August 3rd Commission Meeting
The City Commission meets to discuss City business on the first and third Wednesday each month generally. There are some exceptions during the year, so please refer to the City Calendar for upcoming meetings.
The City covers many different topics and items of City business during this public meeting. This summary of the meeting by Living In Oakland Park writer Jeff Barnes covers the most salient items discussed at the August 3rd meeting.
Downtown Properties Sale Passed Unanimously On Second Reading
Following the unanimous approval at the first of the two readings at the July 20th Commission Meeting, the Oakland Park City Commission on Wednesday August 3rd, 2022, unanimously passed, on second reading, the City Properties Purchase and Sales Agreement with Horizon of Oakland Park LLC. It also unanimously approved the Redevelopment Agreement with Horizon.
The purchase price of the city owned properties, located on the East side of NE 12th Avenue between NE 36th Street and NE 38th Street, is $11,206.508. This purchase price exceeds the highest appraised value of these properties by $1,451,580.
Next Steps in Downtown Development
The project will now begin the required process of review by the Development Review Committee (DRC). The purpose of the DRC is for various City departments to complete a technical review of any proposed development and provide written comments to the applicant.
Neighborhood Participation Meeting
Step One in this process will be a Neighborhood Participation Meeting. The developer has six months from the date of this meeting to submit their Development Review Application Package to the DRC. Notification of this meeting must be sent to all property owners within a 750-foot radius of the subject property. This meeting must include a formal presentation by the developer, along with a Q&A period for attendees.
The meeting is an opportunity for OP property owners to ask questions and provide input to the applicant/developer. Once this meeting has taken place, the applicant/developer can submit their DRC Review Package to City Staff and the formal review process will begin.
Non-Duty Connected Death Benefits for City Firefighters
Prior to the August 3rd Commission Meeting, City Firefighters who had transferred to the Florida Retirement System, but had not yet vested within that system, were not eligible for non-duty connected death benefits. To make sure that such benefits would be extended to Firefighters who fall in this situation, the City Commission unanimously voted to approve amending the “Benefit Amounts and Eligibility” Section of the City’s Code of Ordinances to provide these benefits to Firefighters in this situation.
The Commission voted unanimously to approve.
Long Term Water Purchase Agreement with City of Fort Lauderdale
The City of Oakland Park purchases its potable water from the City of Fort Lauderdale. The Commission was presented with a new resolution by City Staff to execute a new agreement between Oakland Park and Fort Lauderdale for the continued purchase of potable water. The current agreement will expire in October of 2022. Oakland Park has been purchasing its water from the City of Fort Lauderdale since 1965.
The new agreement would take effect on October 1st, 2022 and will be a 25-year agreement with two possible 5 year extensions. Initial negotiations began in 2018 after the City of Fort Lauderdale updated their water and sewer rate structure, which includes a 25% surtax/surcharge for water provided to outside of Fort Lauderdale municipal boundaries. This surtax/surcharge is allowed by Florida state law.
The City of Oakland Park was able to negotiate a much lower surtax/surcharge rate of 12.5% which will save the City of Oakland Park over $2 million dollars in surtax/surcharge with the city of Fort Lauderdale over the next 25 years.
The Commission voted unanimously to approve the new agreement.
