TOWN OF MELBOURNE BEACH
MINUTES
TOWN COMMISSION - Regular Meeting
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WEDNESDAY
May 18, 2005
6:30 p.m.
COMMUNITY CENTER
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The Town Commission of the Town of Melbourne Beach met in regular session on
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 in the Community Center, 509 Ocean Avenue, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Present:
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Mayor Stacey
Vice Mayor Wilson
Commissioner Guglietta
Commissioner Walters
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Absent:
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Commissioner Price - on vacation
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Others Present:
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Town Manager Higginbotham
Town Attorney Paul Gougelman
Interim Town Karan Rounsavall
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Mayor Stacey called the meeting to order and announced his intent to open the meeting with prayer. There
were no objections. Mayor Stacey offered the invocation. The invocation would continue as a part of future
meetings. The entire assembly recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
There were no changes to the agenda. Moving on to Non-Scheduled Citizen Comments, the Commission
heard from Linda Rydson who thanked the community for its support of the Odyssey of the Mind team from
Gemini Elementary. The team performed during Founders Day and was traveling to Colorado during the
following week for national competition.
Tom Shaw thanked the Parks Board for organizing a superb Founders Day. There was terrific interest in the
kids fishing tournament. Mr. Shaw suggested that the Commission consider implementing a time limit of
30 minutes for discussion and action on individual agenda items during regular meetings. If more time than
this was needed for an item, he felt that a workshop meeting was warranted.
After numerous requests to town hall for service, Caroline Shea appreciated the fact that vegetation creating a
blind spot at the Sixth Avenue access was cut down. She also expressed her displeasure with service received
from all levels in town hall. She did not feel that citizens should experience such difficulty when making
simple requests.
Joseph Pierson of 209 Cherry Street related his experience and frustration in obtaining a roof inspection for his
house. It seemed that the employees at town hall did not know when the inspection was to take place and he
wanted to schedule an appointment. He also asked what exactly constituted an inspection. Were shingle nails
counted? Did the inspector get on the roof? Town Manager Higginbotham advised that it was the building inspector’s
practice not to go onto a roof unless the roofing contractor was present. The town manager was directed to report
back on details of the building inspection process.
Ron Gallagher related his experience with roofing inspections. He wondered how an inspector could tell whether
or not the underlayment was of the proper poundage and applied correctly simply by examining photographs.
Mayor Stacey asked the town manager to investigate and respond to the Commission.
Martha Remark suggested that the town commission consider hiring a building official just for Melbourne Beach
as this would provide a higher level of service and eliminate many of the concerns just expressed. Town Manager
Higginbotham advised that the current building official worked ten hours per week.
Town Clerk Rounsavall responded to Mike Lesser’s questions about the cost of newspaper notification for
proposed ordinances. He suggested mailing individual notices to property owners in lieu of publishing an
advertisement as he felt this method would ensure better awareness of pending ordinance changes.
Next was approval of minutes of regular meeting April 20, 2005 and special meetings April 13, 2005,
April 19, 2005 and May 4, 2005. Commissioner Walters requested a change to the April 13th special
meeting dealing with discussion on the recruitment of the town clerk. He asked for clarification that the
mayor started to discuss the possibility of a ballot question to change the method of appointment of
the town clerk from the commission to the manager. With regard to the April 19, 2005 special meeting
dealing with the order for discussion of agenda items, he asked for clarification that citizen comments
under public input were limited to three minutes.
Commissioner Guglietta moved to approve all minutes with the corrections noted. Vice-Mayor Wilson
seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Under Board Reports, Commissioner Walters asked whether or not the Pet Parade held several months
earlier and sponsored by the Williams Building Committee was approved by the Parks Board. Ann
Downing, a member of the Williams Building Committee, advised that the event was, in fact, approved.
Consent Agenda: Commissioner Walters moved to approve all consent items as follows:
A. Resolution No. 4-2005 amending Section 9.07, Wage and Salary Plan, of the Town’s Policies
and Procedures Manual, by removing the town manager, public works director, and finance manager
from eligibility for compensatory time, and adding the police lieutenant and municipal accountant
as new positions which were exempt from overtime and eligible for accrual of compensatory time.
