City of West Melbourne State of the City

Transcription

1 City of West Melbourne State of the City Mayor Hal Rose City Council Meeting of January 16, 2018

2 Mayor s State of the City The City of West Melbourne enjoyed a good year in 2017 and we have some big plans for This presentation is to review some of the past year s milestones and to look ahead a bit over the next year. The presentation is organized in five sections: Public Safety Organizational Operational and Financial Health Infrastructure and Public Improvements Planning, Building, and Economic Indicators A Look Ahead to 2018

3 Mayor s State of the City Public Health & Safety

4 Major Investments in the Police Department In 2017, the City Council made a series of significant capital and human resource investments in our Police Department: Fifteen department vehicle purchases and two automated license plate readers were authorized. A new collective bargaining agreement was approved with police officers that improved officer wages and benefits. A $3 million construction bid was awarded to more than double the size of the police station. Construction started last Thursday and is scheduled to be completed by the end of The City started 2017 with an authorized total of forty sworn officer positions, and ended 2017 with an authorized force of forty-five sworn officer positions, an increase of 12.5%.

5 Doherty Drive Walkway Lighting Completed In 2017, the construction of the Doherty Drive Trail Lighting Project was completed. Many West Melbourne residents safely use the walkway in the evening now that the pathway is lighted.

6 Bry Lynn Water Line Replacement Project Completed In 2017, the City completed a public works project that replaced an aging water main in the City s Bry Lynn Estates neighborhood north of New Haven Ave., newly connecting the replacement water main to the Meadow Wood neighborhood north of the M-1 Canal to improve circulation and fire flow.

7 National Night Out 2017 NN1 On August 1, 2017, West Melbourne participated in the National Night Out, with Police and City Council representatives visiting several neighborhoods where citizens gathered outdoors in support of neighborhood crime prevention.

8 Hurricane Irma In September 2017, Florida, Brevard County and West Melbourne were hit by Hurricane Irma. Our community responded admirably to those impacted by wind and flood damage. Even though scores of properties experienced wind damage and an estimated eighty-five homes had flood damage due to cumulative rainfall totals in excess of twenty inches, West Melbourne held up better than elsewhere. We were one of the few jurisdictions in Brevard County that did not experience a single sewer spill during and after the deluge and before power was restored.

9 Sewer Collection System Improvements Several sewer system rehabilitations and replacements have been undertaken that improve the safety, reliability and long-term performance of the City s sewer collection system. These include: Complete relining 3,000 feet of gravity sewer main. Construction underway on replacement of 3,100 feet of sewer force main. Award of a civil engineering contract to design the replacement of an additional significant reach of sewer force main serving northwest West Melbourne.

10 Sheridan Sidewalk In 2017, Brevard County honored the request of the City of West Melbourne and have commenced construction of a new sidewalk along Sheridan Avenue that will provide West Melbourne residents with a safer pathway for recreational walking and biking. The construction is scheduled to be completed in May 2018.

11 2017 Mayor s Fitness Challenge In 2017, West Melbourne participated in Health First s Mayor s Fitness Challenge, where West Melbourne citizens competed against citizens from other municipalities throughout Brevard County to accumulate physical activity time and to lose weight. West Melbourne placed first for most activity, and Deputy Mayor Tice was among the biggest losers. We look forward to competing again in 2018!

12 Mayor s State of the City Organizational, Operational and Financial Health

13 City Financial Position On July 18, 2017, the City Council received management s audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, noting continued improvement in the City s aggregate financial position. Among other improvements, the general fund balance increased by some five hundred seventyfive thousand dollars to $12.48 million and the value of Police Pension Fund assets increased by $1.13 million to $11.76 million. The City received an award for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Governmental Finance Officers Association.

