Longboat Observer
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012
independent review
by Robin Hartill | City Editor
Larson raises contract questions Commissioner Lynn Larson raised questions about whether Town Manager David Bullock’s contract gives him sufficient independence. Commissioner Lynn Larson raised two questions at a Thursday, Feb. 16 workshop discussion of Town Manager David Bullock’s first quarterly review: Is the town manager’s contract in compliance with the town’s charter? And does the town manager’s contract give him the degree of independence he needs to do his job — and, if necessary, make difficult decisions? The town’s charter states: “The town manager may be removed from office upon the affirmative vote of five (5) members of the town commission.” During the term of Bullock’s contract, a five-commissioner vote is needed to terminate the agreement. However, a provision in Bullock’s contract, which extends through Sept. 15, states that the contract will automatically extend for one year unless a majority of the commissioners decided otherwise — meaning it would take four commissioners to vote not to renew Bullock’s contract. Town Attorney David Persson wrote in a Feb. 21 letter that he believes the contract does comply with the town’s charter. “These provisions accomplish different goals,” Persson wrote. “The decision not to extend the contract does not terminate the town manager, but it does, however, provide a final date for his contract. If during the term of the contract, the Town Commission wishes to terminate the manager, it needs five (5) votes under both the charter and the current contract. Because the majority vote provision does not apply to terminating the manager during the term of the contract, there is no conflict between the method of allowing the contract to end and Article III, Section 2 of the Town Charter regarding termination of the town manager.” But Persson wrote that just because the contract is legal doesn’t mean it’s the best policy. He wrote: “Legality of the contract does not address the other portion of your question concerning independence of the town manager, nor does it address the policy questions to be considered in a contract in
ON HOLD
KEY SURVEILLANCE by Robin Hartill | City Editor
License cameras moving slowly toward Key Two years after Police Chief Al Hogle first began researching the camera systems, the town continues to move forward with the plan.
Town Manager Dave Bullock’s contract is set to expire Sept. 15. order to secure that independence. “A traditional fixed-term, multiple-year contract would remove the issue of whether non extension of the manager’s contract should be by majority or super majority vote. My observation is that Mr. Bullock faces challenges within the town that will take several years to complete. The desirability of a fixed-term, multiple-year contract would be an interesting discussion by the Town Commission assuming that the commission continues to be satisfied with Mr. Bullock’s services.” Larson said that she believes the commission should enter into a longer-term contract with Bullock that would require five votes for dismissal. “There’s a lot of issues that the town is facing,” she said. “There’s a lot of issues that he is involved with and he may have to make some unpopular decisions as a town manager. It should not be a popularity contest.” But other commissioners contacted by the Longboat Observer indicated that the discussion was premature. Commissioner Hal Lenobel, who had
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not read Persson’s letter Tuesday afternoon, said he didn’t see any need to change the contract at the moment. Commissioner Pat Zunz said that more discussion was needed. “This is an issue that we would need to discuss in a public meeting the pros and cons of,” she said. Vice Mayor David Brenner had not yet reviewed Persson’s letter Tuesday afternoon; Commissioner Jack Duncan did not return a phone call Tuesday afternoon seeking comment. Mayor Jim Brown didn’t seem worried about the current contract. “The only reason I would be concerned is that we’ve found a good guy and want to give him an incentive to stay,” he said. But Brown said that he believes that both a town-manager evaluation and contract review should be done annually by the commission. “I approach every job the same,” Bullock said. “I understand who I work for, and in this position, you’re called upon to make a variety of decisions. That contract will not compromise that in any way.”
