City Commission Regular Meeting Brief for December 12, 2023

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-30 on First Reading 
The City Commission approved, on first reading, a franchise agreement with Coastal Waste & Recycling of Florida, Inc. for commercial and residential solid waste and recycling hauling services with an effective date of April 1, 2024 and expiring March 31, 2031. Coastal Waste & Recycling of Florida, Inc.'s submitted bid for residential collection is approximately 21% less than the existing collector's residential cost. 

Since January 23, 2001, Cooper City has had a collection services agreement with Waste Management Inc. of Florida providing for the collection and hauling of commercial and residential municipal solid waste (MSW), residential bulk, and recycling, and Rolloff services. The seventh amendment to this agreement was executed on August 24, 2023 and provided for a limited six-month extension of the services agreement. This agreement with Waste Management Inc. of Florida expires on March 31, 2024. Due to the current agreement’s upcoming expiration, Request for Proposal (RFP) 2023-2-PW was issued September 29, 2023 to competitively bid these services with the changes/additions to the current service levels/contractual requirements including:

  • City to assume responsibility for actual residential MSW and bulk disposal costs.
  • Proposers asked to identify their fees for all services for years 1 through 7 of the initial contract term.
  • Franchise fees (12%) to apply to all charges, including billed disposal.
  • Customer service specifications including multi-lingual call center, web platforms and reporting tools.
  • Administrative charges to apply to critical service measures.
  • $120,000 annual payment to support Solid Waste Coordinator position to be created.
  • Increase in annual scholarship payment from $5,000 to $10,000 per year.
  • Multi-family properties to be billed as single-family properties eliminating additional costs and invoicing to the City.
  • Emergency debris services included for bulk (as needed).
  • Extra services upon request for bulk customers.
  • Exploration of bulk serviced at current levels, once monthly on Mondays, once every other month at 10cy per collection and once quarterly at 15cy per collection.

The RFP closed October 23, 2023 receiving a total of four proposals from the following qualified vendors: Coastal Waste & Recycling, Inc., Eastern Waste System, Inc., Waste Management Inc. of Florida, and Waste Pro of Florida, Inc. An evaluation committee convened for a total of three meetings to thoroughly assess the proposals and on November 3, 2023, the committee short-listed the following three proposers:  Coastal Waste & Recycling, Inc., Eastern Waste System, Inc., and Waste Management Inc. of Florida. These three vendors were invited to provide formal presentations and question-and-answer sessions on November 8, 2023, specifically addressing services related to MSW, Recycling, and Bulk Waste. Coastal Waste & Recycling and Waste Management Inc. of Florida were identified as the two finalists for MSW, recycling and Rolloff services (Eastern Waste Systems, Inc. only submitted a proposal for bulk waste services). During this meeting, the evaluation committee determined that it was in the best interest of the City to request proposers submit their “Best and Final Offers” in accordance with Sec. 2-256(3)(g) of the City Code. These were received on Monday, November 13, 2023 by all proposers. The evaluation committee reconvened on November 14, 2023 for a final meeting to assess the “Best and Final Offers,” conduct a final evaluation and ranking, and voted to recommend the separate award of a contract for commercial and residential MSW, recycling, and Rolloff services to Coastal Waste & Recycling, Inc and for bulk services to Eastern Waste Systems, Inc. This ordinance, related to the franchise agreement with Coastal Waste & Recycling, will be brought forward for a second reading during the Regular Commission Meeting scheduled for January 9, 2024.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-31 on First Reading
The City Commission approved, on first reading, a franchise agreement with Eastern Waste Systems, Inc. for bulk waste/trash and bulk yard waste collection services with an effective date of April 1, 2024 and expiring March 31, 2031. For more information on this item, please see the above summary for Ordinance 23-30. Ordinance 23-31 will be brought forward for a second reading during the Regular Commission Meeting schedule for January 9, 2024.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-25 on Second Reading
The City Commission approved rezoning petition #Z 8-1-23, providing for the rezoning of the approximately 2.4 acres of real property generally located on the northwest corner of NW 37 Street and NW 100 Avenue, approximately one-half mile south of Stirling Road, in Cooper City. The property was annexed into Cooper City on September 15, 2004 and is within the Royal Palm Ranches Preservation Area. The existing zoning and Land Use Plan designations were inherited from Broward County and are the same as those, which existed before the property was annexed into the City. The rezoning is necessary for the lot to be developed with two single-family homes because the current County E-2 zoning requires a minimum lot size of two net acres per home. City Commission approved the rezoning request to the E-1, Estate District that it should be conditioned upon a maximum of one home on a minimum lot size of 1.34 and 1.15 acres be submitted to the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office for separate folio numbers and legal descriptions. At the meeting on November 1, 2023, the Royal Palm Ranches Preservation Board recommended approval of the rezoning request. At the meeting on November 6, 2023, the Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the rezoning request.

City Commission Appoints Member to Recreation Advisory Board
The City Commission approved the appointment of Carmen Mure to the Recreation Advisory Board.

City Commission Approves Resolution 23-21
The City Commission approved an agreement with Dish Wireless, LLC for one hundred fifty (150) feet of ground space at the telecommunications tower, on the City-owned property located at Suellen H. Fardelmann Sports Complex, 10300 Stirling Road, Cooper City, FL 33328 for an initial term of five (5) years with four (4) additional terms of five (5) years each, beginning on the commencement date. The annual revenue for this agreement will be an initial amount of approximately $20,000 increased annually by four (4) percent. Additionally, there will be a one-time capital contribution payment of $5,000.

City Commission Approves Resolution 23-30
The City Commission approved the adoption of cybersecurity standards, delegating all cybersecurity authority to the City Manager, and authorizing the City Manager to respond to cyber threats and take appropriate action as needed.

City Commission Approves Resolution 23-31
The City Commission approved an agreement with Broward County to fund the 49th year Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) for the Senior Transportation Program. Broward County is a recipient of CDBG funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Broward County administers these funds and allocates a portion to be used by the City for the Senior Transportation Program. The Parks and Recreation Department facilitates the program. Cooper City’s Senior Transportation Program was awarded $15,000.

City Commission Supports Letter to the Broward County School Board
The City Commission approved a letter of support to the Broward County School Board asking that children residing in the Country Glen development be given the additional option to attend Pioneer Middle School. The Broward County School Board will be voting on giving choice to County Glen development soon, therefore drafting this updated letter of support will express wholehearted support.

City Commission Approves Sole-Source Purchase of Sodium Hypochlorite Triplex Skids
The City commission approved and authorized the sole-source purchase of two sodium hypochlorite triplex skids from TriNova Inc. as an authorized single source representative of ProMinent Fluid Controls, Inc., the manufacturer, in the amount not to exceed $80,433.11. This will replace the existing skids of the City’s water and wastewater treatment plants, installed in 2004, and have exceeded their anticipated lifespan.

City Commission Approves Purchase of New Single Turner Valve Maintenance Trailer
The City Commission approved and authorized the purchase a new Single Turner Valve Maintenance Trailer for the Utilities Department for E.H. WACHS, using National Purchasing Cooperative BuyBoard Contract 684-22 for Utility Equipment, in the amount not to exceed $84,130.39. The purposeful desing of this trailer aims to streamline valve maintenance processes. With advanced capabilities, such as updating the City’s Geographic Information System (GIS) utilizing GPS controller/datalogger feature, it not only expedites valve operations but also reduces downtime and elevates the overall performances of our systems compared to manual, time-consuming, and labor-intensive existing valve-exercising programs.

City Commission Approves Award of Bid for Odor Control Chemicals for Wastewater Treatment Plant
The City Commission approves the award of Bid, Invitation to Bid (ITB) 2023-4-UTL, for odor control chemicals, to the lowest, responsive and responsible bidder, Momar, Inc., and entered into an agreement for the purchase of these chemicals for the wastewater treatment plan in the amount not to exceed $26,268. Odor control measures are regularly employed in our wastewater treatment process to neutralize offensive odors. Momar, Inc.’s  Liquid Blossom 20X has been recommended by City staff after field-testing this product and finding it satisfactory. This chemical comes in 275-gallon totes and the staff estimates approximately eight (8) totes should be sufficient for one (1) year’s consumption. For competitive solicitation, the Purchasing Division released ITB 2023-4- UTL, titled Odor Control Chemicals, in Sun Sentinel newspaper on August 24, 2023 along with posting it on DemandStar, an electronic purchasing portal.

City Commission Approves Sixth Amendment to Agreement with ARPA Administrator
The City Commission approved the sixth amendment with John M. Perez to administer the programs and initiatives proposed for funding by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. The City of Cooper City has received a total of $17,930,000 of ARPA-related funds. There is a need for staff resources to setup programs (research program guidelines; ensure project eligibility and compliance; develop implementation schedule, etc.) and coordinate the City’s efforts among the various departments. The ARPA guidelines acknowledge the need for additional staff to support ARPA execution and allow administrative costs to be included within the funding. John M. Perez has the requisite experience and has been coordinating this effort over the last 17 months. The proposed hourly rate is $70 per hour, with the City incurring no benefits, with a total estimate of $40,000. These eligible ARPA administrative costs qualify for funding from the City’s ARPA allocation.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-27 on First Reading
The City Commission approved, on first reading, an amendment to the adopted budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024. In accordance with the Florida Statutes, City staff is allowed to amend the fiscal year’s budget in a manner similar to the adoption of the budget: by ordinance. Due to unexpected events/items that have occurred since the adoption of the budget on September 26, 2023, staff proposed a budget amendment that increases the FY 2023-2024 budget by $537,837. This ordinance will be brought forward for a second reading during the Regular City Commission meeting scheduled for January 9, 2024.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-28 on First Reading
The City Commission approved, on first reading, an amendment to Chapter 5 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, entitled “Animals and Fowl,” by specifically amending Article I, entitled “In General,” by creating Section 5-5, to be entitled “Keeping of Roosters,” prohibiting the keeping of roosters in residential zoning districts in Cooper City.  This ordinance will be brought forward for a second reading during the Regular City Commission meeting scheduled for January 9, 2024.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-29 on First Reading
The City Commission approved, on first reading, an amendment to Chapter 13 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, entitled “Public Safety,” amending Article VI, entitled “Code Enforcement,” by specifically amending Section 13-65, entitled “Special Magistrate System Created; Qualifications; Terms; Removal,” amending the City’s procedures for engaging and removing the City’s Special Magistrates. This ordinance will be brought forward for a second reading during the Regular City Commission meeting scheduled for January 9, 2024.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 23-24 on Second Reading
The City Commission has approved an amendment to the Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024. In accordance with City Code, at the end of each fiscal year staff prepares a list of purchase orders that have not been fully liquidated and needing to be rolled to the new fiscal year. For 2024 , the Finance Department recommended the rollover of only capital item purchase orders with previously budgeted remaining amounts. The total budget for the capital item is allocated at the beginning of the project and purchase orders are issued. At the end of the fiscal year, the remaining funds on these purchase orders need to be rolled over to allow for the continuation of the project. The FY 2023-2024 Adopted Budget is increased by $5,166,606.03

Additional Items of Note:

The City Commission directed staff to bring forth additional procurement information related to the need to purchase and install heaters/chillers for the community pool at the Pool and Tennis Center.

The City Commission directed staff to schedule a special meeting to discuss multiple topics related to the Optimist Club of Cooper City.

More Information
For more information related to items on the December 12, 2023 agenda, please visit: https://meetings.municode.com/adaHtmlDocument/index?cc=COOPERCITY&me=a8e00a9e91464b37b2a31307565c28c9&ip=true.

The next City Commission Regular Meeting will be held on January 9, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. at Cooper City Hall located at 9090 SW 50 Place, Cooper City, FL 33328.