Recommendation: Adopt resolution as presented.
B. Residential site plan review for 701 Pine Street as requested by Sherrie Quarrie, owner. The major
addition consisted of a new second floor. Recommendation: The Planning and Zoning Board reviewed
the site plan at its May 2, 2005 meeting and unanimously recommended approval. There were no
outstanding conditions.
Vice-Mayor Wilson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Old Business: The first item was a request for clarification of the town commission’s action at its
April 20, 2005 meeting with regard to “rehabilitation” of the Ryckman House using modern materials as
opposed to those building materials necessary to preserve any official historical status. The commission’s
discussion at the referenced meeting followed a presentation by Ann Downing on the condition of the structure
and its history. Commissioner Walters suggested that the town engage the services of a professional architect
to determine what it would take to restore and maintain both the Ryckman House and the post office replica.
Once this information was available, including costs, the matter could be placed on a referendum ballot for
residents to decide whether or not they wished to expend tax dollars for restoration of these buildings. If
restoration was to be done, he wanted to see it done correctly. It appeared to him that residents wanted
something done with the building. Mayor Stacey suggested that the question be referred to the newly
created historical board. Vice-Mayor Wilson offered an alternative to the binding ballot question…place a
straw ballot before the electorate as to restoration and maintenance of historical structures in general. The
vice-mayor felt this was not a job for the historical board but felt it was more appropriately assigned to the
town manager to develop costs and a scope of work.
Public input was received. Tom Shaw did not favor a ballot question of any type as he felt that commissioners
were elected to make this kind of decision. He also reminded the audience that there were more historical
structures in town than just the Ryckman House and post office replica.
Ron Gallagher noted that the Ryckman House needed significant structural repair that would be costly. If the
town came up with the funds for this purpose, he wanted to be certain that they were spent wisely.
Amy Adams, who had done some consulting work in the area of historical restoration, suggested that the town
manager contact State agencies dealing with historic structures for their input and assistance in obtaining State
monies for renovation. Grants for restoration were available. She mentioned that the State’s historic preservation
architect had visited Brevard County several times in the past. His services were free.
Following Ms. Adams’ comments, Commissioner Walters mentioned that the town had tried on several occasions
to have the Ryckman House recognized by the state. Vice-Mayor Wilson asked about the status of recent contacts.
The town manager advised that nothing further had been done. The commission asked for a history of what had
been done in the past with regard to the structure, particularly as it related to efforts involving the State of Florida.
Town Manager Higginbotham would investigate the details of any prior contacts with State agencies and report back.
Caroline Shea suggested the use of volunteers to do the renovation work as she felt they would be covered by the
town’s insurance. Mike Lesser suggested expanding the tax base by allowing more elegant homes to be constructed
within the town’s jurisdiction or leasing the structures to third parties.
No clear consensus was reached by the commission.
Commissioner Guglietta mentioned that the regular post office wished to expand its building and needed the land
upon which the post office replica was situated. He favored setting aside funds in the next year’s budget to begin
to fix these buildings. It was necessary to make the hard decisions and work together as a community to get
these historic buildings into shape and maintain them. Commissioner Walters mentioned other infrastructure
priorities, particularly storm drain repair. Mayor Stacey asked that the matter involving the potential relocation
of the post office replica be forwarded to the Historical Board for input. There was no objection to his request.
The only other item under Old Business was consideration of the employment agreement between the Town
of Melbourne Beach and W. D. Higginbotham, Jr., Town Manager. Particulars of the agreement were discussed
at previous meetings and it was presented to the commission once again for final approval this evening. Commissioner
Guglietta moved to approve the employment agreement with the town manager through April 25, 2008 as presented.
Vice-Mayor Wilson seconded the motion. Commissioner Walters offered an amendment to the motion for approval
subject to any additions or deletions that might be made during discussion. There was no second to his amendment.