by Robin Hartill | City Editor
Cell tower at top of Comp Plan concerns The Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board voted to hold off on making recommendations for proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments until it can learn more about the findings of a wireless-communications study. A proposed cellular tower was the 150foot elephant in the room at the Tuesday, Feb. 21 Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board meeting. The town currently doesn’t have a completed cell-tower application on file, Town Planner Steve Schield confirmed to the board at its Tuesday, Feb. 21 meeting. But the word “tower” — one word of a sentence proposed for a Comprehensive Plan that currently totals more than 200 pages — was the focus of much of the meeting. The amendment to Policy 1.1.10 to the town’s Comprehensive Plan states: “Height restrictions for each category shall not apply to antennae, enclosed mechanical equipment areas, chimneys, house of worship spires or towers, but the town land-development regulations shall limit their height.” Attorney Charlie Bailey, who represents Grand Mariner owners Ralph and Sheri Trine, who oppose the proposed tower, echoed the argument he made in November, when the Longboat Key Town Commission voted to transmit changes to its Comprehensive Plan to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. He said that the town should hold off on making the changes until the consulting firm TE Connectivity Inc. could complete its
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Down to the wire(less) As part of its wireless communications study, TE Connectivity Inc. will gather feedback at two public meetings scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, at Christ Church of Longboat Key, Presbyterian, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, and 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road. wireless-communications study, which will likely occur in April. “To make this change now would be premature and, perhaps, conflict with the recommendations of TE Connectivity,” Bailey said. The proposed changes wouldn’t eliminate height restrictions on the structures listed, but, instead, would limit them through the town’s land-use regulations instead of its Comprehensive Plan. But Bailey argued that those regulations must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and that the P&Z Board should wait until it has the data and analysis needed to make changes. P&Z Board Chairwoman B.J. Webb made a motion to continue the discussion of proposed Comprehensive Plan
amendments at its March 27 meeting. But several board members worried that the board was holding off on taking action because of minor concerns about language. “All we’re trying to do is determine the intent of the future land-use policy,” board member Leonard Garner said. “I don’t see any point in not moving forward.” The motion passed 5-4. But some board members had concerns that they still wouldn’t have the information they need to make decisions about the Comprehensive Plan by the next meeting. They agreed that they would submit questions to Schield to transmit to TE Connectivity over the next week. To observers of the Comprehensive Plan process, the scene at the P&Z Board meeting may have seemed like déjà vu all over again. That’s because the Comprehensive Plan changes discussed required the P&Z Board make recommendations, which go to the Town Commission for two public hearings, which are then transmitted to various state and local agencies, which then forward their suggestions. The amendments then head back to P&Z for another round of recommendations before going back to the commission, which adopts them after two hearings.
The license-plate recognition cameras, if installed, will capture information on license plates entering the Key in approximately 250 milliseconds. The process of putting those cameras in place, however, takes much longer. The town will issue a request for proposals this week, according to Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle, who first discussed the idea at a Longboat Key Town Commission workshop in February 2010. But Hogle is still determining where the cameras will be placed and plans to lobby the Florida Department of Transportation to place the cameras on its rights of way. The ideal location for the cameras would be on an overhang on Gulf of Mexico Drive on each end of the island, Hogle said. But in an Oct. 30 email to town officials, FDOT stated that the only law-enforcement cameras permitted in its rights of way are red-light and toll-violation cameras. “In the absence of specific legislative authorization, permits for other types of camera systems, such as license-plate readers and surveillance cameras that are used by law enforcement, are not allowed within the FDOT right of way,” the email states. “Additionally, no permits will be issued to use FDOT rights of way for the purpose of connecting cables from license plate readers and surveillance camera equipment located outside the right of way, into FDOT traffic controllers, cabinets, or signals.” Hogle hasn’t found any communities in his research for which FDOT has made exceptions to its policies on such camera systems. Placing the cameras on poles on the side of the road is possible but would make it more difficult for the cameras to capture information. Hogle, however, has studied other communities where licenseplate cameras are used without access to FDOT rights of way. He visited Lighthouse Point, in Broward County, which has 20 cameras in operation along side streets. The proposed system would take a picture of the rear quarter of each passing vehicle, capturing images of license plates, but not drivers, of vehicles entering and leaving the island and send the data immediately to the Florida Crime Information Center, which would notify the department if any of the images taken contained information about a stolen vehicle or relating to a wanted or missing person alert. Hogle believes the system would benefit the Key. “If there’s a lost or missing person or a crime takes place, we would be able to identify that person,” Hogle said. “I think it would increase safety to the community.”
Camera closeup According to a January 2011 memo from Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle, the license-plate recognition camera system uses optical character recognition to read license plates on vehicles and takes a picture of the license plate. The information is then run through a current database provided by the Florida Crime Information Center and Federal Crime Information Center. The database would be maintained as evidence by the Longboat Key Police Department and made available only for criminal investigations.