14 City Council Keeps Tax Rate Low On September 19, the City Council adopted the City s budget and maintained the tax rate at mills. West Melbourne taxpayers continue to enjoy owning property in a municipality with one of the lowest tax rates in Brevard County and among similar sized cities in Florida. $1, Fiscal Year Ad Valorem Taxes Levied Per Capita for Florida Cities 10,000 to 25,000 in Population Without Their Own Fire Departments $1, $1, $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $-

15 Significant Salary Increases Approved for City Employees On April 18, 2017, the City Council approved a new two-year collective bargaining agreement with the City s police officers. The average first year increase was 6.8%. On September 19, 2017, the City Council approved the non-represented salary plan for fiscal year The average salary increase was 4.7%.

16 Police Pension Plan Funding Improves On February 1, 2017, the Police Pension Board received its annual actuarial evaluation. The pension plan has improved its funded percentage significantly over the last seven years from 53.6% funded at October 1, 2009 to 90.5% funded at October 1, % 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% West Melbourne Police Pension Plan Percent Funded 87.5% 90.5% 82.8% 70.2% 85.4% 65.2% 59.4% 53.6%

17 Citizens Academy Starting on November 30, the City of West Melbourne commenced our third Citizens Leadership Academy, with our largest class of sixteen participants. The goal of the program is to help citizens learn about their City government and encourage citizens completing the eight-week course to apply to serve on one of the City s volunteer citizen boards. CITY OF WEST MELBOURNE CITIZENS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

18 West Melbourne Employee and Board Member Volunteer Appreciation In 2017, the City held our semi-annual luncheons expressing appreciation to all our most valued employees and citizen volunteers.

19 Utility Billing Customer Service Relocated To improve citizen service and employee safety, last month, the City s utility billing function was moved downstairs from the second floor of City Hall. Citizen feedback to the move has been quite positive.

20 Mayor s State of the City Infrastructure and Public Improvements

21 New Public Works Department Building Completed A new $1.34 million Public Works Garage and Office Building at the City s Corporation Yard was completed in The City paid for this improvement out of accumulated reserves and no debt.

22 City Entry Sign Program Advances in 2017 City entry signs have now been installed at Palm Bay Road and Durham Drive, Palm Bay Road and Minton Road, U.S. 192 and Dairy Road, the northbound I-95 off ramp at U.S. 192, eastbound U.S. 192 at I-95, and southbound Evans at Hibiscus.

23 Major Reuse Production System Improvement Completed In 2017, the City completed the construction of a new disc filter system for producing reuse water. The new system insures greater reliability of reuse for the City s 2,100 reuse customers during the peak April and May demand period.

24 Road Maintenance Work Completed In 2017, the City of West Melbourne completed a significant amount of roadway maintenance work, with the City Council having increased the City s road maintenance budget by 15%. The City has an adopted five year street resurfacing plan, and has sufficient budget capacity to undertake the annual improvements on schedule.

25 Mayor s Beautification Awards The 2017 Mayor s top awards for beautification of commercial properties have been presented to Harbor City Auto Sales and to Health First.

26 Christmas Tree Lighting On November 25, the West Melbourne Parks and Recreation Department held a lovely Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at Jan Lieson Crossroads Park.

27 Reserves Committed to Capital Improvements In the adopted budget, there will be a significant use of accumulated general fund reserves, mostly for an extraordinary year of general fund capital improvements without taking on any new debt. $14,000,000 $13,000,000 $12,000,000 City of West Melbourne General Fund Balance $11,903,286 $11,465,973 $12,478,916 $13,557,623 $11,000,000 $10,000,000 $9,000,000 $8,000,000 $7,000,000 $6,000,000 $5,000,000 $9,817,430 $8,579,401 $8,045,032 $6,867,221 $5,682,818 $7,077,629 $4,000,000 9/30/2009 9/30/2010 9/30/2011 9/30/2012 9/30/2013 9/30/2014 9/30/2015 9/30/2016 9/30/2017 9/30/2018 unaudited budget

28 Mayor s State of the City Planning, Development and Economic Indicators

29 Property Values Grow Briskly West Melbourne property values again grew markedly in 2017, with taxable valuation growing by 10.9%.