Commissioner Walters stated that he asked that the contract be strengthened with regard to termination “for cause”
to include misfeasance and malfeasance particularly in light of the fact that the contract renewal provided for an
additional month of severance pay. As rewritten, the contract defined “for cause” as a finally adjudicated claim of
misfeasance or malfeasance with the term “finally adjudicated” meaning a final determination by a court of law.
The revised language eliminated reference to failure of the town manager to perform any of the duties as provided
and required in the agreement as falling under “for cause.” Commissioner Walters preferred to see the language
as to “finally adjudicated” removed and “failure to perform” reinstated. As to the $150 per month automobile allowance,
he felt that in return for this provision that travel reimbursement on a per diem payment should be deleted. The
manager should not be entitled to receive both. Other items of concern for Commissioner Walters included:
(1) the fact that he felt that salary increases should be limited to an annual occurrence as opposed to sporadically;
(2) clarifying the “consecutive” use of administrative leave to a preset number of days; and
(3) some provision that would prohibit the manager from speaking ill of the Town of Melbourne Beach upon
termination. Commissioner Walters advised that he spoke with the town attorney earlier about these concerns.
Attorney Gougelman stood ready to proceed at the commission’s direction, however, suggested that the
commission might want to hear from the town manager. With regard to termination for cause, it was
appropriate to tighten up this language, but if the commission decided for whatever reason that it no
longer wanted Mr. Higginbotham as its manager, it was advisable to simply terminate his employment
and pay the severance. In the long run, this was cheaper than litigating the matter.
Commissioner Walters suggested a workshop meeting to further discuss and work out these outstanding
issues. Commissioner Guglietta withdrew his motion to approve the agreement and moved to schedule a
workshop meeting to discuss the manager’s employment agreement as soon as possible. Commissioner
Walters seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
New Business: The first item was reappointment of Brent Peoples and John Alpizar to the Police Officers’
Pension Board of Trustees. Mr. Peoples’ term expired on May 13, 2005 and John Alpizar’s term expired
on June 25, 2005. Both trustees had good attendance records and both were interested in reappointment.
These were commission appointments for two-year terms expiring in 2007. There were no other current
applications on file for this board.
Commissioner Guglietta moved to reappoint both incumbents for two-year terms expiring May 13, 2007
and June 25, 2007 respectively. Commissioner Walters seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Next was an appointment to the History Preservation and Awareness Board. D. X. Ross submitted her
resignation from this board leaving one vacancy. The town clerk’s office was in receipt of three resident
applications for this board. Commissioner Walters moved to accept Ms. Ross’ resignation with regret.
Commissioner Guglietta seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
The commission heard briefly from Martha Remark, Chairperson of the History Board, about the qualifications
of the applicants.
Commissioner Guglietta moved to appoint Susan Dieterle for a term expiring December 31, 2005. Commissioner
Walters seconded the motion and it carried on an all aye vote. Commissioner Guglietta then moved to extend
the terms of all members through December 31, 2005 to coincide with the sunset of the resolution establishing
the history board. Commissioner Walters seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Attorney Gougelman read ORDINANCE NO. 1-2005 OF THE TOWN OF MELBOURNE BEACH, BREVARD
COUNTY, FLORIDA RELATING TO ZONING; MAKING FINDINGS; PROVIDING FOR A REFERENDUM
ELECTION AND BALLOT LANGUAGE; CREATING SECTION 6.06, TOWN CHARTER, TO PROVIDE
THAT NO PROPERTY WITHIN THE TOWN SHALL BE REZONED FROM ONE ZONING DISTRICT TO
ANOTHER ZONING DISTRICT WITHOUT REFERNDUM APPROVAL OF THE TOWN ELECTORATE;
PROVIDING FOR COORDINATION WITH THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE the first time by title only.
Second reading and public hearing were scheduled for June 15, 2005.
Commissioner Walters moved to approve the ordinance upon first reading. Vice-Mayor Wilson seconded the
motion. Commissioner Guglietta explained that the proposed ordinance would place a question on the
November 8, 2005 ballot requiring that any rezoning within the town be submitted to a vote of the electorate.
Public input was received. Linda Rydson indicated that she would like an opportunity to read the ordinance.
