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PVAC Minutes 05/05/2008 R May 5, 2008 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC VEHICILE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida, May 5,2008 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Public Vehicle Advisory Committee in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:30 PM in REGULAR SESSION in Room #610 at the Collier County Development and Environmental Services Building, 2800 N. Horseshoe Drive, Naples, Florida with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Tony Marino Russ Berghuis Reg Buxton Tom Lugrin Randall Smith Steven Quinn (excused) ALSO PRESENT: Michelle Arnold, Director- Code Enforcement Michaelle Crowley, Investigator- Code Enforcement Kitchell Snow, Investigator- Code Enforcement Evelyn Trimino, Code Enforcement Brittany Ervin, Code Enforcement Jeff Wright, Assistant County Attorney COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC VEHICLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA Date: May 5, 2008 at 9:30 A.M. Location: Collier County Community Development Services Building, 2800 N. Horseshoe Dr, Naples, FL, Conference Room # 609 / 610 NOTICE: PERSONS WISHING TO SPEAK AT THE MEETING NEED TO COMPLETE A "REQUEST TO SPEAK" FORM. SPEAKERS MAY BE LIMITED TO THREE (3) MINUTES FOR DISCUSSION UNLESS ADDITIONAL TIME IS GRANTED BY THE COMMITTEE. ALL PARTIES PARTICIPATING IN THE PUBLIC MEETING NEED TO SPEAK ONE AT A TIME AND STATE THEIR FULL NAME AND COMPANY THEY REPRESENT, IF APPLICABLE, SO THAT THE COURT REPORTER CAN RECORD ALL STATEMENTS BEING MADE. ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL A DECISION OF THIS BOARD WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS PERTAINING THERETO, AND THEREFORE MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THAT TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE BASED. PLEASE ENSURE ALL PAGERS AND CELL PHONES ARE OFF OR IN A QUIET POSITION. 1. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: April 7, 2008 4. COMPLAINT REPORT -- Michaelle Crowley 5. NEW BUSINESS A. New Applications 1. Carey Limousine Florida Inc -New CTO 2. Bravo Taxi - New CTO 3. Prestige Taxi -- New CTO Owner: Roberto Martinez Owner: Jonas Brave Owner: Vilger Louis 6. OLD BUSINESS A. Dolphin Transportation - "Tuk Tuk" Service B. Tour Companies 7. SPEAKERS 8. NEXT MEETING DATE: June 2, 2008 9. ADJOURN May 5, 2008 1. Call to Order Chairman Tony Marino called the meeting to order at 9:33 A. M. A. Roll Call: Evelyn Trimino called the roll and a quorum was established 2. Approval of Agenda ADD: Under Old Business - item C. Fare Increases Russ Berghuis moved to approve the Agenda with the addition of "item C. Fare Increases" to number 6. Old Business. Second by Randy Smith. Carried unanimously, 5-0. 3. Approval of Minutes: April 7, 2008 Russ Berghuis moved to approve the minutes of April 7, 2008, as presented. Second by Reg Buxton. Carried unanimously, 5-0. Randy Smith commented on the employee vs. independent operator issue that had been dropped from further discussion in the minutes. He shared information that RSW was looking into this matter in depth due to a pending law suit dealing with the issue and may be resolved through this action. 4. Complaint Report - Michaelle Crowley (handout) Michaelle Crowley reported that there were a total of 66 patrol cases and 12 individual or industry complaints, plus 7 previously unreported since the last meeting. She mentioned the several prom vehicle checks being conducted. She answered questions from the committee on some of the items, especially regarding the MBA company, which is being monitored by Code Enforcement. 5. New Business A. New Applications: Evelyn Trimino presented the following application packages, which have been recommended for approval by staff. 1. Carey Limousine Florida, Inc. - New CTO Owner: Roberto Martinez Applicant Phillip Buglino, Fleet Manager for the company, was present, as representative for Mr. Martinez. County Attorney Jeff Wright stated it had been brought to his attention that a conflict of interest may be present and may cause some of the committee members to recuse themselves from voting for or against this application. Each member was asked if they had a conflict of interest and to state what that conflict was. Reg Buxton and Russ Berghuis reported no conflict. Tony Marino and Tom Lugrin reported they had a conflict due to contractual and/or business dealings. Randy Smith was undecided ifhis company's contract with Carey constituted a conflict or not and asked to move on to the next applications and come back to him for a decision. 2 May 5, 2008 2. Bravo Taxi - New CTO Owner: Jonas Brave Applicant Jonas Brave was present. Staffreported the package was complete except for certificate of insurance which would be obtained upon approval. Russ Berghuis moved to recommend approval conditioned upon applicant obtaining certification of insurance. Second by Tom Lugrin. Carried unanimously, 5-0. 3. Prestige Taxi - New CTO Owner: Vilger Louis Applicant Vilger Louis was present. Staffreported the package was complete except for the occupational license and insurance which would be obtained upon approval. Committee members questioned the name "Prestige" being too similar to other companies using that name. Applicant agreed to apply for a DBA under a different name. Russ Berghuis moved to recommend approval based upon the occupational license showing the name change and obtaining insurance. Second byTom Lugrin. Carried unanimously, 5-0. The meeting returned to the conflict of interest regarding Carey Limousine: A brief discussion followed regarding definitions and requirements in which Attorney Jeff Wright provided definitions of gain or loss which would or could inure to the companies, to assist Randy Smith in determining if a conflict of interest existed. He stated if there was any doubt, to lean toward the side of caution and recuse. He read the portion of the law on the conflict of interest for clarification. Chairman Tony Marino, Tom Lugrin and Randy Smith each recused themselves; this resulted in a lack of quorum for the vote. Russ Berghuis moved to approve a teleconference call with the alternate member, Steven Quinn, in order to obtain a quorum. Second by Reg Buxton. Carried unanimously, 5-0. The call was made to Steven Quinn, and a message left for a callback. The meeting continued to the next agenda item 6. Old Business A. Dolphin Transportation - "Tuk Tuk" Service Attorney Jeff Wright had looked