City Commission Regular Meeting Brief for December 14, 2021

COMMISSION BRIEF FOR DECEMBER 14, 2021

City Commission Approves Hiring of City Clerk
The City Commission approved the City Manager’s recommendation of Tedra Allen for City Clerk.  The former City Clerk left City employment in November 2021 and the vacant position was posted on the City website and the website for the Florida Association of City Clerks.  Tedra Allen has served as the Town Clerk for the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea for the past seven years.

City Commission Approves Hiring of Public Works Director
The City Commission approved the City Manager’s recommendation of Thomas Good for Public Works Director.  The former director left City employment in September 2021 and the vacant position was posted on the City website, as well as numerous professional association websites.  Thomas Good has been serving as the Assistant City Manager/Environmental Service Director for the City of Deerfield Beach, and previously service as the Director of Public Works for the City of Miramar and Capital Programs Manager for the Miami-Dade County School Board.

City Commission Approves Hiring of Finance Director/Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
The City Commission approved the City Manager’s recommendation of Aaron Kendrick for Finance Director and CFO.  The former director left City employment in October 2021.  The vacant position was posted on the City’s website, as well as numerous professional association websites.  Aaron Kendrick served as the Senior Director of Finance for JAXPORT, the Port of Jacksonville, for nearly 15 years and the CFO for the Clay County Utility Authority.

City Commission Approves Audit Plan for Fiscal Year 2022
The City Commission reviewed and approved certain audits of City processes, based upon the recommendations of MSL CPAs and Advisors, which conducted a risk assessment for the City.  After interviews with all members of the City Commission, as well as executive City management, an audit was developed for the City for fiscal year ending September 30, 2022.  The audit plan contained a list of potential internal audits based upon MSL’s procedures and a consensus of City Commissioners interviewed, with the goal of improving City processes and procedures which in turn will save money and resources, and perhaps boost revenue in applicable processes.  During the December 14, 2021 Commission meeting, audits of the following were approved to move forward:  Finance Department review, Utility Billing process, cash handling procedures, Local Business Tax Receipt, procurement procedures, compliance hotline, general insurance review.  The City Commission has budgeted $75,000 for the internal audit. 

City Commission Approves Agreement with Weekly Asphalt, Inc. on Second Renewal
The City Commission approved the second renewal out of two renewal agreements with Weekly Asphalt, Inc. for asphalt resurfacing.  In 2019, the City bid out asphalt resurfacing.  Upon completion of the bid process, the bids came in 20% higher than an already established contract through Broward County.  At the July 19, 2019 Commission meeting, City Commission gave direction to reject the bids due to increased costs.  The Commission later approved a piggyback option based off of a Broward County contract, which leverages the purchasing power of the County to reduce costs for the City.  Within the Commission-approved FY 2022 budget, $514,331.00 was appropriated for asphalt paving.

City Commission Approves Contract with Polydyne, Inc.
The City Commission approved a contract with Polydyne, Inc. for the supply of a cationic emulsion polymer used in the City’s wastewater treatment process.  Treatment of the City’s wastewater produces three outputs:  filtered solids/debris, treated water, and bio solids (also known as sludge).  The City’s sludge is disposed via a licensed contractor, who hauls it away.  To minimize hauling expenses, the liquid sludge is dosed with a cationic polymer in a process that eventually makes it more suitable for transport.  The treatment process requires approximately 33,000 pound per year, equating to an annual cost of approximately $43,000.  Sufficient funds are available in the Water & Sewer Fund.

City Commission Approves Amended and Restated Agreement with American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) Manager
The City Commission approved the amended and restated agreement with Horace McHugh, to administer the programs and initiatives proposed for funding by ARPA and approved the appropriation of funds.  The City will receive a total of $17,930,000 of ARPA-related funds, which will allow the City to undertake projects beyond the City’s regular operations and therefore, is beyond the routine staffing allocation in the annual budget.  As such, additional staffing and/or consulting services will be required for the approximately 60 programs and initiatives recommended for City Commission consideration.  ARPA guidelines acknowledge the need for additional staff to execute projects and allows for administrative costs to be included within the funding.

City Commission Approves Departmental Reorganization of the Recreation Department to the Parks and Recreation Department
The City Commission established the Department to be identified as the Parks and Recreation Department.  The decision came after the need to move the Park Operations and Management to the Recreation Department was identified and analyzed.  The transition also includes the reclassifications of select positions, while moving certain positions to exempt status.  While park operations and management will fall under the responsibility of the newly-established Parks and Recreation Department, park maintenance will remain the responsibility of the Public Works Department.  The transition will go into effect on January 24, 2022.

City Commission Approves the Third Amendment to the City Manager’s Employment Agreement and Accepts Request to Rescind the City Manager’s Resignation
At the Regular City Commission Meeting of November 30, 2021 City Manager Joseph Napoli requested the Commission to consider his request to rescind his resignation.  A consensus was reached to discuss with members of the Commission, during which an amendment of the contract was recommended.  The City Commission has now approved the amendment and accepted the City Manager’s request to rescind his resignation.

City Commission Approves Resolution 21-57
The City Commission approved an agreement between the City and the Supervisor of Elections of Broward County (SOE), which will allow the SOE to conduct the municipal elections for the City.  Final election costs will be based on a number of factors including number of ballot styles, charter questions, and number of poll workers assigned.  An estimate for the November 2022 election has been provided by the SOE and can be seen by visiting: https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/coopercity-meet-d0c6d0278c77486aaf5b9d73a9dcb16b/ITEM-Attachment-001-3725d6f6e08f450d932fb75d5b3ddfe1.pdf.  The City will budget the estimated coast in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 21-27 on Second Reading
The City Commission approved, upon second reading, the re-creation and re-establishment of the geographic boundaries for four election districts in accordance with section 3.03 of the City Charter.  To view the district map, which will be submitted to the Supervisor of Elections of Broward County, please visit: https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/coopercity-meet-5480c8c0968e4db1a96abee342585fc0/ITEM-Attachment-001-5d2b3435bfbd4f5e8fe12bef9391ef51.pdf.

More Information
For more information related to items on the December 14, 2021 agenda, please visit the City’s website at: https://meetings.municode.com/adaHtmlDocument/index?cc=COOPERCITY&me=d0c6d0278c77486aaf5b9d73a9dcb16b&ip=true.

The next City Commission Regular Meeting is January 11, 2022.