Accordingly, Mayor Stacey recessed the meeting at 8:15 for this purpose. The meeting reconvened at 8:25 p.m.
Martha Remark discussed the rezoning procedure; it was not simple and not done on a whim. She stated that
the Planning and Zoning Board reviewed and made recommendations on all potential rezonings. Was this
ordinance really necessary?
Alice Graham liked the fact that the people would have an opportunity to vote on all rezonings. She also favored
placing building height restrictions in the town’s charter.
Attorney Gougleman advised that this ordinance would need to be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board
to determine consistency with the town’s comprehensive plan and its recommendation forwarded to the town
commission. The attorney also stated that a similar ordinance setting forth a referendum election and ballot
language to limit height of structures in Melbourne Beach would be available at the June 15th meeting for first
reading. This ordinance would place building height restrictions in the town’s charter.
Next was Resolution No. 3-2005 amending and restating Resolution No. 702 establishing meeting rules of
procedure, etc. for the Town Commission by providing that a special meeting may be called by a single
commissioner, deleting reference to specific hours for adjournment of meetings, and providing for agenda
item discussion procedures. Each of these amendments was directed at a previous meeting; the resolution
simply formalized them. Vice-Mayor Wilson moved to adopt Resolution No. 3-2005. Commissioner Guglietta
seconded the motion and offered an amendment to change the order of the agenda to include an invocation
as given at the beginning of the meeting and several other changes intended to streamline meetings. These
included moving “Approval of Minutes” to follow the “Pledge to the Flag;” moving “Consent Agenda” to
immediately follow “Changes to the Agenda;” retitling “Reports by Any Town Board Submitting a Report” to
“Boards and Committees” and placing all board appointments under this section rather than “New Business;”
and providing a separate section for “Public Hearings.” Commissioner Guglietta also suggested that a monthly
schedule be set up for receiving board reports on a regular basis. There was a consensus of the commission
to proceed with the revised order of the agenda as set forth by Commissioner Guglietta (i.e. Call to Order;
Invocation; Pledge to the Flag; Approval of Minutes; Changes to the Agenda; Consent Agenda; Presentations
by Special Guests; Proclamations and Awards; Non-Scheduled Citizen Comments; Boards and Committees;
Public Hearings; Old Business; New Business; Reports; Adjournment.
Public input was received. Martha Remark received clarification from Attorney Gougelman on declaring a
conflict of interest in the case of quasi-judicial matters.
The motion, as amended to include a revised order of the agenda, carried unanimously.
The Town Commission was in receipt of a revised job description for the position of town clerk. The current
job description was last updated in March 1997. Notable changes to essential job duties included: preparation
of summary of action following commission meetings; serving as the State Records Management Liaison Officer;
serving as editor for the Town’s bi-monthly newsletter; coordinating postings to the Town’s Web site; maintaining
the Town’s Code of Ordinances; maintaining records of board and committee appointments; and serving as
financial disclosure coordinator. Commissioner Walters moved to approve the revised job description as presented.
Commissioner Guglietta seconded the motion and it carried on an all aye vote.
Amy Adams of Cape Canaveral Scientific, Inc. presented a status report on the Oak Street Pedway Project.
Her firm was recently engaged by the Town of Melbourne Beach to provide project management and grant
administration for the stormwater improvements related to the Oak Street Pedway Project. Previously, the
engineering firm of Outlaw & Jones, Inc. was providing these services, however, the town recently learned
from the St. Johns River Water Management District, which awarded the grant for stormwater improvements,
that Outlaw & Jones had not provided deliverables to the District as provided in the contract schedule. There
were numerous deficiencies in the stormwater improvements performed to date which resulted in the District
declaring its inability to provide reimbursement pursuant to the grant because the improvements were not done
to its standards. Deficiencies included the fact that the exfiltration pipe was incorrectly installed and that it was
installed over sand as opposed to gravel with no filter fabric. This would permit sand seepage into the PVC pipe
and resulting failure within three to six months. In addition, the swales were not installed at a 12-inch depth and
were only 4.5 feet from the roadside to Pedway in width.
Town Manager Higginbotham advised that Outlaw & Jones was paid approximately $185,000 to date for the
project. Expected reimbursement from St. Johns River Water Management District was to be roughly $63,000.
The contractor was behind schedule and the penalty phase was in effect. The pipes which were installed incorrectly
would need to be removed and replaced correctly on gravel with the filter fabric. The swales would not be easy to
remedy. The contractor was aware of the problem.
The Town Commission discussed the importance of this project being done correctly. It directed the town
manager to arrange a meeting with the project engineer and contractor to see whether or not they were
willing to remedy the deficiencies. If this meeting was unsuccessful, they would be put on notice of pending
legal action. The Commission requested an update on this at its June 15, 2005 meeting.
The next item was requested by Vice-Mayor Wilson at the Commission’s April 20, 2005 regular meeting, that
being the advisability to proceed with an amendment to the Town’s Land Development Code by expanding the
definition of “bed and breakfast” to clarify that it was not a rooming house, resort condominium or time share.
A resort condominium was defined as any unit or group of units in a condominium, cooperative, or time share
plan which was designed or used for transient occupancy. The intent of the vice-mayor’s request was to
exclude resort condominiums and time shares from the town’s definition of bed and breakfast. Commissioner
Walters moved to direct the preparation of an ordinance that would further define a bed and breakfast
establishment by specifically excluding resort condominiums and time shares. Commissioner Guglietta
seconded the motion.
Linda Rydson received clarification of the Commission’s intent.
The motion carried unanimously. The ordinance would be available for first reading at the June 15, 2005 meeting.
Vice-Mayor Wilson also wished to discuss the feasibility of one commissioner attending all Planning and Zoning
Board meetings on a rotational basis to observe and take notes on any site plan approval by the planning board
with conditions. Since the Planning Board was now reviewing residential site plans, he felt this was advisable,
particularly if there were conditions. The vice-mayor moved to direct the clerk to set up a schedule for the Town
Commission that would rotate each commissioner through the Planning and Zoning Board meetings on a trial
basis for the next six months. Commissioner Walters seconded the motion.
Gail Gowdy, a member of the Planning and Zoning Board, felt this was a good way for the Commission to stay
in touch with what went on at the Planning Board meetings. Seth Stark felt that if the commission did this for
one board, it should do it for all.
Attorney Gougelman advised that the Planning Board meetings were quasi-judicial in nature. If commissioners
were to attend these meetings, their attendance would need to be disclosed. He urged commissioners not to
speak at the meetings nor involve themselves in debate.
Commissioner Guglietta suggested that a schedule be developed for each of the town’s boards and committees
to make regular presentations on their activities to the Town Commission on a semi-annual basis.
The motion failed on a tie vote with Mayor Stacey and Commissioner Guglietta voting nay.
Commissioner Walters commented on the deteriorating condition of storm drains and streets in the town
and asked that the $98,000 budgeted for storm drain repairs be expended in the current fiscal year. The
longer that repairs were delayed, the worse the condition would become as well as being more expensive to fix.
He favored allocating considerable funds every budget year to repair and maintain the town’s infrastructure. Town
Manager Higginbotham advised that the town did not have the engineering capability to move ahead at this time
with repairs but he had discussed the matter with two engineering firms and hoped to have something to report
in the near future, perhaps the next meeting. Commissioner Guglietta asked for a five-year plan for road resurfacing.
Town Attorney Report Attorney Gougelman provided an update on the cancelled mediation hearing previously
scheduled for the Hamilton litigation. The Commission wanted Attorney Gougelman to continue as the town’s
counsel in this case.
Town Manager’s Report Town Manager Higginbotham advised that Ed Washburn, Town Planner, was increasing
his fees from $300 to $600 per month. The manager contacted the regional planning council, but it was not interested
in providing these services. The town manager was pursuing alternatives that would include a planner who was
available to attend Planning and Zoning Board meetings as well as Board of Adjustment meetings. Mr. Washburn
did not want to attend evening meetings.
Town Commissioners’ Reports Vice-Mayor Wilson reported on his attendance at a meeting of the Melbourne
Historical Board, which was in the beginning stages of creating a historical district.
The vice-mayor went on to inquire as to the special event process for the Music in the Park event held several
weeks earlier. He felt that several irregularities occurred that were inconsistent with town regulations, such as
named sponsors, soliciting donations, signage, selling of alcoholic beverages on Sunday, and concessionaires.
The accounting of funds for the events was questionable and incomplete to his knowledge. Donnie Price, Jr.,
who had been in charge of the event, responded to the vice-mayor’s comments. The Parks Board asked him
to organize the event. The Town Commission concluded that it was critical that the Town, including the Parks
Board, to follow procedure, including the issuance of a permit for an event, insurance policy if alcohol was to be
served, and a vendor’s license for sale of souvenirs, etc.
Commissioner Walters suggested that the police chief join with other law enforcement agencies in the county
to protest the County Clerk increasing citation processing fees which reduced town revenues significantly. He
attributed another reason for decreased revenues to the fact that the town’s police department was writing
fewer citations.
Town Manager Higginbotham responded to Commissioner Walters’ question about the non functioning gate
at the police department. A request was made that it be removed and nothing had been paid for it.
Commissioner Walters asked that the proposed agreement between the Town and the Melbourne Beach
Volunteer Fire Department be given first to the Town Commission and then to the Fire Department. Other
commissioners agreed with this request. He also asked for a maintenance schedule for town facilities,
copies of the attorney’s billings, and a copy of a report by Brevard County on an incident involving low fuel
in a fire rescue vehicle.
Commissioner Walters asked the reason for delay in beginning construction on the Sixth Avenue dune
crossover project. Town Manager Higginbotham advised it was delayed due to turtle season. He also
asked about a special meeting to review mid-year budget amendments, status of a Code Enforcement
Board meeting, process for Citizen of the Year and Junior Citizen of the Year awards, and approval
process for the pet parade.
Commissioner Walters concluded his comments by reporting on complaints he received from citizens
on the lack of customer service in Town Hall. He wondered what had happened to the concept of service;
employees should go overboard to help a resident. This disturbed him and he did not want to hear any
more of this kind of complaints.
Commissioner Guglietta reported on his attendance at the latest meeting of the Brevard Metropolitan
Planning Organization. He also reported on his visit to the Titusville City Hall Council Chamber where
he viewed a speaker recognition system and public speaker timer. He felt that these would be good
tools for the Town of Melbourne Beach and asked that this capital outlay be budgeted for next year.
The town clerk was asked to provide pricing recommendations. The Commission voiced no objection
to his comments.
Currently building permit fees for hurricane-related repairs were waived. Commissioner Guglietta moved
to reinstate all building permit fees as of July 1, 2005. Commissioner Walters seconded the motion and
it carried unanimously.
Commissioner Guglietta asked the town manager to prepare a preventative maintenance program for the
town’s facilities. He also suggested that the town’s comprehensive plan be updated as soon as possible
and that this initiative be budgeted in the next fiscal year.
Commissioner Guglietta attended the funeral services for the wife of a police officer earlier in the week. He
felt that it was important for town officials to attend funeral services for employees and their family members.
Mayor Stacey announced his intent to run for re-election as Mayor of the Town of Melbourne Beach. He also
asked that citizens call his house before 10 p.m.
General Commission Discussion: Linda Rydson gave a brief update on the permitting process for her bed
and breakfast establishment.
The meeting adjourned at 10:50 p.m.
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WILLIAM G. STACEY, MAYOR
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KARAN ROUNSVALL , CMC
INTERIM TOWN CLERK
Note: a mechanical recording has been made of the foregoing procedures of which these minutes are a
part and is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
PURSUANT TO SECTION 286.0105, FLORIDA STATUTES, THE TOWN HEREBY
ADVISES THE PUBLIC THAT: If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the
Town Commission with respect to any matter considered at its meeting, he will need a
record of the proceedings and that for such purpose, affected persons may need to insure
that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony
and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. This notice does not constitute
consent by the Town for the introduction or admission into evidence of otherwise
inadmissible or irrelevant evidence, nor does it authorize challenges or appeals not
otherwise allowed by law.
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