into the Municipal Codes and found there were Ordinances that dealt with sight-seeing, entertainment and other street- legal specialty vehicles such as those used in Key West. However, since Collier County has no provision for these in their Ordinances, his suggestion was to approve a recommendation to the BCC to review the matter of an Ordinance change, if the Advisory Committee chose to pursue this matter. He also noted that individuals or Dolphin Transportation could also petition the BCC. 3 May 5, 2008 A brief discussion followed. Russ Berghuis moved to approve a recommendation to the BCC to instruct staff to craft an Ordinance allowing a category for specialty vehicles under the "vehicle for hire" Ordinance. Second by Reg Buxton. Carried 4-1. Tom Lugrin abstained. (He is an employee of Dolphin Transportation). B. Tour Companies The issue discussed was, according to PV AC, that tour company vehicles should be categorized as "vehicles for hire" and their owners/operators required to apply for a Certificate to Operate and comply with the Collier County's Vehicle for Hire Ordinance. Attorney Jeff Wright noted that tour companies are not all alike and all are not considered "vehicles for hire." Consideration would need to be reviewed on a case by case basis. Michelle Arnold commented that the need is to determine the companies' business operations to determine if they fall under the category of "vehicle for hire." Names of the tour companies were known by Code Enforcement. PV AC Members insisted that a vehicle of 14 passengers or less picking up in Collier County and charging a fee, does falls under the category. At this time, the conference call from Steven Quinn was held. A quorum was established and the application information on Carey Limousine Florida was conveyed to him. However, during the course of the conversations, all communications were lost. At 10:30 AM the quorum was lost and the consideration of this application was tabled until the next meeting when a quorum can be present. C. Fare Increases Discussion revolved around the request by several taxi dri vers of a need for fare increases due mainly to the increase in fuel costs. Russ Berghuis moved to approve a recommendation to the BCC to authorize afare increase. Second by Chairman Marino. Further discussion involved: Ken Mastrodomenico, Taxi Time, spoke about: o Fuel surcharges - not a viable permanent solution; not favored by taxi dri vers o Rates in other Florida metropolitan areas for comparison (Dade and Broward) o Suggested hourly rate for wait time increase o Suggested drop rate of$2.75 and mileage ofrate $2.65 adjusted to reflect gas pnces. o Suggested increase mileage rate to $2.65 from $2.25. o Suggested an AD Hoc committee to research supporting figures from surrounding Counties. Reg Buxton and Michelle Arnold agreed on the need for a formula, also 4 May 5, 2008 beneficial in other County Departments, to review on a regular basis what is going on in the market. Michelle also advised that, because of time constraints and public notice requirements, BCC would not receive the request until August. Attorney Jeff Wright explained the specific procedures in rate increase cases that also needs to go through the County Manager to set up a public hearing. Russ Berghuis moved to revise his original motion to read: to approve a recommendation to the BCC to direct the County Manager to investigate the rates and to determine if a rate increase is warranted. Second by Chairman Marino. Carried unanimously, 5-0. A. Speakers Ken Mastrodomenico asked that the process be moved along as quickly as possible Fizz Papps clarified his stance on Carey Naples name and taxi issue. He stated it was important to move to an automatic rate-adjustment formula set into the Ordinance so as not to have to go back and forth to BCC. Michelle Arnold stated the language and structure is such that rate changes have to go through certain procedures and P VA C is the entity that recommends a Resolution or an Ordinance change. The time frame with a Resolution is shorter than with an Ordinance and sometimes serves the purpose better. Randy Smith moved to approve a recommendation to the BCC that in their direction to staff regarding an Ordinance change, the two subjects, specialty vehicles and review of rate increases, be considered at the same time. Also, that the previously voted Ordinance process is changed to a Resolution process. Second by Reg Buxton. Carried unanimously, 5-0. B. Tour Companies: Discussion resumed. Items discussed were: o What constitutes a vehicle for hire regarding tours and tour operations o Case by case investigation; who investigates and how o Fares involved o Need to address Ordinance and to provide for regulation It was decided that a legal opinion from the County Attorney's office will be obtained. A committee, consisting of Randy Smith, Tom Lugrin and Tony Marino will be formed to: o investigate each tour company o put together the criteria and work with the Code Enforcement and Attorney Wright to review the data and o report to the PVACfor a determination if the Ordinance needs to address Tour Companies under the vehicle for hire section. Randy Smith will e-mail Michelle Arnold to set up dates and times for meeting. 5 May 5, 2008 Fizz Papps had a question about company owners and operators; who is the vehicle owner and who is insured? Evelyn Trimino responded that for both Charters and Taxis, the Company holds the CTO and the vehicles are leased to the companies in most all cases. Ron Gill, Big Shot Limousine requested a name change DBA to Ultra. This item will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Norman Hinspeter, Racing Limos had questions on temporary permits for special occasions such as proms and golf outings. The issue was that the vehicle chosen was not permitted because of the signage. Question was asked regarding which events were considered specific events and defining the Temporary Permit requirements. Also, that if there is no charge would it require a permit It was explained that decals can not be issued ifvehicle contains advertisingfor anything but the vehicle company. Also there is a list of special events where temporary permits are allowed. All other requirements are defined in the Code. 8. Next Meeting Date: June 2, 2008 ***** There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 11:15 A.M. Collier County Public Vehicle Advisory Committee Chairman Tony Marino These minutes approved by the Board/Committee on as presented or as amended 6