30 Minton Corridor Town Center Planning Advances In follow up to the American Planning Association and East Central Florida Regional Planning Council visioning studies, the City Council adopted an ordinance approving an amendment to the City s Comprehensive Plan to add the town center overlay future land use designation and adopted an ordinance creating the town center overlay zoning district.

31 City Population Continues to Grow In August, the Planning and Economic Development Department submitted certification of the April 1, 2017, City of West Melbourne population estimate to the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida. West Melbourne s April 1, 2017, population was estimated at 21,360. This is an increase of 720 persons, or 3.5%, over the April 1, 2016, estimate. City of West Melbourne Population Growth 22,500 20,000 17,500 16,570 18,355 18,712 19,118 19,464 19,834 20,250 20,640 21,360 15,000 12,500 10,000 7,500 5,000 2,

32 New Neighborhoods Flourish In 2017, two new subdivisions were approved and additional West Melbourne neighborhoods continued to take shape.

33 Promise Campus Welcomes Its First Residents and the Promise Café and Bakery is Under Construction In 2017, Promise in Brevard welcomed its first residents to its campus on Norfolk Parkway while continuing to make construction progress on the campus. Construction of the Promise Café and Bakery in West Melbourne Community Park continued throughout the year, and the new restaurant employing persons with special needs is scheduled to open in Spring 2018.

34 West Melbourne Building Permit Valuations Remain Very Strong The City of West Melbourne Building Department finished calendar year 2017 having issued 4,063 building permits with an aggregate permit valuation of $122.1 million, on par with the calendar year 2016 valuation of $159.7 million, and still more than 50% greater than the calendar year 2015 valuation of $79.8 million.

35 Mayor s State of the City A Look Ahead to 2018

36 What s Ahead for 2018? Each year, the City Council adopts a list of priority City projects and programs for implementing over the next year. In addition, there are some pending development proposals coming to fruition in Some of the more meaningful items to look for in 2018 are shown in the following slides.

37 West Melbourne will continue to look seriously at the possibility of developing our own water plant. West Melbourne currently has a long-term contract with the City of Melbourne to purchase potable water that West Melbourne distributes through West Melbourne s own distribution system to West Melbourne citizens and businesses. The first phase of the analysis the financial feasibility was completed in 2017, and the second phase the engineering and permitting feasibility will be completed in 2018.

38 More multifamily and single family housing starts are likely in West Melbourne, for several years, has been the fastest growing, by percentage, of any municipality in Brevard County. This trend looks like it will continue in 2018, as the City currently has a large inventory of approved single family lots where homes have not yet started construction, and demand remains brisk. In addition, construction is underway on a new 300-unit apartment complex off Norfolk Parkway, with site plans have been submitted for a new 290-unit apartment complex off Durham Drive.

39 New Entry Area Street Lights. One of the City s budgeted improvement projects that will be constructed in 2018 is a largely grant and redevelopment agencyfunded project to install new decorative street lighting along U.S. 192 for the first mile east of Interstate 95.

40 Completion of the Redevelopment of West Melbourne Community Park. West Melbourne Community Park, home of the Space Coast Field of Dreams and future Promise Café and Bakery, with the assistance of a large State grant, will be completed in Fall 2018 with new features including a skate park, splash pad, ampitheater and performance lawn, and new picnic shelters.

41 Expansion of the City s Police Station. In 2018, construction of an addition to, and remodeling of, the City s Police Station will take place. When completed, the project will more than double the size of the City s Police Station.

42 New Commercial Development. In 2017, three new hotels - one on Durham Drive, one at the former County Line Saloon site on U.S. 192, and a third in the Coastal Commerce center, were either completed or were nearing completion at year end. In addition, three new restaurants Einstein s Bagels, Hooters, and Culver s either opened or were nearing opening at year s end. Retail development will likely continue in earnest 2018, most particularly in the City s three major commercial centers the West Melbourne Interchange Center, Coastal Commerce, and Hammock Landing.

43 In conclusion, we thank everyone who contributed to a good 2017 for West Melbourne and we look forward to a prosperous 2018! City s web site: