-bid basis from Crimson Technology who is the authorized vendor for Kustom Signals equipment. APD already uses Kustom Signals equipment and Kustom Signals is an evaluated source.

Note: Purchases from "evaluated sources" are exempt from the City's competitive bidding requirements.

Recreation Youth Sports League Fees

The last Consent Item is the approval of new rates and charges for youth sports leagues. The City Code requires the rates and charges for the use of recreation facilities and recreation programs to be developed by city staff and for the rates and charges to be reviewed annually. Rates and charges are to be reasonably related to the city's actual costs and should be consistent with prevailing market rates.

The City's staff has made recommended changes based on the City Council workshop on June 15, 2016. The proposed new fees will apply to all youth sports leagues including Pop Warner Football & Apopka Little League.

Development Design Guidelines

City Staff is recommending the Council amend the City's Code and add a new section to the Land Development Code entitled, "Development Design Guidelines."

The proposed Guidelines are 46 pages long and are intended to apply to all residential, commercial, office, institutional and industrial development, including both public and private facilities.

The guidelines are based on the premise that a quality appearance will produce a quality lifestyle. The staff believes the guidelines will also mutually protect everyone’s investments. They further state that the appearance of the community is required for Apopka to stay competitive.

Sandpiper Road Project

This project has faced much controversy over the past two years. The developers are seeking approval for a that keeps the same number of homes (49), but moves the homes away from the western end of the property. At least one written objection has been filed.

Public Participation Policy

At the last City Council meeting a new Public Participation Policy was presented. To say it met with resistance from the public and some members of the Council would be an understatement. Changes requested included:

• Removal of the proposed thirty (30) minute time limit for all public comments.
• Change the proposed individual time limitation from three (3) minutes to four (4) minutes.
• Remove the reference to applause, audible conversations, booing, harassing remarks, or other audience participation as being examples of "unruly behavior."

The requested changes have been made and Resolution No. 2016-16 will be presented to Council on Wednesday for review and adoption.

Copart Final Development Plan

The Council is being asked to approve the Final Development Pan for Copart's proposed 58-acre vehicle storage site on 411 just west of 429.

Development Review Process Changes

City staff are recommending several changes to the Development Review Process.

1. "Scale back" the weekly Development Review Committee (DRC), meetings. Require applications to be submitted by the first of the month. Have a DRC meeting at the end of the month. Meeting minutes should be taken and the meeting recorded.
2. Eliminate public hearings for nonresidential developments that meet code requirements.
3. Eliminate public hearings for final plat and construction plans for subdivisions if those plans are consistent with the approved preliminary plat.

The meeting is at 1:30 PM in the Council Chamber at Apopka City Hall.