[0:06] >>> good morning, everyone
[0:08] , thank you so much for being here today.
[0:12] a little bit after 9:00,
[0:15] 9:06 a.m. , on
[0:17] february 19th . Our council meeting
[0:18] will begin.
[0:21] roll call.
[0:39] >>> everybody is here. Thank you
[0:42] so much.
[0:51] >>
[0:54] I would like to have a moment
[0:57] of silence for
[0:59] reverend bill who served the city
[1:00] for 20 years and
[1:03] was a friend to everyone.
[1:06] a moment of silence
[1:09] for bill, his family.
[1:39] >> heavenly father , we come before
[1:41] you today and ask you be with each
[1:42] of us in
[1:45] all we do and always say. Help us
[1:48] to be a blessing to others.
[1:51] lord, god
[1:54] , we thank you
[1:56] for all you have done for us in the
[1:57] past and all you will do
[2:00] for us in the future. Father, bless
[2:01] all the families represented here
[2:03] today and bless
[2:05] this city council and the decisions
[2:06] they make
[2:09] and made
[2:10] those decisions be pleasing to you.
[2:15] psalm 33:12 says blessed is
[2:18] the nation
[2:21] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:24] . Amen.
[2:30] >>>
[2:35] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america
[2:36] and to the republic for which it stands
[2:37] one nation
[2:38] under god indivisible with liberty and justice for
[2:39] all.
[2:45] 's period
[2:51] could all of our veterans stand.
[2:54] we thank you for your service. [ applause ]
[2:57] do
[3:00] we have any announcements?
[3:06] >>> I would like
[3:09] to thank the johnsons
[3:11] for letting us use the space free
[3:12] of charge. Very generous
[3:15] of them.
[3:18] [ indiscernible -low volume
[3:21] ] [ applause ]
[3:24] >>
[3:27] I wanted to announce , melissa
[3:30] and I went
[3:33] to tallahassee. It was extremely productive
[3:36] . I cannot tell you how wonderful
[3:39] it is to have them help out with the
[3:40] changes,
[3:42] special sessions ,
[3:45] they made everything work.
[3:48] they presented
[3:51] the [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[3:53] we have fully dollars and they would
[3:54] support it. Amazing
[3:57] , the president
[3:59] is personally sponsoring this for us
[4:00] , which is
[4:03] a huge thing.
[4:06] he said he would take it.
[4:09] vanessa oliver will carry it to the floor.
[4:12] it is a big deal
[4:14] for us and I think that is pretty
[4:15] cool we will have the governor
[4:18] signed it and we will have that equipment.
[4:24] [ applause ]
[4:27] we will start off
[4:30] with our proclamations. Excuse me,
[4:31] our next meeting
[4:33] is march 5th at the laishley community
[4:36] room .
[4:39] melissa, you said
[4:42] you would put signs out?
[4:43] >>
[4:45] we will have signage.
[4:51] signage versus city council meeting here.
[4:57] --signage that says
[5:00] city council meeting her.
[5:01] >>
[5:03] agenda approval ?
[5:06] do we want to pull in the items?
[5:09] from the meeting we had
[5:11] yesterday morning , I believe we will
[5:12] request to
[5:15] pull parks and recreation , is
[5:18] that okay ?
[5:19] >> yes . >>
[5:21] we will pull the status of
[5:24] the ymca because we had a community member
[5:26] in district 1 who wanted to meet with
[5:27] them so we
[5:29] wanted to pull that to give them time
[5:30] to bring forward
[5:33] a good presentation about the ymca.
[5:36] is that okay?
[5:39] third thing, move 911 dispatch to
[5:41] the first topic of conversation for
[5:42] regular agenda.
[5:45] is that okay? Perfect,
[5:48] thank you . Anything else I needed
[5:51] ? Now, we will
[5:53] start with populations or presentations,
[5:54] the first is st.
[5:57] vincent de paul
[6:00] day. Janis ?
[6:06] >>
[6:13] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[6:19] proclamation
[6:22] today in punta gorda , whereas
[6:24] the county continues and has been
[6:28] affected by
[6:29] the devastating effects of recent hurricanes
[6:31] with many
[6:32] of our neighbors finding themselves
[6:33] in dire distress and need of assistance,
[6:34] whereas,
[6:36] the society of st. Vincent de paul
[6:42] has a mission to assist those in need
[6:43] by responding to
[6:44] community and individual needs and programs
[6:47] such as disaster relief services,
[6:49] job training, placement
[6:52] , thrift
[6:53] stores, food pantry, housing programs,
[6:55] and many others,
[6:57] always seeking [ indiscernible -low
[6:58] volume
[7:00] ] towards the flourishing of every person,
[7:04] whereas, the local churches and
[7:07] charities, including
[7:10] the food pantries
[7:13] --relieving
[7:16] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[7:17] and participating in seasonal programs
[7:19] for school supplies
[7:22] and assistance . Whereas ,
[7:24] each year , the four conferences of
[7:27] st. Vincent de paul in charlotte county
[7:30] will raise funds to increase awareness
[7:33] of the less fortunate in our community
[7:36] where every money raised benefits
[7:37] the
[7:39] neighbors in charlotte county. The
[7:40] city council
[7:42] of the city of punta gorda , florida
[7:46] hereby proclaims
[7:48] march 8, 2025 as st. Vincent de paul
[7:49] day .
[7:52] and encourages all city
[7:54] --charlotte county residents to participate
[7:58] in the 16th annual [
[7:59] indiscernible -low volume ] or volunteer
[8:01] with the society
[8:04] to support its mission.
[8:07] duly adopted this 19th
[8:10] day of february, 2025, city of
[8:12] punta gorda, florida . Is there anything
[8:13] you
[8:16] would like to say?
[8:17] >> I would like
[8:18] to
[8:19] thank everyone, without us raising money,
[8:22] we would not be able to help
[8:23] thousands of people per year. With electricity.
[8:25] even
[8:28] mortgage payments. Thank you
[8:31] , everybody.
[8:34] [ applause ]
[8:40] >>
[8:43] photo opportunity.
[8:49] >> there
[8:52] you are.
[9:01] >> thank you . [ applause ]
[9:06] >> next presentation is black history month.
[9:25] >> it is with great honor
[9:27] that I am able to present this proclamation
[9:28] this
[9:31] morning to
[9:34] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[9:37] [ applause ]
[9:43] whereas , during black history month
[9:45] , we honor the courage and tenacity
[9:46] of the black
[9:48] american need to overcome and expand
[9:52] [ indiscernible
[9:55] -muffled ]
[9:58] the civil principle that
[9:59] all people are created equal, whereas
[10:01] , black history month affords a
[10:04] special opportunity for
[10:05] all americans to celebrate and reflect
[10:07] on black heritage and to honor the
[10:08] many black
[10:09] leaders who are contributing to the
[10:10] progress of
[10:12] our nation in the face of great diversity. Whereas
[10:16] , knowledge of this difficult past
[10:17] can
[10:18] strengthen the insight of all of our citizens
[10:19] ,
[10:20] regarding the issues of human rights,
[10:23] the great strides that have been made,
[10:25] and the effort to eliminate
[10:28] the barriers for a quality with minorities
[10:31] and whereas
[10:34] the city of punta gorda is proud to
[10:35] honor
[10:36] the history and achievements of its
[10:37] black community
[10:43] [ indiscernible
[10:46] -muffled ] to
[10:49] community organizations such
[10:52] as community united
[10:55] [ indiscernible ] naacp
[10:58] who continue to
[11:00] provide support and resources to help
[11:01] our city
[11:04] thrive. Therefore , the city
[11:06] council of the city of punta gorda
[11:07] , florida hereby
[11:09] proclaim the month of february, 2025
[11:10] , as black
[11:13] history month,
[11:15] duly adopted this 19th day of february, 2025.
[11:19] [
[11:22] applause ]
[11:28] >> my lord and savior
[11:30] , jesus christ, I want to acknowledge
[11:31] you all for
[11:34] even considering
[11:37] --this is very special to us.
[11:40] I want to acknowledge
[11:42] the representatives. My father here,
[11:43] my
[11:46] wife year , we have sponsors as well
[11:49] , pastor jermaine andrews
[11:52] .
[11:53] word and power kingdom centered in
[11:55] port charlotte.
[11:58] demetrius thomas ,
[12:00] st. Mary's baptist church, our sponsors
[12:04] ,
[12:05] we are an organization, nonprofit
[12:07] that goes out
[12:10] and tries to reach the needs of
[12:12] the people by serving the food, hygiene products,
[12:16] we minister
[12:19] , we do it all.
[12:22] trying to be the hands and feet of jesus.
[12:25] we are looking to be here
[12:28] to be with you all on the fifth
[12:34] , the operator of the community
[12:36] garden on virginia. We just thank
[12:37] you for
[12:39] this opportunity and we look forward
[12:40] to doing greater things
[12:43] in the city.
[12:46] >> [ applause ]
[12:58] >>
[13:01] did you want anybody else in the photo
[13:02] with you?
[13:04] family and friends?
[13:05] >>
[13:07] come on down.
[13:49] >>
[13:52] [
[13:55] applause ]
[14:01] >> next ,
[14:04] the 80th anniversary of the battle of
[14:07] iwo jima.
[14:08] >> I'm honored
[14:13] [ indiscernible -low volume
[14:16] ] to receive this
[14:19] proclamation whereas,
[14:21] 1945, the united states marine corps
[14:22] with the navy
[14:25] and army , fought the
[14:28] most grueling battle on the battle
[14:29] of
[14:31] iwo jima .
[14:34] over the course of 36
[14:36] days, more than 70,000 american servicemembers explained
[14:41] --displayed extranet courage
[14:44] --
[14:47] extraordinary courage
[14:53] [ indiscernible -muffled
[14:56] ] resilience , unwavering spirit
[14:59] , whereas
[15:02] , [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[15:05] to those
[15:07] who fought in the battle of iwo jima .
[15:11] [ indiscernible -
[15:14] low volume ] the sacrifice of
[15:16] those who bought at iwo jima , including
[15:18] the thousands who gave their lives
[15:20] must never
[15:23] be forgotten. Help
[15:26] to secure the freedom we enjoy
[15:29] today and punta gorda recognizes
[15:32] that gratitude 02
[15:35] [ indiscernible -muffled
[15:38] ]
[15:41] this battle to
[15:44] be reaffirmed the commitment
[15:46] and honor those who stood in defense
[15:49] of liberty [ indiscernible -muffled
[15:50] ]
[15:53] therefore, the city council of
[15:56] punta gorda, florida proclaims
[15:59] they were 19th, 2025 as the
[16:02] 80th anniversary
[16:04] of the battle of iwo jima and encourages
[16:05] all
[16:06] citizens to reflect on the sacrifices
[16:07] made by these brave servicemembers
[16:08] and
[16:11] honor their enduring legacy. The
[16:14] newly adopted
[16:17] on this 19th day of february
[16:20] , 2025 .
[16:21] >>
[16:23] [ applause ]
[16:38] >> thank you .
[16:44] I am a
[16:47] jr. Vice, not --
[16:53] out of cape coral, florida.
[16:56] we are the ones
[16:58] that meeting the iwo jima monument
[17:02] that you see in
[17:05] veterans park.
[17:08] this sunday,
[17:11] deborah 23rd,
[17:14] we will be doing --
[17:20] february 23rd,
[17:23] this is important,
[17:26] the anniversary, the exact date
[17:29] --[ indiscernible -muffled
[17:32] ]
[17:35] I want to thank the city council
[17:38] and yourself . So much.
[17:44] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[17:47] appreciate it.
[17:50] [ applause ]
[17:53] >> all marines in
[17:56] the audience
[17:59] join us for a photograph.
[18:02] >>
[18:05] could we bring up all the veterans, please?
[18:11] >> [ indiscernible -muffled
[18:14] ]
[18:29] veterans, come on!
[18:35] >> [ applause ]
[18:59] >> last but
[19:01] not least, a special proclamation
[19:02] for
[19:05] betty louise munford they.
[19:08] -- day.
[19:11] >> brenda
[19:14] ,, peter , thank you
[19:17] --
[19:20] I am honored to present this to
[19:23] her daughter. Betty
[19:26] louise munford
[19:29] was born on march 16th, 1934
[19:32] .
[19:35] a pharmacist and a teacher
[19:38] , who it
[19:41] --[ indiscernible -
[19:44] muffled ]
[19:47] segregation
[19:49] profoundly impacted her early years
[19:50] as she was
[19:53] buzzed past
[19:54] white schools to attend black junior
[19:56] and senior high schools. She excelled
[19:58] academically, graduating from central
[19:59] high school
[20:02] and immediately enrolled at the university
[20:05] of louisville
[20:07] where she completed her masters degree
[20:08] in three years before pursuing graduate
[20:11] studies. Whereas, betty was dedicated
[20:12] to
[20:13] building relationships , eliminating
[20:14] racial injustice
[20:17] and
[20:19] promoting minority entrepreneurship.
[20:23] materials and
[20:25] training for the young women's christian
[20:26] association center of racial justice
[20:29] ,
[20:31] the value of minority owned businesses
[20:32] and the director
[20:35] of the council and establishing the
[20:38] minority purchasing program.
[20:40] her dedication did not go unnoticed
[20:41] as she received
[20:43] numerous accolades including recognition
[20:47] from president ronald reagan , george
[20:48] h.w. Bush
[20:50] , and bill clinton.
[20:52] after relocating to charlotte county
[20:53] in 2017
[20:56] , betty remained committed to humanitarian
[20:59] causes until her passing
[21:02] with
[21:05] habitat for humanity, the aclu,
[21:08] and the national association for the
[21:09] advancement of
[21:11] colored people , and
[21:14] the tuskegee airmen museum
[21:16] and doctors without borders. Therefore,
[21:20] the city council of
[21:22] punta gorda, florida hereby proclaims
[21:23] february 19th ,
[21:26] 2025 as betty louise munford
[21:29] day and urges all
[21:32] citizens to follow her example to
[21:33] make the city
[21:35] a more just place.
[21:38] on the 19th day of february,
[21:41] 2025 , in the
[21:44] city of punta gorda, florida.
[21:45] >>
[21:51] [ applause ]
[21:52] >> I want to say a quick thank you.
[21:54] her 90 years
[21:57] she touched a lot of lives
[21:59] and she strive every day to do what
[22:03] is right and
[22:04] help everybody appreciate and love
[22:06] each other.
[22:09] she was a wonderful woman. A
[22:12] wonderful woman.
[22:13] I appreciate this award very much.
[22:15] >>
[22:18] [ applause ]
[22:47] >> what a wonderful morning of populations.
[22:51] now we go to public input.
[22:52] those who wish to introduce themselves
[22:54] as nominees
[22:59] --anyone wishing to address the council
[23:00] on any matters, state the
[23:01] name for the record, and afterwards
[23:03] , we will do
[23:05] the nominees . Each person will be
[23:06] allowed to speak
[23:07] up to a maximum of three minutes.
[23:09] please, be respectful
[23:12] .
[23:18] >> hello,
[23:21] my name is keith anderson.
[23:24] I will speak about the
[23:27] 911 center consolidation.
[23:30] as background, I practiced
[23:32] emergency medicine and critical care
[23:33] for
[23:34] 42 years and my specialty is ems systems
[23:36] and I was one of
[23:38] the first emergency physicians in
[23:39] the united states
[23:41] formally trained in emergency dispatch.
[23:45] also, I was an
[23:46] operational consultant to the united
[23:48] states army
[23:51] , second airborne
[23:52] , special operations forces in ft.
[23:54] bragg. Professor
[23:57] at the jfk center at ft.
[24:00] bragg for 10 years.
[24:03] I
[24:06] would like to thank you , I am her
[24:07] to urge you to reject any plan that
[24:09] allows the county sheriff to
[24:12] take control of the 911 communications center.
[24:17] it is a matter of public safety, accountability
[24:18] , and
[24:21] responsible governance.
[24:23] the sheriff is an elected official,
[24:27] not a neutral administrator.
[24:29] if we hand over our cities 911 operation
[24:33] to emergency response,
[24:34] political office with no accountability
[24:36] to this council
[24:39] for our city's leadership. That is
[24:42] a risk we cannot afford at any price
[24:45] . 911 dispatchers serve the needs
[24:47] of every resident and should not be
[24:49] affected by political pressures, budget
[24:51] decisions made outside the chamber
[24:54] , policy set by a single elected
[24:56] official. Instead, consolidating the sheriff
[24:59] we should establish a structure that
[25:00] ensures balanced oversight
[25:03] , whether through an independent director
[25:05] , a professional civilian administrator, or
[25:08] a regional board with the proper checks
[25:12] and balances.
[25:14] when seconds count, we need a system
[25:15] focused on efficient professionalism
[25:18] and responsiveness. Centralizing control
[25:21] could lead to delays , conflict
[25:23] of interests , and reduced coordination
[25:24] with
[25:27] city emergency services . We must prioritizes
[25:29] serving all first responders equally
[25:33] and remaining
[25:36] accountable to the public and not just
[25:40] one elected official. We deserve a
[25:41] 911 that is independent accountable
[25:42] to the
[25:45] people it serves . I urge this council
[25:46] to stand
[25:47] firm against any proposal that gives
[25:48] the sheriff control of our
[25:50] emergency communications. Instead,
[25:51] we should create a
[25:54] system that ensures reliability , fairness
[25:57] , and safety for all.
[26:00] >>
[26:03] [ applause ]
[26:09] >> good morning.
[26:12] I want to talk
[26:15] about the 911 dispatch as well.
[26:18] the city of punta gorda
[26:20] is a small centralized place where
[26:21] there is a lot
[26:24] of historic buildings
[26:27] , valuable buildings, but ,
[26:29] historically valuable and culturally
[26:30] valuable buildings.
[26:33] our
[26:36] 911 system is serving as
[26:39] --us very well, our
[26:45] response time is better than the county
[26:47] as a whole and I want to selfishly
[26:48] say that we would not
[26:51] have --we would not be in
[26:54] our house right now if it were not
[26:55] for
[26:57] the city dispatch , the
[27:00] 911 center. We had a fire
[27:03] when the
[27:04] saltwater went to the electrical system and
[27:06] we did not know
[27:08] . We were sleeping at 6:00 in the morning.
[27:12] a friend accidentally woke us in
[27:15] an unrelated event and the house was
[27:18] on fire. It was
[27:20] a five to 10 minute window we would
[27:21] have lost our house
[27:23] . The ceiling had just caught fire.
[27:24] when I was on
[27:27] the phone to 911, I could
[27:30] hear the sirens coming.
[27:33] the fire and police were exemplary.
[27:36] I cannot imagine a
[27:39] better situation. People saying their houses
[27:40] were
[27:42] more destroyed by the water then by fire
[27:45] that was not the case .
[27:47] they respected our possessions. They
[27:48] went above
[27:51] and beyond. I would
[27:53] like that situation to continue. I
[27:54] am very grateful to
[27:57] the police and fire and I'm very grateful to
[28:00] our 911 dispatch system.
[28:03] we could
[28:05] not do that if we were controlled.
[28:06] thank you
[28:09] .
[28:10] >> [ applause ]
[28:15] >> good morning.
[28:18] I live on
[28:21] raven court in punta gorda and
[28:23] have lived here year-round for 25 years.
[28:27] I have seen the city grow and services
[28:30] get better and better. I want to
[28:33] thank all of you who have volunteered
[28:34] your
[28:36] time to be representatives of us
[28:39] . Working
[28:42] as a city council person is not an
[28:45] easy job. And democracy is
[28:48] hard work. It is also our job,
[28:51] as public citizens, to let
[28:53] you know what we need. I want you
[28:54] to know
[28:57] that we need to keep our 911 dispatch service.
[29:00] our police and
[29:03] fire departments could not provide
[29:06] better service . They do
[29:09] that because they can't respond so quickly.
[29:12] if we did not control the
[29:14] 911 dispatch , they would not have
[29:15] the time
[29:17] to do what I personally have observed
[29:18] ,
[29:21] calming people down when the
[29:24] paramedics arrived, rather than just go
[29:30] --for helping
[29:33] a woman assess
[29:36] whether she needs to go to the hospital
[29:42] or they need to get her a cup of coffee
[29:43] and listen to
[29:46] her to make she --or she is
[29:47] stable enough. If they did not have
[29:49] the quick response
[29:50] , they would not have the time to
[29:52] do that.
[29:55] they would just
[29:56] have to go to the emergency room.
[29:58] which means over the bridge
[30:01] .
[30:04] [ indiscernible -muffled ] please ensure
[30:07] you keep our 911
[30:09] dispatch service so that we can continue
[30:13] to have a great police
[30:14] and fire department. Thank you very
[30:16] much.
[30:17] >>
[30:22] [
[30:25] applause ]
[30:27] >> my blood pressure is rising . I
[30:28] have
[30:31] been living in this town for
[30:34] 20 years and visiting since 1979
[30:37] when my
[30:38] family started investing in properties
[30:40] in punta gorda . I helped
[30:43] --
[30:49] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[30:51] in 2013 , an incident occurred which
[30:52] took me
[30:55] years to understand why a drug user
[30:58] terrorizing my life and
[31:00] chasing me all over the county. Whenever
[31:01] I went out,
[31:04] I was terrified, I had
[31:05] my car blodgett one night when I went
[31:07] out by druggies.
[31:10] I believe that was correlated
[31:13] by a former councilman ,
[31:14] charles wallace and I oppose anything
[31:19] connected with the sheriff, I think
[31:21] he is a criminal who belongs in prison,
[31:25] detective wagner , they were
[31:26] supposed to protect me, they did not
[31:30] , I kept contacting them over and
[31:33] over again . I was so scared to death
[31:34] , people were
[31:37] knocking on my windows. I had to go
[31:39] around my home at night time to make
[31:40] sure there
[31:41] was nobody hanging around my house
[31:43] trying to get --
[31:45] so I could get into my home safely. Finally,
[31:49] I get in touch with wagner who did
[31:50] not respond to any of my correspondence
[31:52] and was not available. She was
[31:55] out sick. Pardon me. I have been
[31:57] out sick . She left me not protected
[32:01] for weeks.
[32:03] I had a cell phone number and reamed him
[32:06] about no protection. From day one,
[32:10] when he sent out wagner to my home,
[32:12] he did not seem to care about what
[32:13] was
[32:16] going on. I did not know why
[32:17] I was being chased around by druggies,
[32:19] why somebody
[32:21] acted like they wanted to kill me.
[32:22] I had
[32:25] no idea what was going on
[32:26] I center everything I could possibly
[32:28] think of who may be mad at
[32:31] me. Well , they did nothing and
[32:34] the sheriff and wagner
[32:37] belong in prison with several
[32:40] other detectives
[32:43] . I highly recommend you
[32:45] do not connect with them in any way,
[32:46] shape, form, and this is what
[32:47] we pay so much. Probably almost half
[32:49] of our revenues, tax revenues
[32:52] , go to the police department because
[32:54] we do not want to be affiliated with
[32:55] corruption in the
[32:58] sheriff's department.
[33:04] >>
[33:07] bill page.
[33:10] I recently had the privilege
[33:12] of attending the citizens academy
[33:13] with the
[33:16] police department. I would like
[33:19] to commend them on what I saw
[33:22] as creativity
[33:24] and making do with what they had available
[33:25] to them.
[33:28] the use of the 64 volunteers
[33:31] and services and values to
[33:34] the citizens . Recently,
[33:37] the city --
[33:43] [ indiscernible -muffled ] I recommend we
[33:46] look at doing more of this
[33:48] activities with citizens involvement.
[33:52] constantly hearing there is a shortage
[33:53] of resources
[33:55] for the city.
[33:57] if you look through the town, you
[33:58] have a tremendous
[34:01] talent base. You have folks that have
[34:04] many years of dealing directly with fema.
[34:07] you have real estate people
[34:10] that have developed code.
[34:12] financial people , purchasing people.
[34:16] and
[34:19] for labor.
[34:22] in
[34:25] the planning for hurricanes . We have
[34:26] people set
[34:28] up on a temporary
[34:31] --they come back in and help with
[34:34] the cleanup.
[34:46] one other thing I would like to
[34:49] challenge is,
[34:52] the studies, if we do not have professionals
[34:55] that are doing their job and know
[34:56] what the
[34:57] problems are, why do we need a study
[35:01] after having
[35:03] known we have a water meter problem
[35:04] in 2022
[35:07] and we
[35:09] want to now take the time to do a
[35:10] study? That is ridiculous. If you
[35:13] do not have
[35:15] professionals doing the job and do
[35:16] what the problem is and can address
[35:18] it, we need to realign our resources.
[35:19] thank you.
[35:22] >> [
[35:25] applause ]
[35:28] >> good
[35:31] morning, everybody
[35:34] . I am a resident of punta gorda .
[35:37] red tie
[35:40] , all the way from tampa bay to key west.
[35:43] and,
[35:47] somebody made a comment this morning
[35:49] on my video
[35:52] . About
[35:55] all the waters are connected.
[36:01] I want to say,
[36:04] I attended the pgi canal meeting
[36:07] . Dr.
[36:10] richard whitman personally handed
[36:11] me
[36:13] his presentation.
[36:16] had a very productive meeting. What
[36:19] I learned in this meeting,
[36:22] we have
[36:25] a serious disconnection
[36:28] from our state legislator,
[36:31] to the
[36:33] county commissioner, to the city council,
[36:34] and to
[36:37] washington, d.c.
[36:43] in 2018 , I coined
[36:46] the phrase
[36:48] florida water quality crisis . That
[36:49] is because
[36:52] , in that time , we have so many
[36:55] dead sea life and in the
[36:58] showing up on the east and west coast.
[37:01] as I speak right now,
[37:04] littered
[37:07] with thousands of dead
[37:10] sea life , not hundreds , thousands.
[37:16] there is a group out there that is exposing
[37:19] all the spraying of
[37:22] the chemicals .
[37:28] pastor scott wilson
[37:31] is spearheading this.
[37:34] dennis lee, who
[37:37] lives on lake okeechobee
[37:41] for years. These guys have
[37:44] exposed all of the
[37:46] chemicals being sprayed. I will request
[37:47] that
[37:50] our city stops spraying
[37:53] any chemicals anymore on
[37:56] his quails. Remember
[37:58] the days when we had guys from the
[38:01] jail working , send them back out.
[38:05] the ones on the
[38:06] behavior and will be released back
[38:08] into society.
[38:11] but, this, all these
[38:14] chemicals , the
[38:16] toxic pollution I have been talking about
[38:17] ,
[38:20] the fertilizer, all
[38:26] tied together.
[38:27] it has been a long journey but we
[38:29] will get there.
[38:32] thank you,
[38:35] everybody.
[38:36] >> [ applause
[38:38] ]
[38:39] >> good afternoon.
[38:41] my name is mark
[38:44] . I live on susie street.
[38:47] the purpose
[38:50] is to address city council
[38:52] and the group overall as a whole.
[38:56] I want to
[38:57] talk about excellence in healthcare with
[38:59] punta gorda and preface
[39:00] this by saying I appreciate , respect,
[39:04] all of the doctors that take care of
[39:08] us.
[39:11] it 926 , my parents moved
[39:14] --in 1986 ,
[39:17] my parents moved here. I have
[39:20] seen the progression. You
[39:23] look at
[39:26] lee health, nch, hhs
[39:29] hospital , I can go down the list
[39:31] , hospitals we partnered with, this
[39:32] is
[39:34] not a self-serving [ indiscernible
[39:35] -
[39:37] low volume ] I am a consultant. I
[39:38] have
[39:39] 20 years administrative expertise.
[39:44] [ indiscernible
[39:47] -low volume ]
[39:49] that was one of my clients in certain locations.
[39:53] a partial --
[39:56] [ indiscernible -low volume ] what
[39:59] does it mean? Right now , as you know
[40:02] , the ambulance comes ,
[40:04] they do a great job , the paramedics can
[40:08] they only can take you to faucet
[40:10] or the other shore point hospital.
[40:16] not disparaging them. Recently, we
[40:17] were
[40:20] involved in the hhs
[40:23] hospital.
[40:29] [ indiscernible -low volume
[40:32] ] my
[40:35] question is, what is the
[40:37] city council [ indiscernible -low
[40:38] volume
[40:41] ] . Who and what are on the committees?
[40:42] what
[40:44] is the engagement with adventist health?
[40:47] what does asset mean
[40:50] for punta gorda hospital ? What
[40:53] is the plan and what is the
[40:55] local support? Now is the time to
[40:56] get that
[40:59] committee together. Adventist health
[41:00] is
[41:02] a great company.
[41:05] first-class healthcare.
[41:08] very exciting they are going
[41:11] to be in charlotte county. Right now,
[41:14] if I have to have my
[41:16] knee done , I am going to naples ,
[41:17] if I
[41:20] have a heart attack probably not going
[41:21] to
[41:23] go to the hospitals here, I am
[41:25] not talking about the doctors , I
[41:26] am talking about
[41:29] the facilities. Topic for consideration,
[41:32] some small way.
[41:35] thank you for your time.
[41:36] >>
[41:38] [ applause ]
[41:41] >> I will make
[41:44] a brief comment. We
[41:47] did meet with
[41:50] shorepoint
[41:53] recently and we
[41:54] understand the crisis we have and
[41:56] need to be proactive. We have been
[41:57] talking
[41:58] about putting together a healthcare
[41:59] roundtable of
[42:02] residents, physicians who want
[42:04] to be involved in fostering this issue
[42:05] so we
[42:07] have quality healthcare within the city.
[42:11] it is on
[42:14] our radar. We will be reaching out
[42:17] .
[42:20] >> we would like to connect.
[42:26] >> sir,
[42:29] can you please make
[42:32] your comments at the mic?
[42:33] >>
[42:35] the progression of healthcare
[42:36] in united states has changed, especially
[42:38] with what is happening, you
[42:41] look at prevention , retention,
[42:44] I can
[42:47] go down the list.
[42:50] we are not medical doctors
[42:53] . We engage with them heavily.
[42:56] from our standpoint,
[42:59] they
[43:01] have direct interaction with patients
[43:02] and their families.
[43:05] I think
[43:08] that committee --anybody can
[43:11] be there, but the people
[43:14] doing right now
[43:16] , for the best healthcare systems
[43:17] in the
[43:20] united states,
[43:23] adventist health , what they bring,
[43:26] but
[43:28] , understanding the partial purchase means
[43:32] , understanding [
[43:35] indiscernible -muffled ]
[43:37] . They need a certificate of occupancy,
[43:38] a cnl, I
[43:41] would like to be a part of that committee.
[43:42] I will
[43:44] stop there. Thank you so much.
[43:47] >>
[43:50] jeff
[43:53] . A letter I sent to
[43:56] the county commissioners about
[43:59] steven's reprehensible behavior.
[44:02] by deposition.
[44:05] dear county commissioners,
[44:08] general george s patton was removed
[44:11] from his command on the third army
[44:12] during
[44:14] world war ii for slapping an enlisted
[44:15] man.
[44:17] the single incident made
[44:19] it impossible for them to command
[44:23] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[44:26] while not forced to resign,
[44:32] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[44:35] you
[44:38] are the de facto boss of the civil service
[44:39] ,
[44:40] long after your term as commissioner
[44:44] ends --[
[44:47] indiscernible -muffled ]
[44:53] pay raises and promotions.
[45:02] I know that he has done
[45:04] a great thing for veterans. That should
[45:05] not be taken away
[45:08] from him.
[45:11] [ indiscernible -muffled
[45:14] ]
[45:17] in this day
[45:20] and age,
[45:23] we must respect everybody's
[45:24] diversity, equity, and inclusion.
[45:31] make city workers uncomfortable in
[45:32] the workplace.
[45:34] thank you very much. If you could,
[45:38] send a letter to
[45:41] the commissioners. That would be greatly
[45:44] appreciated.
[45:47] thank you.
[45:56] >> mike,
[45:59] punta gorda .
[46:02] approval of 120 --
[46:06] storage facility
[46:09] [ indiscernible -muffled ] prior
[46:12] to that, the county
[46:13] approved the 99,000 square foot keeps
[46:15] swap facility north
[46:17] of jones loop, and the scenic view
[46:21] storage facility
[46:24] containing 145,000 square feet.
[46:26] these three projects will bring approximately
[46:29] 345,000 square feet of self storage space
[46:32] into an already saturated market.
[46:35] there is currently approximately 320,000
[46:37] square feet of self storage space
[46:39] in the
[46:42] area which
[46:44] equates to approximately 16 square
[46:45] feet per
[46:48] city resident.
[46:49] the development of these two facilities
[46:50] that are proposed will increase the
[46:51] supply of
[46:52] self storage in the city of punta
[46:54] gorda by over 100%.
[46:57] to 33
[47:00] square feet per capita.
[47:02] to build that into context, the city --
[47:05] implemented a moratorium on self storage space
[47:09] with the supply
[47:12] of self storage development
[47:14] at 10 square feet per resident. We
[47:15] have
[47:18] three times
[47:20] , okay? We will have three times that
[47:21] amount of
[47:24] space. Okay? These two elements
[47:27] -- okay? This
[47:30] should require a
[47:31] feasibility study to determine their impact
[47:36] and what it will have on
[47:37] the greater market and whether it
[47:39] is feasible.
[47:42] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[47:43] the repurposing of the structures
[47:48] , if they are not successful,
[47:51] is very [ indiscernible ]
[47:54] . A project of this size
[47:57] should have been a decision made by
[47:58] the city council and not staff. Okay?
[48:00] we are not the county
[48:02] . We have a limited number of sites, especially
[48:06] on that road.
[48:09] this is one of the largest
[48:11] [ indiscernible ] . Originally proposed
[48:12] for a
[48:15] car wash
[48:17] , okay? Now, they will put a self
[48:18] storage facility on
[48:19] it. That would not have been allowed
[48:24] without the special exception.
[48:27] they did not have a right.
[48:29] they had no investment expectations
[48:30] of the self storage facility.
[48:33] that was staff recommendation.
[48:36] we need to think.
[48:38] we have a limited number of parcels
[48:39] left
[48:42] on 41. Two of them right now
[48:45] are proposed for a carwash
[48:46] were proposed for a carwash, what
[48:48] is next to the fire station.
[48:54] [ indiscernible ] thank you
[48:57] .
[48:58] >> [
[49:00] applause ]
[49:06] >> good morning.
[49:09] [ indiscernible -muffled
[49:12] ] you think I am here
[49:14] to speak about pickleball courts,
[49:21] but I am not. [ laughter ]
[49:24] couple weeks ago, there was a watering
[49:25] restriction
[49:27] in punta gorda . I understand
[49:31] drinking water is more important that
[49:33] our lawns. Can you continue
[49:34] to provide updates on your website
[49:36] as to what
[49:39] is being done to remove
[49:41] that watering restriction at some point
[49:45] ? Also, be able
[49:47] to accommodate all the new development
[49:48] that is happening
[49:51] in our town because
[49:53] there is a great deal of development.
[49:57] not only large developments,
[50:00] but individual residential developments
[50:03] , so , what are we
[50:06] doing to ensure one
[50:09] year, two , 10 years out ,
[50:11] we have leaking water for ourselves
[50:12] and
[50:14] the ability to maintain our landscaping
[50:18] and filling our pools?
[50:21] if you can speak to what
[50:22] is being done right now, I appreciate
[50:24] it, or provide updates on
[50:27] the website.
[50:28] >>
[50:30] [ applause ]
[50:33] >>
[50:36] my name is ed,
[50:39] resident of punta gorda .
[50:41] I was going to listen but I agree,
[50:45] our drinking water is super
[50:48] important, and
[50:50] the water that comes from the river
[50:51] is very important and
[50:53] we have a serious about the filter system.
[50:54] it
[50:57] gets dark . The sediment we have in
[50:59] our water systems is terrible . I
[51:00] am embarrassed.
[51:03] water
[51:05] main breakage a couple weeks ago.
[51:12] I believe they did not repair it
[51:15] for hours. I could be wrong.
[51:18] we have to take our water seriously.
[51:21] the pressure
[51:23] , the day before the break, was up
[51:24] to 75 meters high
[51:27] .
[51:30] did we break it
[51:32] , the city? Why was the pressure high?
[51:33] maybe I
[51:36] am crazy, but our drinking water is
[51:38] lousy and it used to be better. Thank you.
[51:42] >>
[51:57] >> anybody else want to speak this
[51:58] morning? Thank
[51:59] you for your comments. Those wishing
[52:00] to
[52:01] introduce themselves for nominees
[52:03] for a board committee may do so at
[52:06] this time those who choose to speak
[52:07] must take
[52:09] their name for the record.
[52:12] anyone?
[52:15] I am sorry.
[52:30] >> I
[52:33] will try to keep the short . I
[52:36] am running for the ultimate position
[52:38] of the planning and zoning board.
[52:39] that
[52:42] is a position I currently hold.
[52:45] I have some experience from up north
[52:48] , as
[52:51] city council persons, I do not envy
[52:52] you
[52:54] at all.
[52:56] I was on the planning commission and
[52:57] development commission.
[53:00] I hope you consider
[53:03] me.
[53:06] I am a snowbird.
[53:12] thank you.
[53:13] >> thank you, sir.
[53:15] anybody else?
[53:18] public hearing agenda , there is
[53:21] none.
[53:24] orson it's --ordinance
[53:27] and resolution, the next on the list is
[53:30] consent agenda.
[53:33] [
[53:36] indiscernible -low volume ]
[53:39] >>
[53:51] second.
[53:52] >> all those in favor? >> aye. >> opposed? >>
[53:54] motion carries.
[54:00] [ indiscernible -low volume ] our agenda,
[54:03] we will start with
[54:06] 911 dispatch.
[54:12] >>
[54:15] chief
[54:18] of punta gorda
[54:21] postponement not sure if you want
[54:22] me to start
[54:23] up with some talking points I put together.
[54:27] I want to start off
[54:30] by saying we have a great partnership
[54:33] with the fire department
[54:36] and with the county. This
[54:39] is about our 911 center. I am
[54:42] talking about how good I believe our
[54:43] 911
[54:46] center is. I cannot speak
[54:49] from the fire chief, we believe
[54:52] we are doing things great
[54:54] and we're serving our citizens the
[54:55] way
[54:58] they want to be served. The
[55:00] police were , we have a community
[55:02] policing philosophy, at every level,
[55:07] when you call our 911 dispatch,
[55:09] you are getting community policing.
[55:13] they will treat you as they were
[55:15] treating one of their own family members.
[55:19] to get a history of how this
[55:22] came about,
[55:25] ever
[55:26] since I have been here, the sheriff
[55:28] has mentioned
[55:29] it would be nice to consolidate. I
[55:31] feel like we do a
[55:34] great job and I would like to --
[55:37] [ indiscernible ] .
[55:40] in 2023, the sheriff
[55:42] wrote a letter to all the city council
[55:43] members saying the city
[55:45] commissioners, with reasons why he
[55:46] felt we needed to
[55:49] consolidate. One was because of the incident
[55:52] february 24th , 2018 .
[55:55] he believed we were
[55:58] [ indiscernible ]
[56:07] I feel very confident we are in
[56:09] full compliance and I spoke to the
[56:10] chairman of
[56:12] the commission, he agrees that we
[56:13] are
[56:14] in compliance . One of the things
[56:16] he said,
[56:18] he wanted to go a step further, consolidate
[56:22] our computer aided dispatch with
[56:25] the sheriff's. Each agency
[56:26] could see what is going on with the
[56:28] other agency. The
[56:31] sheriff --I will backup
[56:33] , at the time the letter was written,
[56:34] arguing all
[56:37] the different things , including our
[56:38] great response times that are faster
[56:42] than the response times with the sheriff
[56:43] and fire
[56:46] and county,
[56:48] they have talented dispatchers and
[56:49] we have
[56:50] talented dispatchers, just the way
[56:52] we control our
[56:53] dispatch center where we can change
[56:55] things up to make sure we are responding faster
[56:58] ,
[57:00] particularly our fire department out.
[57:01] one of
[57:04] the concerns we brought up, we trace
[57:07] our ems calls, to
[57:10] the county.
[57:13] however, each
[57:16] engine at each of
[57:19] our stations is equipped with advanced
[57:21] life support and they have a paramedic
[57:22] on it.
[57:25] we are still sending
[57:28] each call , each
[57:30] medical call our fire department goes
[57:31] out
[57:33] and therefore, you are getting a paramedic
[57:34] to your call.
[57:36] which means there is no issue with
[57:37] that life
[57:40] , we do
[57:43] not have a paramedic,
[57:45] the ms will, do the transfer after that.
[57:49] --ems will do the transfer
[57:52] after the.
[57:54] they are going at the same time we
[57:55] are
[57:58] going anyways.
[58:01] so, couple
[58:04] of pros , I do not know
[58:07] if you want to speak.
[58:10] >>
[58:13] fire chief. So, with that,
[58:16] with our dispatch times
[58:19] , we have worked really hard .
[58:22] by getting minimal
[58:25] information, police , fire , ems,
[58:28] before that,
[58:31] they will grab the address.
[58:34] yes,
[58:35] they may have to repeat the address
[58:37] to the ems dispatcher,
[58:40] we are not ems , we
[58:43] really are, we are just not the
[58:45] ambulance service and transport. Emts
[58:46] and paramedics
[58:49] , sometimes multiple on the
[58:51] scene apparatus. We will provide the
[58:52] same level of
[58:55] care for those initial moments.
[58:58] it is important we get out
[59:01] there quickly. We
[59:03] are almost twice as fast as accounting
[59:04] and getting
[59:07] out ems people out the door.
[59:13] I am not sure if
[59:16] they mimic the same thing
[59:19] if we partnered with the county.
[59:22] but they asked a lot more questions
[59:25] before they dispatch units.
[59:28] >>
[59:31] the sheriff cited
[59:33] officer safety , resident safety,
[59:37] one central location,
[59:39] if they know what is going on throughout
[59:40] the entire county.
[59:42] we do monitor their officers with
[59:43] scanner channels.
[59:49] [ indiscernible ] there
[59:52] are two centers.
[59:55] when you are talking about
[59:58] things --if an alert goes off, a panic
[1:00:01] alert at school, he goes to
[1:00:04] their center so the county is aware.
[1:00:05] some of
[1:00:07] the things expressed
[1:00:10] as concerns , I am telling you,
[1:00:13] I am not concerned about. If you
[1:00:15] start to say that we should always
[1:00:16] be connected
[1:00:19] to people on our boards,
[1:00:22] [ indiscernible ]
[1:00:25] . You go down the rabbit hole.
[1:00:28] we are confident our dispatchers know
[1:00:31] our citizens , no our frequent callers
[1:00:34] , no our landmarks
[1:00:37] .
[1:00:43] [ indiscernible ]
[1:00:49] I will bring up one more point,
[1:00:52] hurricane lee --
[1:00:55] hurricane helene , flooding
[1:00:58] , to get into
[1:01:01] pgi
[1:01:04] and it flooded
[1:01:07] --
[1:01:10] we have calls
[1:01:13] stacked up. When you normally --
[1:01:16] [ indiscernible ]
[1:01:19] we were able
[1:01:22] to go after
[1:01:28] [ indiscernible ]
[1:01:31] . Group those calls [ indiscernible
[1:01:34] ] .
[1:01:45] take all these calls from the historic district.
[1:01:52] at [
[1:01:54] indiscernible -background noise ] .
[1:02:01] the bridges are closed, how would
[1:02:02] we go
[1:02:04] over there?
[1:02:06] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:02:07] ]
[1:02:21] we go through staffing crisis sometimes
[1:02:22] just like any other
[1:02:25] dispatch center.
[1:02:31] right now, this has
[1:02:33] caused a lot of anxiety for our employees.
[1:02:37] so, we are dealing with
[1:02:40] that right now. Any questions?
[1:02:46] >>
[1:02:52] melissa lockhart for the record.
[1:02:55] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:02:59] ] the only
[1:03:02] con is staffing, any department
[1:03:05] anywhere. For
[1:03:08] transparency , I had
[1:03:09] a conversation with the sheriff and said,
[1:03:11] I cannot
[1:03:12] support this because of these concerns.
[1:03:14] at the end of the day,
[1:03:17] the commissioners and the councilmembers
[1:03:19] , we are not the experts. We do not
[1:03:23] know the ins and outs
[1:03:26] of how the
[1:03:29] systems work, until you can tell
[1:03:32] me how
[1:03:33] you and our chiefs will sit down at
[1:03:35] a roundtable and discuss all
[1:03:36] of our concerns, I cannot support
[1:03:37] doing this, it will not be conducive
[1:03:38] for
[1:03:41] our residents. I did not
[1:03:43] get a feeling the sheriff was going
[1:03:44] to
[1:03:46] be willing to have this roundtable
[1:03:47] and that concerns
[1:03:48] me as well. What also concerns me,
[1:03:50] they
[1:03:53] were asking --
[1:03:55] city council at the time, the chief said
[1:03:56] ,
[1:03:58] we will stick with what we have. Fast-forward
[1:03:59] to december,
[1:04:02] the sheriff goes to
[1:04:04] the commissioners and has a very compelling story,
[1:04:08] if I heard it
[1:04:09] , I would say, this sounds great.
[1:04:14] I do not support this.
[1:04:16] I support keeping it local. Everything
[1:04:19] you said , redundancy , almost twice
[1:04:22] as fast as far as our calls , grouping
[1:04:24] those calls in certain situations.
[1:04:29] >> you talk about redundancy ,
[1:04:32] hurricane ian ,
[1:04:35] calls coming in
[1:04:36] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:04:38] ]
[1:04:41] the fact we
[1:04:44] have redundancy in the system,
[1:04:46] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:04:50] ]
[1:04:56] >>
[1:04:59] you discussed this before.
[1:05:02] you do the extra stuff, too.
[1:05:09] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:05:11] ]
[1:05:14] changing our batteries in our
[1:05:17] fire alarms.
[1:05:19] we are very spoiled in that respect.
[1:05:23] >>
[1:05:26] we tailor
[1:05:29] our departments to the needs of our citizens.
[1:05:32] >>
[1:05:33] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:05:35] ]
[1:05:38] >>
[1:05:41] what he said this morning --
[1:05:46] [ indiscernible -muffled ] you know
[1:05:47] our landmarks.
[1:05:50] we are an older population. Is there
[1:05:52] going to be different if we have an
[1:05:53] entire county
[1:05:56] ?
[1:05:58] thank you so much for all you do.
[1:06:02] >> we had a
[1:06:05] similar conversation. I do not see
[1:06:07] the need to fix something that is
[1:06:08] not broken.
[1:06:11] >> melissa lockhart . There
[1:06:14] is my concern . Time is of the essence
[1:06:16] because we are hearing from dispatch.
[1:06:19] it is interrupting our daily services
[1:06:20] now. There is
[1:06:22] this looming , can it happen, is it
[1:06:23] going to happen?
[1:06:26] to put our chiefs at ease
[1:06:29] and dispatchers at ease
[1:06:30] , to go on with business as usual,
[1:06:32] with the continuing
[1:06:35] of the hiring process,
[1:06:38] I personally would like to see
[1:06:40] that we have a consensus , whatever
[1:06:41] we need
[1:06:44] to do, to take a stand , if that is
[1:06:46] what we would like to do, to say,
[1:06:47] no, we will
[1:06:50] keep it. And
[1:06:53] confirm it.
[1:06:54] >>
[1:06:59] janis denton.
[1:07:01] do we have the authority to keep the
[1:07:05] dispatch service?
[1:07:08] we want to keep our personalized service.
[1:07:09] the
[1:07:10] only advantage I can see it saving
[1:07:14] $1.2 million.
[1:07:17] our citizens want to cut costs.
[1:07:20] I am
[1:07:23] in agreement .
[1:07:26] >>
[1:07:29] david levin , city attorney.
[1:07:32] the regulation, cited
[1:07:35] support of consolidation,
[1:07:38] I am 100% satisfied we have the
[1:07:41] authority to adopt our own
[1:07:44] 911 system. We may not
[1:07:47] be able to get money from
[1:07:50] the county , not by legal means,
[1:07:56] compel that
[1:07:57] by willing to fund it ourselves, we
[1:07:59] have the authority.
[1:08:02] >> janis denton.
[1:08:05] do we have to continue to pay the sheriff
[1:08:08] when we are double playing,
[1:08:11] in a sense ?
[1:08:14] >> well
[1:08:17] , yes, the sheriff is funded
[1:08:20] through that statutory mechanism.
[1:08:23] nothing in the statute
[1:08:26] --handing me the
[1:08:29] actual citation.
[1:08:32] this was my 3:00 a.m. Legal opinion.
[1:08:35] there is nothing in section
[1:08:38] 356 .172 that said the county
[1:08:41] should be paying
[1:08:44] dispatch.
[1:08:47] nothing in the statute
[1:08:50] which indicates an intent by the
[1:08:53] florida legislature
[1:08:56] [ indiscernible -low volume ].
[1:08:59] the county has responsibilities
[1:09:02] regarding 911.
[1:09:04] under the florida constitution , case law
[1:09:08] , in the absence
[1:09:11] of an espresso prohibition
[1:09:17] --
[1:09:20] [ indiscernible -low volume ].
[1:09:23] >> do you want a decision today?
[1:09:26] I make a motion we keep our
[1:09:29] 911 dispatch center .
[1:09:30] >>
[1:09:32] second .
[1:09:33] >>
[1:09:35] all in favor?
[1:09:36] >>
[1:09:38] aye.
[1:09:39] >>
[1:09:41] anybody opposed ?
[1:09:42] >> motion
[1:09:44] carries.
[1:09:45] >> [ applause ]
[1:10:02] >> the next
[1:10:05] is [ indiscernible -muffled
[1:10:08] ] .
[1:10:11] >>
[1:10:14] 6.a.
[1:10:15] >> thank you.
[1:10:17] rules of procedure
[1:10:20] draft, rules one through ten.
[1:11:12] >> should
[1:11:14] we take a quick 10 minute break ?
[1:11:21] thank you
[1:11:24] very much.
[1:11:33] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[1:11:42] I am
[1:11:44] hoping we can look at the first 10.
[1:11:57] rule one --
[1:12:00] do you want
[1:12:01] me to read each of these or do you
[1:12:03] want to make comments?
[1:12:06] >>
[1:12:10] make comments.
[1:12:11] >> any comments on
[1:12:12] rule one?
[1:12:15] we will
[1:12:21] leave that one. Any comments on rule two?
[1:12:24] rule three, regarding
[1:12:26] regular city council meetings. Any comments?
[1:12:39] >> hang on.
[1:12:42] I do not think everybody
[1:12:45] has the rules in front of them.
[1:12:51] anybody for rule three?
[1:12:58] >> rule two? >> we just talked about it.
[1:13:18] >> is everybody good with
[1:13:21] rule two?
[1:13:22] >> I am good. >> yes. >>
[1:13:24] rule three.
[1:13:27] regarding city
[1:13:30] council meetings.
[1:13:33] a question whether council could have
[1:13:36] evening meetings.
[1:13:42] is everyone
[1:13:45] in favor of that change?
[1:13:46] >>
[1:13:48] yes.
[1:13:54] still in rule three,
[1:13:56] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:14:00] ]
[1:14:06] . How
[1:14:09] does the council feel
[1:14:12] about that ?
[1:14:15] >>
[1:14:18] could you read that one more time?
[1:14:19] >>
[1:14:21] [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:14:24] ] adjustments to meetings
[1:14:27] , locations or
[1:14:30] time.
[1:14:31] >>
[1:14:33] we do not always see the email.
[1:14:36] we do see texts more often
[1:14:39] .
[1:14:40] >>
[1:14:48] melissa lockhart.
[1:14:51] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:14:56] >> you need to forward the text messages
[1:14:57] so we
[1:15:00] can archive that.
[1:15:06] >> city attorney ,
[1:15:09] concerned
[1:15:12] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:15:18] procedural items ,
[1:15:20] I would like to double check that
[1:15:21] .
[1:15:24] >>
[1:15:27] we will come back to that one.
[1:15:36] 03 .4
[1:15:39] --rule 3.4 --
[1:15:42] [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:15:45] ]
[1:15:51] 's
[1:15:52] >> [ indiscernible -background
[1:15:53] noise
[1:15:54] ]
[1:16:00] [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:16:03] ]
[1:16:06] >> we suggested
[1:16:09] the agenda be posted
[1:16:11] the afternoon following the city council meeting.
[1:16:18] you have two agendas out there
[1:16:21] at the same time.
[1:16:24] >> is council okay
[1:16:26] with making the changes as discussed
[1:16:27] yesterday?
[1:16:30] >> yes.
[1:16:33] >>
[1:16:36] when it comes to
[1:16:39] staff, I know that we will try to not
[1:16:42] have the
[1:16:44] minister to the agenda , posting so
[1:16:45] far out,
[1:16:48] I am okay
[1:16:51] with that.
[1:16:54] as long as it does not go up to
[1:16:56] the deadline. From his top perspective,
[1:17:00] they should have some leeway .
[1:17:06] >> I do
[1:17:09] want to suggest for the agenda process
[1:17:12] , we would not
[1:17:15] add new topics [ indiscernible
[1:17:18] -low volume ]
[1:17:24] [ indiscernible -background
[1:17:27] noise ]
[1:17:30] we want to
[1:17:33] make sure staff has all documentation
[1:17:36] and not be
[1:17:39] having items
[1:17:42] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:17:45] >> melissa.
[1:17:48] whatever
[1:17:50] is added to the agenda , sometimes
[1:17:51] something
[1:17:54] needs to be added , I am
[1:17:57] okay with that. Sometimes
[1:18:00] , staff says , new information has
[1:18:03] come out. Not
[1:18:05] getting all the information we need,
[1:18:06] adding
[1:18:09] to something already on the agenda.
[1:18:18] does that make sense?
[1:18:19] >>
[1:18:20] we would like to hear your feedback.
[1:18:21] if
[1:18:24] we change
[1:18:27] , is that in the
[1:18:30] best interest in the community
[1:18:33] ? They do not have all the information.
[1:18:36] if we make a change on sunday
[1:18:39] evening, if there is an issue with
[1:18:41] the documents that have been posted,
[1:18:45] half staff
[1:18:48] suggest amended information
[1:18:53] [ indiscernible -low volume ].
[1:18:54] >> melissa.
[1:18:57] the other things,
[1:19:00] not having all the information
[1:19:03] --
[1:19:06] [ indiscernible -low
[1:19:09] volume ] that document was
[1:19:12] too big, we do not have time,
[1:19:15] we need to
[1:19:18] table it.
[1:19:19] >> which is great,
[1:19:21] three-month out schedule which gives
[1:19:22] staff
[1:19:24] enough time to be prepared.
[1:19:27] some things will happen.
[1:19:30] it is
[1:19:33] too much.
[1:19:36] >>
[1:19:39] recommendation
[1:19:42] made must [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:19:45] ]
[1:19:48] >> 's
[1:19:51] --so
[1:19:54] the public knows in advance.
[1:19:55] >>
[1:19:57] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:20:03] but at least
[1:20:06] you would have that there.
[1:20:10] [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:20:13] ] that is a
[1:20:16] really good idea.
[1:20:22] >> melissa,
[1:20:28] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:20:49] >>
[1:20:52] we like to get direction
[1:20:53] on this , these are the reasons why
[1:20:55] we like it, these
[1:20:58] are the cons.
[1:21:01] I think that helps educate us as
[1:21:04] well.
[1:21:05] >> isn't
[1:21:06] that what we do at council meetings?
[1:21:10] >>
[1:21:13] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:21:16] >> melissa .
[1:21:19] [ indiscernible -low
[1:21:22] volume ]
[1:21:23] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:21:25] ]
[1:21:28] quote will be
[1:21:31] looking for his direction on
[1:21:33] --what we will be looking for his
[1:21:34] direction on
[1:21:39] a, b, and c. Giving staff more work to
[1:21:43] do.
[1:21:44] >>
[1:21:45] I think they do a good job of being
[1:21:49] pretty objective.
[1:21:52] we listen
[1:21:58] and may say yes or no.
[1:22:01] maybe it is case by case.
[1:22:04] >>
[1:22:10] 4.1.1.,
[1:22:14] the last sentence.
[1:22:15] >> still on three.
[1:22:19] [ laughter ]
[1:22:22] >> melissa.
[1:22:25] can I
[1:22:26] suggest, set in motion or direction
[1:22:28] ,
[1:22:30] consensus on how we feel about pros
[1:22:34] or cons?
[1:22:36] in certain cases, when it comes to
[1:22:39] different things they're talking about
[1:22:43] [ indiscernible -low
[1:22:46] volume ] . Showing the public what
[1:22:49] direction you ask for council [ indiscernible
[1:22:50] -
[1:22:52] low volume ] .
[1:22:55] >> [ indiscernible -background
[1:22:58] noise ]
[1:23:16] >> a
[1:23:19] consensus --[ indiscernible
[1:23:22] -background noise ]
[1:23:57] >> [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:24:01] ] that
[1:24:04] is completely up to you.
[1:24:07] subject to change
[1:24:10] .
[1:24:16] city council has either approved,
[1:24:21] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:24:25] ]
[1:24:28] >>
[1:24:29] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:24:31] ]
[1:24:49] it
[1:24:50] could still be held as an emergency
[1:24:52] meeting.
[1:24:53] >>
[1:24:55] yes.
[1:24:56] >> yes. >>
[1:24:58] for 3.7,
[1:25:00] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:25:01] ]
[1:25:13] >> rule 4,
[1:25:16] special city council meetings,
[1:25:25] rule 4.1.1, 4.1.2, if
[1:25:28] you have questions or comments?
[1:25:34] sorry, mr.
[1:25:37] levin?
[1:25:38] >>
[1:25:40] 4.1.1.,
[1:25:43] the last sentence special
[1:25:46] meetings may be held 24 hours
[1:25:49] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:25:52] ] .
[1:26:10] >> rule number five
[1:26:13] considering emergency council meetings.
[1:26:22] [ indiscernible -background
[1:26:24] noise ]
[1:26:25] >> [ indiscernible -background
[1:26:26] noise ]
[1:26:40] >>
[1:26:43] deborah lux for the record.
[1:26:46] 5.1
[1:26:49] falls into emergency meeting
[1:26:52] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:26:55] ].
[1:27:04] >> you put
[1:27:07] special needs, nonemergency ?
[1:27:10] >>
[1:27:13] I will make that change.
[1:27:14] >>
[1:27:15] emergency meetings , not special meetings.
[1:27:19] >> I can do that. A
[1:27:22] suggestion for
[1:27:25] 4.2?
[1:27:34] how does council feel about that?
[1:27:35] >>
[1:27:37] melissa.
[1:27:42] 4.2 for special meetings?
[1:27:43] >> yes. >>
[1:27:45] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:27:46] ] .
[1:28:07] >>
[1:28:10] 4.3,
[1:28:13] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:28:16] ]
[1:28:28] >> rule 5,
[1:28:31] emergency city
[1:28:34] council meetings. Any questions?
[1:28:43] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:28:46] >>
[1:28:49] debbie lux, on your powerpoint,
[1:28:52] you did include
[1:28:55] the rules .
[1:29:02] 5.4.1, not listed.
[1:29:05] it is
[1:29:08] okay.
[1:29:09] >> next page,
[1:29:11] it was so long.
[1:29:14] >> thank you.
[1:29:20] >>
[1:29:23] did you have a question
[1:29:26] , councilmember julian ?
[1:29:27] >>
[1:29:34] no.
[1:29:35] >> any questions? 5.4, a suggestion
[1:29:38] ,
[1:29:41] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:29:44] .
[1:29:47] rule 6,
[1:29:50] comments or questions?
[1:29:56] moving on to
[1:29:59] rule seven, comments or
[1:30:02] questions?
[1:30:08] rule 8, presiding
[1:30:11] officer,
[1:30:14] comments or questions?
[1:30:17] do you need a moment to catch
[1:30:20] up?
[1:30:21] >> no. >> rule nine. >>
[1:30:23] tonight backup
[1:30:26] , this is mayor julian?
[1:30:29] --
[1:30:32] can I backup,
[1:30:38] this is mayor julian?
[1:30:41] [ indiscernible -muffled
[1:30:44] ]
[1:30:45] >> it
[1:30:47] would be the board members .
[1:31:02] >> any comments or questions about
[1:31:05] rule nine? Rule 10
[1:31:08] is very similar.
[1:31:14] comments or questions?
[1:31:17] I will make
[1:31:19] the changes from today. [ indiscernible
[1:31:20] -low volume ]
[1:31:38] >>
[1:31:41] I like 10
[1:31:44] , not to lose the audience's
[1:31:47] attention.
[1:31:51] ten is perfect for me.
[1:31:52] >> agree. >> that
[1:31:53] works.
[1:31:54] >>
[1:31:56] all right,
[1:31:59] thank you.
[1:32:00] >>
[1:32:02] I will bring 10 back at the march
[1:32:05] meeting.
[1:32:06] >>
[1:32:08] taking out things --
[1:32:11] >> yes.
[1:32:14] thank
[1:32:17] you.
[1:32:18] >>
[1:32:23] next
[1:32:26] ,
[1:32:29] carollo engineers
[1:32:32] to
[1:32:34] develop the 2025 hydro biological
[1:32:35] monitoring report for
[1:32:38] shell creek reservoir.
[1:32:40] >> city council , master agreement
[1:32:44] , hearing services
[1:32:47] [ indiscernible -
[1:32:50] low volume ]
[1:32:53] the rights for a negotiating future
[1:32:56] , staff requested a proposal
[1:32:59] based on the negotiated hourly rates
[1:33:00] of
[1:33:01] the engineers to provide services
[1:33:02] to develop and
[1:33:05] provide the 2025 hydro biological
[1:33:08] monitoring
[1:33:11] report to provide information
[1:33:14] to ensure that the physical
[1:33:17] , environmental ,
[1:33:19] biological communities of the shell creek
[1:33:20] and
[1:33:23] river system continue to not be
[1:33:26] significantly
[1:33:29] impacted
[1:33:32] from water withdrawals
[1:33:35] with the total cost is
[1:33:38] $74,640 --
[1:33:41] the time
[1:33:44] to complete it is six months
[1:33:47] . Staff is
[1:33:50] recommending approval.
[1:33:56] >>
[1:33:59] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:34:02] >> any questions?
[1:34:08] >> I moved to
[1:34:11] --
[1:34:20] I move to approve.
[1:34:21] >> second. >> all in favor? >> aye. >>
[1:34:23] any opposed?
[1:34:29] motion carries. Thank you. Next on the
[1:34:32] agenda is urban
[1:34:35] qualification and interlocal agreement.
[1:34:38] >> good morning .
[1:34:44] human services director for charlotte county,
[1:34:47] sara welch.
[1:34:59] good morning
[1:35:02] . I wanted to take the opportunity
[1:35:03] to
[1:35:05] talk a little bit about the
[1:35:08] qualification process and
[1:35:10] community development block grant.
[1:35:14] it is an acronym,
[1:35:17] cdbg,
[1:35:20] want to make sure we're all on the
[1:35:21] same
[1:35:23] page while we are discussing.
[1:35:26] you indicated
[1:35:28] your desire [ indiscernible -background
[1:35:29] noise ]
[1:35:32] we are very excited about,
[1:35:35] once we entered into the agreement,
[1:35:38] he advised that
[1:35:41] he would align the contract with her
[1:35:44] fiscal year. What that means,
[1:35:47] [
[1:35:49] indiscernible -background noise ]
[1:35:52] we have the interlocal agreement with
[1:35:53] you as well. A good
[1:35:56] opportunity to review
[1:35:59] the need .
[1:36:02] what is urban qualification? A process,
[1:36:05] a process that means that the
[1:36:08] federal government , within had ,
[1:36:09] housing
[1:36:11] and urban development, we as a
[1:36:14] community have reached a population growth,
[1:36:17] 200,000 , as a community
[1:36:20] . They're recognizing
[1:36:23] , a bigger community
[1:36:26] , bigger community issues,
[1:36:29] the capacity to handle our own
[1:36:32] direct funding obligation .
[1:36:35] as a part of that,
[1:36:38] the population threshold, there is
[1:36:41] the consolidated plan.
[1:36:44] also
[1:36:47] an action plan, and hud
[1:36:50] has to agree that we
[1:36:53] have said, we know about ourselves
[1:36:54] and this
[1:36:57] is what we do with funding.
[1:37:00] so,
[1:37:01] here is why all this matters. Once
[1:37:03] hud
[1:37:06] has agreed we are entitled
[1:37:09] , we would be
[1:37:12] --they are saying,
[1:37:15] you are big enough , you can
[1:37:17] handle that funding we could give you.
[1:37:21] the way that starts is with the
[1:37:24] cdbg , community development
[1:37:25] block grant , that stream of funding
[1:37:30] means it could
[1:37:32] be used for infrastructure, economic development
[1:37:35] , individual assistance , but targeted
[1:37:38] to low and moderate income residents. But,
[1:37:42] the doors open
[1:37:45] to other funding from hud .
[1:37:48] intentionally,
[1:37:51] affordable housing with us, we
[1:37:54] look at the program to very
[1:37:57] specific tools, money
[1:37:59] we would get directly from hud , a tool
[1:38:00] in
[1:38:03] our toolkit. There is some
[1:38:06] urgency solutions,
[1:38:09] [ indiscernible -low volume ] .
[1:38:11] I want to draw your attention to the
[1:38:13] second one, community health and block
[1:38:15] grant disaster program.
[1:38:18] what that means,
[1:38:24] if we
[1:38:26] did not get that, we are not entitled.
[1:38:36] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:38:38] a direct application of cdbg and arpa .
[1:38:42] $200 after hurricane
[1:38:45] --$200 million
[1:38:48] after hurricane
[1:38:51] ian. We received
[1:38:54] support from the state,
[1:38:57] and that runs through
[1:39:00] florida commerce and they decide how
[1:39:03] many dollars will be spent.
[1:39:06] I don't know about you ,
[1:39:09] but I like to have more control.
[1:39:12] the community development
[1:39:15] block grant ,
[1:39:18] our allocation from hud , we
[1:39:21] would receive a little over $1 million annually
[1:39:24] for this process.
[1:39:27] $1,047,000.
[1:39:30] based
[1:39:33] on population, they look at
[1:39:35] all the information we provide them
[1:39:36] and they have a
[1:39:38] detailed formula that they use. That
[1:39:39] funding is
[1:39:42] a great opportunity for
[1:39:44] us to make the necessary programs
[1:39:45] for
[1:39:48] our citizens.
[1:39:51] that is what I wanted to say.
[1:39:54] an excellent opportunity
[1:39:57] for us to have a say
[1:39:59] in how we decide our community uses
[1:40:00] its resources.
[1:40:05] the interlocal agreement you all have
[1:40:06] is
[1:40:09] a requirement,
[1:40:12] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:40:15] ] .
[1:40:18] bless you. It
[1:40:20] ensures it is equitable, fair for
[1:40:24] everybody . It is a
[1:40:27] three-year contract and we take on
[1:40:30] the administrative duty.
[1:40:33] we want this to be a collaborative effort.
[1:40:42] the consolidated plan,
[1:40:48] [ indiscernible -background
[1:40:51] noise ]
[1:40:57] you
[1:40:59] can see the housing [ indiscernible
[1:41:00] -background noise
[1:41:03] ] .
[1:41:09] what are our needs specifically?
[1:41:15] we want to
[1:41:18] look at the housing market.
[1:41:21] how does that affect
[1:41:24] our inventory? Specifically
[1:41:27] , a strategic plan.
[1:41:30] how will we use these funds?
[1:41:33] community involvement is a
[1:41:36] huge piece.
[1:41:39] a ton of
[1:41:42] citizen engagement.
[1:41:45] obviously,
[1:41:48] they are monitoring ,
[1:41:53] anytime you do with the federal government
[1:41:57] , they will monitor your performance.
[1:42:03] the first allocation of
[1:42:06] funding from the cdbg
[1:42:09] is $1 million.
[1:42:17] it needs to benefit low and moderate
[1:42:18] income residents.
[1:42:21] the citizens of the community come
[1:42:23] together and say, this needs to be used
[1:42:30] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:42:33] ] .
[1:42:36] it can be used
[1:42:39] for housing. Assistance.
[1:42:45] it has to
[1:42:48] be for targeted residents.
[1:42:53] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:42:54] ]
[1:42:57] the projected timeline , again,
[1:43:03] relatively set .
[1:43:06] we want to
[1:43:09] get to a point
[1:43:11] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:43:12] ]
[1:43:24] it does take a tremendous amount of effort
[1:43:27] .
[1:43:30] essentially , what we are looking
[1:43:33] for today, a better
[1:43:36] preside or to participate
[1:43:42] --[ indiscernible -background noise
[1:43:45] ]
[1:43:48] we want to be able to
[1:43:51] work together.
[1:43:57] any questions?
[1:44:03] >> I have some questions.
[1:44:06] I know the sales tax
[1:44:09] is dispersed based on population,
[1:44:12] is this how this money?
[1:44:15] >> yes. Different formulas
[1:44:18] , go
[1:44:21] back to
[1:44:24] --hud gives this money
[1:44:27] --cdbg
[1:44:30] ,
[1:44:36] that will be awarded after a federally
[1:44:37] declared disaster.
[1:44:39] in terms of the block grant,
[1:44:42] based on population thresholds,
[1:44:45] each of these programs have specific
[1:44:46] things they
[1:44:48] look at. When we create them
[1:44:51] , we have present the housing
[1:44:54] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:44:57] ] . They get to choose
[1:45:00] that information
[1:45:03] and work
[1:45:05] based on how much affordable housing
[1:45:06] we have.
[1:45:09] they will look at the percentage.
[1:45:18] we look at the community, the housing.
[1:45:25] all very specific formulas.
[1:45:31] population is a huge part of it.
[1:45:37] we will not get all of this.
[1:45:42] different aspects as we move through.
[1:45:46] >> if the county receives
[1:45:48] the money , how are you dispersing
[1:45:49] it
[1:45:51] in the city?
[1:45:52] >> not dispersed to the city,
[1:45:56] just like we do other interlocal agreements.
[1:46:01] our state housing initiatives,
[1:46:05] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:46:07] ].
[1:46:13] I think I put
[1:46:16] it on one of these slides. We have
[1:46:18] to make the decision collaboratively.
[1:46:22] we cannot
[1:46:25] --
[1:46:26] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:46:28] ] .
[1:46:43] >> melissa for the record.
[1:46:46] for people watching ,
[1:46:49] this is an opportunity
[1:46:52] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[1:46:55] some are concerned,
[1:46:57] we obligate ourselves , matching,
[1:47:01] this is for us to participate
[1:47:04] .
[1:47:07] >> thank you .
[1:47:10] >> [ indiscernible -
[1:47:13] low volume ]
[1:47:16] >>
[1:47:19] congress decides
[1:47:22] how to allocate those funds.
[1:47:25] following a disaster . Hud has a
[1:47:28] specific form that used.
[1:47:34] --hud has a specific formula
[1:47:37] they
[1:47:40] use.
[1:47:43] that is
[1:47:46] great information
[1:47:49] for hud to report to the rest of
[1:47:51] the federal government .
[1:47:52] >> not just
[1:47:53] city repairs?
[1:47:55] >> I can be.
[1:47:58] designed --
[1:48:01] it does keep the requirements
[1:48:04] and has to
[1:48:06] go to low and moderate income residents.
[1:48:07] it can
[1:48:09] be infrastructure. There are communities
[1:48:13] where this
[1:48:14] is not specific to disaster recovery.
[1:48:16] there are communities
[1:48:19] where the cdbg allocation
[1:48:25] to build [ indiscernible -low
[1:48:28] volume ] .
[1:48:30] there are all kinds of interesting
[1:48:33] things you could use the money for.
[1:48:40] disaster recovery --
[1:48:43] it is similar in
[1:48:46] terms of infrastructure for residents.
[1:48:49] >> melissa
[1:48:52] --
[1:48:55] [ indiscernible -
[1:48:58] muffled ].
[1:48:59] >>
[1:49:03] debbie lux. Let's make the assumption
[1:49:07] we all reach this, can we go back
[1:49:10] and ask for funding for hurricane
[1:49:13] ian?
[1:49:14] >> no. It is a
[1:49:16] done deal
[1:49:18] , the funding has already been awarded.
[1:49:24] we are working to ask for some of
[1:49:28] that money,
[1:49:30] at the state level, that is where
[1:49:31] our
[1:49:33] work is, the state to carve out some
[1:49:34] funding
[1:49:37] to our residents.
[1:49:40] >> greg julian,
[1:49:43] we participate in
[1:49:46] the program .
[1:49:49] >> I think that was the question.
[1:49:55] >> I presume
[1:50:01] that is the approval of
[1:50:04] the interlocal agreement. That is
[1:50:07] what you are referring to. Two
[1:50:10] paragraphs I want to
[1:50:13] make sure the city council understood.
[1:50:19] paragraph 4
[1:50:22] , the city
[1:50:25] understands --
[1:50:28] can you explain what rights
[1:50:32] they have if they enter into this
[1:50:34] agreement?
[1:50:35] >> certainly,
[1:50:37] asking for
[1:50:40] state of florida cdbg program
[1:50:43] , the city
[1:50:46] [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:50:49] ] in the past,
[1:50:52] we did not have the value
[1:50:54] of what we were putting out to the
[1:50:55] community, that funding
[1:50:58] was
[1:51:01] [ indiscernible -low volume ] .
[1:51:06] we are not seeking allocations of
[1:51:07] other cdbg funding at this time.
[1:51:10] >> paragraph 12,
[1:51:13] a statement
[1:51:16] of certain policies that they have adopted
[1:51:19] , advised the
[1:51:22] city council
[1:51:25] if that had been adopted by the
[1:51:28] city?
[1:51:29] >>
[1:51:34] if you have questions
[1:51:37] , it should be brought to the city council
[1:51:38] .
[1:51:39] >>
[1:51:40] I do not have answers.
[1:51:43] use of excessive force.
[1:51:49] physically barring entrance.
[1:51:58] appreciate if you would advise whether
[1:51:59] or not
[1:52:00] we have policies.
[1:52:01] >> I withdrawal
[1:52:04] my motion.
[1:52:10] >> do we have a
[1:52:13] second?
[1:52:14] >> second.
[1:52:22] >> [
[1:52:25] indiscernible -low volume ]
[1:52:28] >> I would not be
[1:52:30] in position to give you that advice .
[1:52:36] >> we will wait until we hear from
[1:52:37] the city
[1:52:40] manager.
[1:52:49] >> you have a sense of when this would
[1:52:52] come back?
[1:52:53] >>
[1:52:55] we
[1:52:58] do have to bring it back again.
[1:53:04] [ indiscernible
[1:53:07] -low volume ]
[1:53:13] >> melissa for the record.
[1:53:16] would it be appropriate
[1:53:19] to approve pending
[1:53:22] , concerns the
[1:53:25] attorney has?
[1:53:35] >> there would be no surprise.
[1:53:38] the action taken at
[1:53:41] today's meeting was to have his
[1:53:44] at the neck city council meeting
[1:53:50] [ indiscernible -low volume
[1:53:53] ]
[1:53:56] .
[1:53:59] it sounds something to
[1:54:01] me like something the city council
[1:54:02] would want
[1:54:05] to adopt as soon as possible.
[1:54:08] >> greg julian.
[1:54:14] how would a delight impact
[1:54:16] this process ?
[1:54:17] >> we would need to
[1:54:19] reach out to hud . We can find out.
[1:54:26] >>
[1:54:32] I need
[1:54:35] to check with the police chief
[1:54:38] , excessive force ,
[1:54:41] that means --
[1:54:44] thank you. [
[1:54:47] laughter ]
[1:54:50] >>
[1:54:53] police department
[1:54:56] does have a policy
[1:54:59] on excessive force.
[1:55:00] >> thank
[1:55:01] you very much .
[1:55:02] >> you are welcome.
[1:55:05] >>
[1:55:08] the municipality
[1:55:11] adopted a policy
[1:55:14] physically barring entrance to
[1:55:20] --[ indiscernible -
[1:55:23] low volume ] ? I want to
[1:55:26] make sure the city assigns something
[1:55:29] on behalf of the city that is aware
[1:55:32] of what is assigning
[1:55:35] and not certifying something that
[1:55:38] may not necessarily be true.
[1:55:41] very helpful regarding
[1:55:44] excessive force. The
[1:55:46] policy regarding physically barring
[1:55:49] entrance to. I am not sure where that
[1:55:53] comes from.
[1:55:57] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:55:59] ]
[1:56:02] >> melissa for
[1:56:05] the record.
[1:56:06] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:56:08] ] put this on
[1:56:11] the next agenda.
[1:56:23] >> [
[1:56:24] indiscernible -background noise ]
[1:56:29] >> that
[1:56:32] we adopt this today. If we do
[1:56:35] not act ,
[1:56:38] the barring of interest to
[1:56:41] [
[1:56:44] indiscernible -low volume ] .
[1:56:59] go ahead without direction
[1:57:02] to staff.
[1:57:08] >> greg julian.
[1:57:13] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:57:14] ]
[1:57:41] >> does
[1:57:43] not necessarily need to be a part
[1:57:44] of a motion.
[1:57:47] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:57:50] ]
[1:58:11] >>
[1:58:13] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:58:14] ]
[1:58:26] >>
[1:58:35] those in favor?
[1:58:36] >> aye.
[1:58:38] >> any
[1:58:44] opposed? Motion carries. Thank you
[1:58:47] very much.
[1:58:56] [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:58:59] ]
[1:59:10] city of punta gorda council is seeking
[1:59:11] the services of a city attorney, either
[1:59:12] individual or firm , to serve the
[1:59:14] legal needs of the city.
[1:59:17] >> [ indiscernible
[1:59:20] -background noise ]
[1:59:23] >> [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[1:59:28] >> I was wondering about that. It
[1:59:29] is that
[1:59:32] much better?
[1:59:38] [ indiscernible -muffled
[1:59:41] ]
[1:59:47] >> [ indiscernible -background noise
[1:59:50] ]
[1:59:56] >> is
[1:59:59] eric here?
[2:00:16] >> [ indiscernible -background noise
[2:00:17] ]
[2:00:32] >> instead
[2:00:35] rather a contrite person firm.
[2:00:38] --rather a contract person
[2:00:41] a firm.
[2:00:42] >>
[2:00:44] melissa . I will start.
[2:00:47] we were originally talked about
[2:00:49] the information , whether in-house
[2:00:53] or contract. It seems like this
[2:00:56] is more --
[2:00:59] I want to make sure this is for in-house
[2:01:02] or contract.
[2:01:05] >> that would not be an issue.
[2:01:08] we can change
[2:01:11] the wording.
[2:01:17] >>
[2:01:20] I will go down the line.
[2:01:23] another concern I had,
[2:01:26] it says, in these
[2:01:29] seven years, okay
[2:01:32] --if we are soliciting for
[2:01:35] another attorney,
[2:01:38] years experience,
[2:01:41] I would like to put that
[2:01:44] at least 10 but no lower
[2:01:47] than seven. I want to make sure that
[2:01:50] there is a salary requirement added.
[2:01:53] if we're talking about seeing cost
[2:01:56] , apples to apples.
[2:02:02] I think we need to only look at
[2:02:05] a firm
[2:02:08] as opposed to individuals, we have
[2:02:09] an attorney with
[2:02:11] a firm and we have these attorneys
[2:02:14] , whatever he needs it.
[2:02:20] we can solicit other opinions. Finally,
[2:02:23] areas of practice for that firm.
[2:02:26] obviously,
[2:02:29] what I would like to see,
[2:02:32] apples to apples,
[2:02:35] we have an attorney with governmental experience.
[2:02:38] instead of
[2:02:40] an attorney without experience working
[2:02:41] with the government at all.
[2:02:50] >>
[2:02:53] jeannine polk for
[2:02:56] the record . Think of a large firm
[2:02:59] with a lot of trees with a lot
[2:03:03] of clients.
[2:03:05] those clients could hold special interest.
[2:03:09] that firm ,
[2:03:12] could have special interest
[2:03:15] because of clients
[2:03:17] . Do you understand what I'm trying
[2:03:20] to say? It happens all the time. I
[2:03:21] would
[2:03:24] prefer us not to say someone from
[2:03:27] a large firm.
[2:03:36] >>
[2:03:39] janis ?
[2:03:40] >>
[2:03:42] we do not have to specify.
[2:03:51] >> I disagree with
[2:03:54] 10 years.
[2:03:55] we have some intelligent people who
[2:04:00] exceed
[2:04:02] far beyond someone with 10 years experience.
[2:04:06] just because
[2:04:09] somebody has been something
[2:04:12] for a long time, does not be
[2:04:13] there any better than somebody else.
[2:04:18] I do not think
[2:04:20] years of service should be activated.
[2:04:24] we could encounter somebody
[2:04:27] who may be a very good attorney.
[2:04:30] >> melissa for
[2:04:33] the record.
[2:04:36] I understand that.
[2:04:38] I am not saying put in there, large
[2:04:42] firm.
[2:04:45] it is perfectly okay.
[2:04:48] we should find out
[2:04:51] if they are with a firm or
[2:04:53] an individual. Mr. Levin is needed
[2:04:57] opinions and went to his firm
[2:05:00] .
[2:05:03] I understand
[2:05:06] where you're coming from.
[2:05:11] are we okay with putting firm or individual?
[2:05:16] or just specify where you're coming
[2:05:18] from?
[2:05:19] >>
[2:05:21] yes .
[2:05:22] >>
[2:05:24] I did send this
[2:05:27] to melissa and jeff,
[2:05:30] they were very detailed,
[2:05:33] in these requests. The
[2:05:36] more detailed it is,
[2:05:39] we should
[2:05:42] follow what mr. Levin's contract
[2:05:45] has been , very generalized. I
[2:05:47] have not outlined what has been in his
[2:05:51] but it allows us more saying,
[2:05:54] we are looking at this, too.
[2:05:59] we need to have a more generalized.
[2:06:06] I
[2:06:07] can give it to melissa to send to
[2:06:09] everybody to take a
[2:06:12] look at. Keeping us as a requirement
[2:06:15] ,
[2:06:18] so we are not shooting
[2:06:21] ourselves in the foot
[2:06:24] and not
[2:06:26] allowing a good person to apply.
[2:06:27] >>
[2:06:28] melissa for
[2:06:30] the record. We are asking for
[2:06:33] attorneys who may want to come on
[2:06:36] board. They do need to have
[2:06:38] --we are looking for the best of the
[2:06:39] best. They need to meet
[2:06:42] this criteria. If we decide to
[2:06:45] enter in to the contract, the negotiations
[2:06:48] that will proceed
[2:06:51] which sets what we will do
[2:06:54] . I do not want
[2:06:56] to generalize anything. You know where
[2:06:59] I sit. Our attorney has been here
[2:07:00] 20
[2:07:03] years as an attorney. Very
[2:07:06] cost-effective service
[2:07:09] . I do not want to
[2:07:12] generalize anything
[2:07:15] to work we will save money
[2:07:18] .
[2:07:21] >>
[2:07:27] I think we open the door to have
[2:07:30] more people applying if we
[2:07:33] have a broader request.
[2:07:36] >>
[2:07:39] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:07:42] this would be an rfp
[2:07:45] [ indiscernible -
[2:07:48] background noise ]
[2:07:51] for either a firm or individual
[2:07:53] as an independent contractor with
[2:07:57] the city. If you are looking for staff
[2:08:00] ,
[2:08:03] how we have
[2:08:06] our existing contract
[2:08:09] ,
[2:08:12] it does itemize
[2:08:15] tasks,
[2:08:18] language that says,
[2:08:21] these are the tasks that are required
[2:08:24] , not limited to
[2:08:27] those tasks and additional tasks
[2:08:30] would be at the
[2:08:33] discretion of the city manager.
[2:08:36] your proposal,
[2:08:39] the same as
[2:08:42] hourly rate.
[2:08:45] different structure of contract.
[2:08:48] need to know that as well.
[2:08:51] >> melissa. May I ask,
[2:08:54] are we looking,
[2:08:56] the conversation I thought I heard,
[2:08:59] we want to see anybody who will apply
[2:09:00] from in-house or apply
[2:09:03] for contract ? What is
[2:09:06] the consensus with what we
[2:09:09] want to be asking?
[2:09:12] >> independent contractor
[2:09:15] would be a solo practitioner,
[2:09:18] w
[2:09:19] >>
[2:09:20] only looking for people that are going
[2:09:21] to be listed
[2:09:24] as a contract attorney?
[2:09:27] are you also wanting
[2:09:30] to have people applying that will
[2:09:33] be in-house?
[2:09:36] I think we agreed on that last
[2:09:39] time
[2:09:40] >> that is what
[2:09:41] I was saying, only for contracts.
[2:09:45] >> I want
[2:09:47] to make sure that is clear. Looking
[2:09:48] at this, the
[2:09:51] only attorneys, I would have to decide
[2:09:53] will I apply for a contract position
[2:09:54] or in-house,
[2:10:00] which will have different clarifications
[2:10:01] of salary
[2:10:02] requirements, et cetera. Does that
[2:10:03] make
[2:10:06] sense?
[2:10:07] >> greg julian,
[2:10:09] not interested in an in-house attorney.
[2:10:12] >> I agree.
[2:10:15] >> can you
[2:10:18] state reasons ?
[2:10:19] >>?
[2:10:21] more expensive to have an in-house attorney.
[2:10:24] more cost-effective to use a
[2:10:27] firm with rates,
[2:10:30] experience , and tap into
[2:10:33] other members of the firm.
[2:10:39] >> debbie lux.
[2:10:42] what we had with an in-house attorney,
[2:10:45] anymore outside
[2:10:48] legal advice? Do you recall?
[2:10:54] >> we have never
[2:10:57] had an in-house attorney .
[2:11:00] >> forever,
[2:11:03] an attorney
[2:11:05] , an outside attorney with the law
[2:11:06] firm.
[2:11:07] >>
[2:11:09] we do not know if it
[2:11:11] would be more cost effective?
[2:11:12] >> we
[2:11:13] did some research
[2:11:15] and look at
[2:11:18] surrounding melissa polities. --
[2:11:21] we looked at
[2:11:24] surrounding municipalities.
[2:11:27] they had junior attorneys,
[2:11:33] multiple paralegals.
[2:11:37] [ indiscernible -
[2:11:40] low volume ]
[2:11:43] some said they would contract
[2:11:45] for a city attorney, bring in lower
[2:11:49] paying attorneys
[2:11:50] [ indiscernible -background noise
[2:11:52] ]
[2:11:58] >> melissa
[2:12:01] for the record.
[2:12:04] you have medical,
[2:12:06] I think our first task is to have
[2:12:07] a
[2:12:08] consensus in our direction, in-house
[2:12:13] or contract only .
[2:12:19] >> it doesn't hurt .
[2:12:25] >>
[2:12:28] jeannine polk for the record.
[2:12:31] if we just put out
[2:12:32] the message we're looking for an in-house
[2:12:37] or contracted attorney?
[2:12:40] >>
[2:12:43] we can put it on websites
[2:12:46] where we advertise.
[2:12:52] no
[2:12:54] additional cost.
[2:12:55] >> then why not?
[2:13:01] >> [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:13:10] >>
[2:13:12] something we would have to discuss.
[2:13:22] >> you
[2:13:25] do not do this outside the
[2:13:28] city council meeting.
[2:13:33] there is no possibility for a shade meeting.
[2:13:37] I am not sure
[2:13:40] how we
[2:13:43] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:13:51] whether they would save money by having
[2:13:55] an in-house attorney.
[2:13:58] I was
[2:14:01] confident based on my expense
[2:14:07] [
[2:14:08] indiscernible -low volume ] you will
[2:14:10] not find the expertise
[2:14:13] hiring in-house
[2:14:16] ,
[2:14:22] [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:14:25] ]
[2:14:34] staff was erected about the proposal
[2:14:36] for in-house and outside contract attorney.
[2:14:37] our
[2:14:40] agenda for today only as for
[2:14:43] outside contract attorney.
[2:14:46] I am not sure
[2:14:49] who made the decision to exclude
[2:14:50] your proposal from the agenda. Understand,
[2:14:55] I have been doing this
[2:14:57] , understand the politics of working here.
[2:15:01] I do not think there is any , necessarily,
[2:15:04] deficiency
[2:15:09] that my firm and myself has given
[2:15:10] to the city for the last
[2:15:13] 20 years.
[2:15:14] I have gotten along well with every
[2:15:16] single councilmember in
[2:15:19] that time. With
[2:15:22] the exception of difficulties
[2:15:25] we have with respect to
[2:15:28] the understanding
[2:15:34] [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:15:36] ] that will happen from time to time.
[2:15:42] I would like to limit it to read the policy
[2:15:46] .
[2:15:49] my job is to make sure the city
[2:15:52] makes decisions that are
[2:15:55] legally correct.
[2:15:58] the suggestion that the mayor
[2:16:01] has made today,
[2:16:04] that ,
[2:16:07] we can have an attorney learn on the job,
[2:16:10] the city and
[2:16:12] residents deserve legal representation
[2:16:13] that
[2:16:16] is quite experienced and not make mistakes
[2:16:19] . I recognize
[2:16:22] the fact,
[2:16:25] based on the circumstances we've
[2:16:27] come this far, the city is not going
[2:16:28] to be
[2:16:31] renewing my contract.
[2:16:34] the city has a right to
[2:16:37] terminate me
[2:16:40] before the end of my contract.
[2:16:43] I want to city council
[2:16:46] to understand, you need someone with experience
[2:16:49] that will protect the city
[2:16:52] , not someone who
[2:16:54] will count out to what the mayor wants.
[2:16:58] --
[2:17:01] not someone who will
[2:17:07] kowtow
[2:17:10] to what the mayor wants. They can
[2:17:13] apply in-house or contract
[2:17:16] .
[2:17:19] as
[2:17:21] far as the cost and the salary, when
[2:17:22] they
[2:17:25] are applying, I am looking for
[2:17:28] x salary.
[2:17:29] >> yes,
[2:17:31] during the applicant process
[2:17:34] , always part of the application,
[2:17:40] for these outside folks,
[2:17:43] [ indiscernible
[2:17:46] -low volume ]
[2:17:47] >> everybody okay with that
[2:17:49] ?
[2:17:55] >> I was
[2:17:58] trying to be respectful
[2:18:01] that I do
[2:18:04] not disqualify
[2:18:07] [ indiscernible -low volume ] mr.
[2:18:08] levin,
[2:18:10] I am trying to be
[2:18:12] respectful, you have said otherwise
[2:18:13] , I take offense
[2:18:16] to that.
[2:18:22] I looked at
[2:18:25] ziprecruiter.com,
[2:18:30] I don't know if anyone has looked
[2:18:31] at what fees
[2:18:34] would be acceptable or
[2:18:37] not acceptable . Has anybody done research?
[2:18:40] >> just last night, I
[2:18:43] went on
[2:18:46] indeed.com, quite a few local
[2:18:49] cities local for
[2:18:52] city attorneys.
[2:18:55] anywhere
[2:18:58] from $150,000 to $200,000.
[2:19:01] >> in-house ? >> it says
[2:19:04] city attorney.
[2:19:10] >> [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:19:13] ]
[2:19:14] >>
[2:19:16] remind city council , the first meeting
[2:19:19] of the city council,
[2:19:22] the finance director
[2:19:25] was asked, how much are we
[2:19:28] paying for the law firm ?
[2:19:31] the answer was
[2:19:34] , less than $150,000.
[2:19:37] if you find somebody who's cheap,
[2:19:40] experienced, you can find somebody.
[2:19:43] --
[2:19:46] you can find somebody who is
[2:19:49] cheap, inexperienced, you can find somebody
[2:19:52] .
[2:19:53] >> I had city attorneys reach out
[2:19:56] to me
[2:19:59] , sometimes people
[2:20:02] can ask
[2:20:04] for less money and be just as qualified
[2:20:05] and just
[2:20:08] as good. Let's keep
[2:20:11] this kind and stick
[2:20:14] to the fact, please.
[2:20:15] >>
[2:20:16] melissa for the record . We are in
[2:20:20] a different situation.
[2:20:22] we do not have an attorney that is
[2:20:26] leaving, we don't have an
[2:20:29] attorney that only
[2:20:30] has five or six years of expense.
[2:20:32] we have an attorney
[2:20:33] with four years of expense, 20 years
[2:20:35] with the city ,
[2:20:37] a land-use attorney. He already has
[2:20:41] --it is a disservice that we
[2:20:44] are talking about
[2:20:45] getting somebody with less than seven
[2:20:47] years experience. We need to
[2:20:50] make sure --the city attorney
[2:20:51] is one of the most important positions
[2:20:53] because his job is to
[2:20:55] bring us in and make sure we are not
[2:20:58] doing things to get our city sued.
[2:21:02] who always agrees with an
[2:21:04] attorney? Sorry. That is the name
[2:21:05] of the
[2:21:06] game his job is to make sure that
[2:21:08] the city
[2:21:11] gets his opinion, whether you
[2:21:12] like it or not, up to us on whether
[2:21:14] we will
[2:21:17] take it,
[2:21:19] and I do not know why we will set
[2:21:20] the bar
[2:21:21] back, we have a pretty good bar set
[2:21:23] for our city
[2:21:25] and we will continue to have. I do
[2:21:26] not
[2:21:29] know what we would go
[2:21:30] with somebody less than seven years,
[2:21:32] 10 years,
[2:21:34] has to be willing to work with us
[2:21:35] and has
[2:21:38] 20 years with the city, four years of
[2:21:41] --when he does his hourly, it
[2:21:44] is including,
[2:21:47] am I correct that if
[2:21:50] --he spent seven hours,
[2:21:52] seven hours with him, seven hours
[2:21:53] with his
[2:21:56] other attorney that fee has
[2:21:59] to apply. He understands that . Instead
[2:22:01] of having seven hours with mr. Levin,
[2:22:05] and built for another attorney,
[2:22:08] that is very important for
[2:22:11] me personally, for transparency.
[2:22:29] >> we discussed all
[2:22:32] of this. We
[2:22:35] all decided that we
[2:22:37] were going to look at another direction.
[2:22:38] we
[2:22:41] are hashing something else out. Time
[2:22:42] for us
[2:22:44] to go ahead and make a motion
[2:22:47] for them , our city staff, to
[2:22:50] go ahead --
[2:22:53] I approve 16.
[2:22:56] make a motion to approve 16 .
[2:22:57] >>
[2:22:59] I second.
[2:23:02] >> what is the time?
[2:23:05] the timeline for people to respond
[2:23:08] ? 30 days ? How do we
[2:23:11] do that?
[2:23:17] >> 14 days to 21 days.
[2:23:23] the
[2:23:26] evaluation committee ,
[2:23:29] review those proposals,
[2:23:32] make sure it meets
[2:23:35] the requirements. Rfp . Send out
[2:23:38] the references.
[2:23:41] gather all that information
[2:23:44] to review the proposal.
[2:23:47] there is
[2:23:50] a process .
[2:23:53] council to
[2:23:56] review the evaluation of
[2:23:59] the proposals. For council
[2:24:02] to review those proposals,
[2:24:05] to approve the firm, for procurement,
[2:24:08] representatives
[2:24:11] from the community --
[2:24:20] the other play is to
[2:24:23] have the evaluation , review
[2:24:26] , proposal , shortlist,
[2:24:29] have someone going to the negotiations
[2:24:32] with the representative from the
[2:24:35] evaluation committee
[2:24:37] and bring the proposal to city council
[2:24:41] to approve.
[2:24:44] >> because it will
[2:24:47] be us hiring and firing,
[2:24:50] council should have one direction
[2:24:53] to what we're looking for. If you
[2:24:54] are putting
[2:24:56] inexperienced,
[2:24:59] mandatory
[2:25:02] [ indiscernible -low volume ] .
[2:25:05] it feels good
[2:25:08] , but do not make it mandatory.
[2:25:11] maybe
[2:25:13] somebody without seven years but has
[2:25:14] worked in a law firm. Something.
[2:25:17] make it so narrow
[2:25:20] .
[2:25:21] >>
[2:25:23] I disagree. It needs to be
[2:25:26] seven years.
[2:25:29] >> any
[2:25:32] consensus on seven years?
[2:25:33] >>
[2:25:35] jeannine polk. Let's let
[2:25:38] this be hashed out,
[2:25:41] anything offered --
[2:25:44] [ indiscernible -low volume ] .
[2:25:47] >> the function will be
[2:25:49] to evaluate the responses based on
[2:25:50] the scope --
[2:25:53] what we have identified
[2:25:56] . That
[2:25:58] information would have to be clarified.
[2:26:02] >> [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:26:05] >> the composition of the committees are,
[2:26:08] our policy , numbers
[2:26:11] of staff --members of staff,
[2:26:14] identified
[2:26:17] by the [ indiscernible
[2:26:20] -low volume ].
[2:26:21] >> is
[2:26:23] it possible to have some citizens
[2:26:24] with expertise
[2:26:26] in this area on the committee?
[2:26:27] >>
[2:26:29] our policy dictates
[2:26:32] --no.
[2:26:33] >> you will
[2:26:35] ask staff, but this
[2:26:38] is contract. We are
[2:26:42] missing that fact.
[2:26:43] council should be looking at these
[2:26:45] applications
[2:26:48] . [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:26:51] ]
[2:26:54] so we can narrow it down.
[2:26:57] we will look
[2:26:58] for somebody who will work well with us.
[2:27:00] try
[2:27:03] to compromise ,
[2:27:09] that will
[2:27:10] open it up for more people to apply.
[2:27:24] seven years is way
[2:27:27] too much.
[2:27:28] >> set the bar low. >>
[2:27:30] I do not agree
[2:27:32] . Do not agree it is a staff policy.
[2:27:36] we have our protocol
[2:27:39] on here.
[2:27:42] let staff read it.
[2:27:48] to have this a smooth process,
[2:27:51] I would like
[2:27:54] to ask another question. We
[2:27:57] have a
[2:28:00] motion. I will not ask now.
[2:28:01] >>
[2:28:03] if you prefer to have
[2:28:06] a firm ,
[2:28:09] to come in and make a
[2:28:12] presentation,
[2:28:15] we can do that as well.
[2:28:16] >>
[2:28:18] where are we in the motion?
[2:28:19] >>
[2:28:21] a motion to approve
[2:28:24] 16 and let city staff
[2:28:27] put out
[2:28:28] a firm or individual for city attorney.
[2:28:30] >>
[2:28:33] second.
[2:28:34] >> yes.
[2:28:37] recommend instead of mandatory for
[2:28:39] seven years.
[2:28:42] >> that right? >>
[2:28:45] I do not to get matters,
[2:28:48] six, seven .
[2:28:51] let's
[2:28:54] interview people before we fight over this.
[2:28:57] >> so,
[2:29:00] you want to let
[2:29:03] anybody apply
[2:29:06] ?
[2:29:07] >> I would set
[2:29:09] a standard.
[2:29:10] >>
[2:29:11] look at other municipalities and see
[2:29:12] their protocol.
[2:29:21] >> debbie lux, when
[2:29:24] I asked you this morning,
[2:29:27] look at a broader
[2:29:30] picture,
[2:29:36] [ indiscernible -low volume ] ?
[2:29:42] >> you cannot say somebody with years
[2:29:45] of service is the best.
[2:29:46] >> we
[2:29:47] have a consensus for seven or not?
[2:29:51] >> I am good with seven years , jeannine polk
[2:29:54] , for the record.
[2:30:00] >>
[2:30:03] minimum would be the word.
[2:30:06] a minimum of seven.
[2:30:07] >>
[2:30:09] this is greg julian. I do not
[2:30:12] disagree with the recommended
[2:30:15] language ,
[2:30:18] so there is flexibility.
[2:30:21] >> I think recommended
[2:30:24] is fine.
[2:30:27] recommend
[2:30:30] seven years.
[2:30:31] >> second.
[2:30:36] >> do we vote on the
[2:30:39] motion?
[2:30:40] >>
[2:30:41] with recommended seven years, a motion
[2:30:42] ?
[2:30:45] >>
[2:30:48] second.
[2:30:49] >> all in favor? >>
[2:30:57] aye.
[2:30:58] >> any opposed?
[2:31:00] the motion
[2:31:03] carries.
[2:31:04] >> will mr. Levin be a candidate?
[2:31:09] are we looking at this
[2:31:12] as a look and see
[2:31:15] what comes or not renew
[2:31:18] the contract of mr. Levin?
[2:31:19] >>
[2:31:26] he can apply like everyone else and
[2:31:27] we evaluate the candidates.
[2:31:28] >> that
[2:31:29] is
[2:31:30] a correct.
[2:31:31] >> I agree.
[2:31:33] >> yes.
[2:31:39] >>
[2:31:42] okay. Next
[2:31:45] is the
[2:31:51] city of
[2:31:54] punta gorda is soliciting proposals
[2:31:55] from qualified executive search firms to
[2:31:56] conduct research to the executive
[2:31:57] position of
[2:32:00] city manager.
[2:32:02] the process for the city attorney search
[2:32:06] , I looked at other disparities,
[2:32:09] through this process,
[2:32:12] looked at what
[2:32:17] their rfps looked like. Rather than
[2:32:18] the end
[2:32:21] result from
[2:32:23] an attorney you will have a search
[2:32:24] firm
[2:32:27] specializing in these searches. This document
[2:32:30] directs them
[2:32:33] to how to go about this search.
[2:32:36] spirit melissa for
[2:32:39] the record,
[2:32:42] I feel like, the
[2:32:45] day and age of the internet and city
[2:32:46] managers or
[2:32:48] city attorneys,
[2:32:49] [ indiscernible -background noise
[2:32:51] ]
[2:32:54] I am not sure we need to spend money
[2:32:57] for a company to do that.
[2:33:00] this is my proposal, it's
[2:33:03] --instead of spending money , can
[2:33:06] we post it to see who we get? If we
[2:33:09] do not get a lot of candidates, we
[2:33:12] can spend the money.
[2:33:15] >> I think that
[2:33:18] is a reasonable suggestion.
[2:33:21] there is a search firm
[2:33:24] that reached out to us.
[2:33:27] I have his name here.
[2:33:30] $2000 for
[2:33:33] the search, the guarantee , if
[2:33:35] you are not happy with the person
[2:33:36] after
[2:33:39] one year, they will find another
[2:33:42] person and work with the
[2:33:45] chosen city manager to work with the staff.
[2:33:48] rather than saying ,
[2:33:51] this is not working , they will
[2:33:54] work through the situations. A hiring firm
[2:33:57] that helps people learn to work together.
[2:34:00] we want to get it
[2:34:03] all right as much as possible.
[2:34:06] I can send
[2:34:09] council this proposal.
[2:34:21] are we allowed to set up one
[2:34:24] with medications?
[2:34:27] >> one-way communications
[2:34:30] are permissible.
[2:34:31] >>
[2:34:33] I could send it to all
[2:34:36] of you.
[2:34:42] some
[2:34:45] good firms.
[2:34:48] I think there are some applications
[2:34:49] on the
[2:34:50] table maybe that we haven't seen.
[2:34:52] is that correct?
[2:34:55] >>
[2:34:58] the posting
[2:35:01] has not gone out.
[2:35:07] >> I remember
[2:35:10] [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:35:13] ] .
[2:35:16] >> the city had not
[2:35:19] decided on the collocations.
[2:35:22] -- qualifications.
[2:35:25] >>
[2:35:28] there are quite
[2:35:31] a few firms out there I
[2:35:34] would like to discuss this.
[2:35:35] >>
[2:35:37] as we identify
[2:35:40] the criteria
[2:35:43] to evaluate this , the
[2:35:45] city council has the approval authority
[2:35:49] for this type of firm.
[2:35:52] so , I
[2:35:54] would suggest that you not obtain
[2:35:55] proposals
[2:35:58] from firms. And
[2:36:01] provide proposals to
[2:36:02] the other members of council because
[2:36:04] that could appear as
[2:36:07] a conflict of interest because
[2:36:10] you are the approval body for
[2:36:12] this type of solicitation.
[2:36:13] >> we are
[2:36:16] responsible for
[2:36:19] hiring , but [ indiscernible
[2:36:22] -low volume ] ?
[2:36:25] >> our objective today,
[2:36:31] you
[2:36:34] can research information
[2:36:36] that you would like to see in the
[2:36:40] proposal. Solicitation.
[2:36:49] identify any special conditions.
[2:36:55] as we go to recommend,
[2:36:58] --as we go to the
[2:37:01] german process,
[2:37:04] w procurement procurement
[2:37:07] ,
[2:37:10] if they do contact you,
[2:37:13] they are automatically rejected.
[2:37:16] would like maximum competition
[2:37:19] . I would suggest that
[2:37:22] ,
[2:37:24] doing research is a wonderful tool
[2:37:28] and providing
[2:37:31] information so we can relay that in
[2:37:34] the solicitation.
[2:37:37] >>
[2:37:42] if you have somebody, go to the procurement process.
[2:37:46] >> we do help individuals
[2:37:49] [
[2:37:52] indiscernible -low volume ] it can
[2:37:55] be ominous, the process
[2:37:56] [ indiscernible -background noise
[2:37:58] ]
[2:38:00] anybody interested in solicitation,
[2:38:04] we publicize [ indiscernible -
[2:38:07] low volume ]
[2:38:08] they can come in and ask any type
[2:38:10] of question.
[2:38:13] we post the solicitation online
[2:38:15] so everybody can see the questions
[2:38:16] and
[2:38:19] what the answers are. [
[2:38:20] indiscernible -background noise ]
[2:38:22] >>
[2:38:25] it almost seems
[2:38:28] to me that they should present that
[2:38:31] to us to understand
[2:38:34] how to do this.
[2:38:35] >>
[2:38:37] I would be happy to
[2:38:40] do so.
[2:38:43] >>
[2:38:46] debbie lucks
[2:38:49] --debbie
[2:38:52] lux for the record.
[2:38:55] is everybody okay with
[2:38:58] looking at sites to put
[2:39:01] something out?
[2:39:04] I started
[2:39:07] some questions.
[2:39:10] you may have those questions already
[2:39:11] down
[2:39:13] in the process.
[2:39:16] >> that is not what I was suggesting.
[2:39:17] all
[2:39:19] I was saying, just like city manager,
[2:39:22] excuse me, just like
[2:39:25] the city attorney, you will
[2:39:28] put it on the website , why not for
[2:39:31] the city manager, too?
[2:39:34] >> job description for the city manager
[2:39:37] and post that
[2:39:40] with salary range, job duties .
[2:39:45] >> we need to discuss salary range.
[2:39:49] prior to putting
[2:39:52] it up.
[2:39:53] >> for the
[2:39:55] search form?
[2:39:58] --for the
[2:40:01] search firm? [
[2:40:04] indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:40:06] >> my questions, with salary range,
[2:40:10] specifically at a city with 20,000
[2:40:13] ,
[2:40:16] seawalls , things
[2:40:19] like that , the
[2:40:22] whole state of florida?
[2:40:23] >>
[2:40:25] salary ranges
[2:40:27] are set by compensation and benefits.
[2:40:31] they examine every position in
[2:40:34] the city. That is how
[2:40:37] it is set.
[2:40:38] >> okay,
[2:40:40] every city,
[2:40:43] no matter what size?
[2:40:44] >>
[2:40:46] we concentrate on just
[2:40:49] about this in our primary area. Ft. Meyers
[2:40:52] , sarasota.
[2:40:55] >> my question, I
[2:40:57] the respect that and understand that, but
[2:41:00] with charlotte county with a much
[2:41:01] bigger project
[2:41:04] , a lot different than
[2:41:07] us being lower budget
[2:41:10] to pay this much money
[2:41:13] for something.
[2:41:16] county is a lot more work than somebody
[2:41:17] in
[2:41:19] our city.
[2:41:22] how
[2:41:25] many staff , how much more money?
[2:41:28] a moralistic
[2:41:31] --a more
[2:41:34] realistic amount, let's say
[2:41:37] $140,000
[2:41:40] to $200,000 , they
[2:41:43] will say, I want $200,000.
[2:41:44] >>
[2:41:49] I recommend that is the highest
[2:41:52] we would like.
[2:41:58] .
[2:42:01] 15
[2:42:04] >> this is a sliding scale
[2:42:07] ?
[2:42:08] >> a minimum and maximum.
[2:42:10] 4% increases
[2:42:13] each year.
[2:42:25] >> jeannine polk for
[2:42:28] the record. I am concerned , we
[2:42:31] are going to a
[2:42:33] pathway not having a search firm for
[2:42:34] the city manager.
[2:42:37] they have
[2:42:40] the wherewithal to draw in the best
[2:42:41] of
[2:42:43] the best.
[2:42:45] I am concerned if we just put it on
[2:42:46] the internet,
[2:42:52] $30,000 or whatever we will pay them,
[2:42:53] that
[2:42:55] is nothing.
[2:42:58] we do not know what we
[2:43:01] are doing. I do not know what I am doing.
[2:43:04] citizens
[2:43:07] we entrust,
[2:43:10] may not know what they're doing. These firms
[2:43:13] know what they are doing. My concern,
[2:43:17] just put it on the internet
[2:43:20] --denton
[2:43:28] [ indiscernible -low volume ].
[2:43:29] >>
[2:43:30] this is the most important decision
[2:43:32] we will make in
[2:43:35] our term.
[2:43:38] I thought that is
[2:43:39] the direction we were going, who do
[2:43:41] this professionally.
[2:43:42] >>
[2:43:44] I was offering something else,
[2:43:47] with technology,
[2:43:50] we could be candidates
[2:43:53] who are actively looking.
[2:43:56] >> not saying not
[2:43:57] to do it, just saying additional.
[2:44:04] I understand what melissa is saying.
[2:44:08] >>
[2:44:11] [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:44:14] ]
[2:44:17] >> yes ,
[2:44:20] looking at a firm, want to also
[2:44:23] [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:44:26] ]
[2:44:28] I think that is what melissa is asking.
[2:44:35] >> I concur. >>
[2:44:41] do we have a job description for
[2:44:44] this position?
[2:44:45] >>
[2:44:47] I have it right here.
[2:44:50] >>
[2:44:52] I would like to see it and discuss
[2:44:53] it to
[2:44:55] make sure we are still on the same page.
[2:44:59] >> if you go with
[2:45:00] a search firm, that will be a part
[2:45:02] of the process.
[2:45:08] >> I sidetracked everybody,
[2:45:11] basically today is just
[2:45:14] a direction , soliciting ,
[2:45:17] bringing a search firm.
[2:45:20] is that correct?
[2:45:23] >> the evaluation criteria I
[2:45:26] have . Structures
[2:45:29] , guarantees ,
[2:45:32] we want to guarantee from
[2:45:34] every person --[ indiscernible -low
[2:45:35] volume
[2:45:38] ] the methodology
[2:45:41] , the approach , the timeline.
[2:45:50] if you are okay with those, [ indiscernible
[2:45:53] -low volume ] .
[2:45:54] >>
[2:45:56] a motion to approve
[2:46:03] 6f.
[2:46:04] >> second. >> all in favor? >> aye. >>
[2:46:05] opposed?
[2:46:08] motion carries.
[2:46:09] >>
[2:46:11] thank you.
[2:46:23] >> if you speak
[2:46:25] into the microphone, it helps the video.
[2:46:29] >>
[2:46:32] I am here for agenda item
[2:46:35] 6h, draft
[2:46:38] hud --draft polk
[2:46:44] amendments. -- draft
[2:46:47] ldr amendments.
[2:46:50] today
[2:46:55] to see if council was any additional
[2:46:56] revisions
[2:46:59] before the public hearing
[2:47:02] for zoning
[2:47:05] [ indiscernible -low volume ].
[2:47:11] >> debbie lux
[2:47:14] for the record, thank you for working
[2:47:15] so
[2:47:17] hard on this. A lot
[2:47:19] of hard work to figure out those numbers.
[2:47:26] >> I
[2:47:29] have a minor question ,
[2:47:32] [
[2:47:34] indiscernible -low volume ] surface
[2:47:35] with brick
[2:47:38] , asphalt
[2:47:41] , does this have to come before
[2:47:44] council ?
[2:47:47] >> that was a requested change.
[2:47:50] if you want it to go before council
[2:47:53] .
[2:47:59] >> [ indiscernible -low
[2:48:02] volume ]
[2:48:13] >> seems like a lot of busy work for
[2:48:14] a small item.
[2:48:20] >> [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:48:34] >> are you talking about concrete,
[2:48:38] janis ?
[2:48:39] >>
[2:48:44] it says that
[2:48:47] , with recommendation
[2:48:50] from public works, as approved,
[2:48:53] does it just go to public works?
[2:48:56] >> no.
[2:48:59] >> come
[2:49:03] before council for a final decision
[2:49:05] but need a recommendation .
[2:49:11] >>
[2:49:14] a motion?
[2:49:15] >> I move to
[2:49:17] approved maintenance
[2:49:20] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:49:29] >>
[2:49:38] second.
[2:49:39] >> all in favor? >> aye. >> opposed? The
[2:49:41] motion carries. Thank you
[2:49:44] very much. Next,
[2:49:50] nominations, planning
[2:49:53] and zoning.
[2:49:54] >> sara welch for
[2:49:56] the record.
[2:50:02] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:50:08] council may nominate
[2:50:11] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:50:17] >> I
[2:50:20] would love
[2:50:23] --[ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:50:26] >>
[2:50:40] second.
[2:50:41] >> all in favor? >> aye. >> opposed? Motion carries. Do you want to do
[2:50:42] your report?
[2:50:44] >>
[2:50:47] [ indiscernible -muffled ]
[2:50:50] qualifying
[2:50:53] period from tonight
[2:50:56] to
[2:50:59] --june 9th
[2:51:02] to june 13th
[2:51:05] , 25 .
[2:51:08] 2025
[2:51:11] . [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:51:19] the primary election held on august 19th
[2:51:23] --[
[2:51:26] indiscernible -muffled ]
[2:51:29] >> melissa ?
[2:51:33] >> I have a list of items
[2:51:39] , we had a meeting
[2:51:45] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:51:46] they brought forth an opportunity
[2:51:47] to consolidate city operations to
[2:51:51] one building.
[2:51:57] bringing it up to
[2:52:00] hurricane standards.
[2:52:03] one city council to consider
[2:52:06] that option, they were
[2:52:15] [ indiscernible -low
[2:52:18] volume ]
[2:52:21] >>
[2:52:24] council chambers ?
[2:52:27] >>
[2:52:29] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:52:30] >> jeannine polk
[2:52:33] , in the city,
[2:52:42] where is the $50 ? That is a
[2:52:45] ridiculous price.
[2:52:48] if the city council wants
[2:52:51] to move in the direction,
[2:52:54] you will have people say, oh,
[2:52:56] no.
[2:52:57] >> [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:53:00] ]
[2:53:03] correct?
[2:53:04] >> correct.
[2:53:06] >> [
[2:53:09] indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:53:10] >>
[2:53:12] 1978
[2:53:15] addition a city
[2:53:18] hall chambers is about complete.
[2:53:21] staff is doing the
[2:53:24] final reviews.
[2:53:27] a lot of people have
[2:53:29] been interested in the tourist attraction
[2:53:33] ,
[2:53:36] we have been working with our city
[2:53:37] police
[2:53:38] department [ indiscernible -background
[2:53:39] noise ]
[2:53:41] with necessary sign-ups for those vessels,
[2:53:45] all four
[2:53:48] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:53:51] I am working on
[2:53:54] the date.
[2:54:06] [ indiscernible -
[2:54:09] low volume ]
[2:54:12] we have the draft scope for the
[2:54:15] dock master. City staff,
[2:54:18] what the management company does
[2:54:21] for us.
[2:54:24] we are staffed to handle
[2:54:26] the other things [ indiscernible -
[2:54:27] low volume ] .
[2:54:35] from the landscaping to the electrical,
[2:54:36] air conditioning,
[2:54:39] anything that
[2:54:42] land side, that would
[2:54:44] be responsible for the entire building.
[2:54:48] looking at potentially being able
[2:54:49] to
[2:54:51] have staff --add to staff,
[2:54:56] I do not know if we are ready for that.
[2:55:06] any other conversation you
[2:55:09] may want to have on that issue?
[2:55:12] >>
[2:55:14] is the management company doing the
[2:55:15] landscaping themselves?
[2:55:18] or hiring someone?
[2:55:21] >>
[2:55:24] I am not sure . We would have
[2:55:27] to check with him on that.
[2:55:32] the solicitation [ indiscernible -
[2:55:33] low volume
[2:55:36] ]
[2:55:42] we will work on the
[2:55:45] most cost-effective.
[2:55:48] the document only solves
[2:55:51] one portion.
[2:55:57] >> do we have a job description
[2:56:00] for the dock master?
[2:56:01] >>
[2:56:02] just about ready for publication.
[2:56:06] >> open for
[2:56:09] applications?
[2:56:10] >> it is not.
[2:56:23] another item that keeps coming up,
[2:56:27] the review
[2:56:30] ,
[2:56:33] what are you
[2:56:35] looking for, what information do I
[2:56:38] forward you [ indiscernible -low volume
[2:56:39] ]
[2:56:42] what are your
[2:56:45] wishes
[2:56:48] there?
[2:56:49] >> melissa.
[2:56:51] the biggest confusion.
[2:56:57] what the tenant
[2:57:00] is responsible for. They
[2:57:03] had to read it and sign it. To
[2:57:06] continue with those leases,
[2:57:09] from taxpayer dollars,
[2:57:12] has to be written in a
[2:57:15] certain way, outsource that to a leasing company
[2:57:18] and taken off the shoulders of the city.
[2:57:21] we should not be in the
[2:57:24] rental business.
[2:57:26] looking for another entity to take
[2:57:27] that over. My other request was
[2:57:30] to have --
[2:57:32] when the floodgates would be put up.
[2:57:33] another concern
[2:57:36] , that tenants had come
[2:57:39] a storm is a certain amount
[2:57:42] of miles saturated, when
[2:57:44] the floodgates are put up you do not
[2:57:45] get anything,
[2:57:48] interrupts business .
[2:57:51] the flipside, they are
[2:57:54] not up. I would like to have a more
[2:57:55] definitive. This
[2:57:57] is when they can expect those gates
[2:57:58] to
[2:58:00] go up.
[2:58:03] a policy,
[2:58:06] however.
[2:58:07] >>
[2:58:08] jeannine polk for the record. Just
[2:58:09] to see
[2:58:12] when are the
[2:58:15] contracts up. It could be a viable solution
[2:58:18] , a
[2:58:21] city employee there
[2:58:24] in those buildings.
[2:58:27] why not use them? Why
[2:58:29] not use what we have to conserve?
[2:58:33] I feel it is an option
[2:58:36] for us.
[2:58:42] >> I agree
[2:58:47] with that. If there is a flood, we
[2:58:48] can't go
[2:58:54] through what we
[2:58:57] went through.
[2:59:00] plus, we can
[2:59:06] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[2:59:12] >> are
[2:59:15] we vacating those spots ?
[2:59:18] >>
[2:59:21] dependent upon as having space available
[2:59:24] to continue operations
[2:59:27] there.
[2:59:28] >> so,
[2:59:31] greg julian,
[2:59:34] I talked about the
[2:59:35] tenants at the airport and they are
[2:59:37] concerned, they want to know
[2:59:39] what you have been talking about.
[2:59:43] they want clarity
[2:59:46] .
[2:59:48] so they are not caught in the same situation.
[2:59:52] insurance company
[2:59:55] , they're not getting anything.
[2:59:58] to help them out.
[3:00:01] I want to see some urgency about
[3:00:03] these leases and make sure they are
[3:00:07] clear and we are clear .
[3:00:10] that they
[3:00:12] need communication as to what may happen
[3:00:16] in hurricane season .
[3:00:19] they are not
[3:00:22] designed to keep water out.
[3:00:25] do some repairs to the
[3:00:28] existing ones
[3:00:31] but we need to look at
[3:00:34] a way of keeping water out of
[3:00:37] the door frames.
[3:00:39] >> I do have additional comments.
[3:00:43] public works director,
[3:00:46] he spoke to the individual
[3:00:49] , renting those spaces, concerns
[3:00:52] about modifications
[3:00:55] to the
[3:00:57] flat-panel system. On the parallel,
[3:01:01] in tallahassee ,
[3:01:07] contact from
[3:01:09] a member of office and budget in medication
[3:01:13] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[3:01:19] .
[3:01:22] we are working on that.
[3:01:25] how
[3:01:28] we are going to staff this ,
[3:01:31] communicating that .
[3:01:34] when we put those panels up early
[3:01:37] ,
[3:01:39] the tenants are not happy with that.
[3:01:43] not happy
[3:01:45] with what happened as a result of the
[3:01:49] flood.
[3:01:55] we had a contract in place
[3:01:58] . The
[3:02:01] city council made the decision to provide
[3:02:07] [
[3:02:10] indiscernible -low volume ]
[3:02:13] council will have to decide
[3:02:16] the balance of interest
[3:02:19] .
[3:02:20] >>
[3:02:22] there is the perception
[3:02:25] whether or
[3:02:28] not they would've done anything
[3:02:31] , nobody really knows. I guess
[3:02:34] we do not , cannot guarantee they
[3:02:37] will not be flooded. [
[3:02:40] indiscernible - low volume ]
[3:02:43] there is not really a way to promise anything.
[3:02:46] we do not want to be sued
[3:02:52] .
[3:03:01] >> jeannine polk for the record.
[3:03:13] [ indiscernible -low volume
[3:03:16] ]
[3:03:17] >> I am asking for
[3:03:19] more input
[3:03:22] , so you can have the information
[3:03:25] you need in front of you.
[3:03:28] >>
[3:03:29] we want to look at the existing leases
[3:03:31] and what we want
[3:03:33] to do, to see if the city should take
[3:03:34] over the spots.
[3:03:37] >> and
[3:03:40] policy on the floodgates.
[3:03:48] >> couple of events we have coming up,
[3:03:52] the 24th , planning session at
[3:03:54] the library. Listening session for
[3:03:55] my
[3:03:58] council . To hear
[3:04:01] from the public .
[3:04:04] where they
[3:04:06] want to see the city go in the future
[3:04:07] and provide thoughts
[3:04:13] on what will
[3:04:15] make their lives better in the city.
[3:04:19] very excited for that session.
[3:04:22] [ indiscernible -background noise
[3:04:25] ] a public workshop
[3:04:28] from 5:30
[3:04:31] to 7:30 at st. Mary's church.
[3:04:37] [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[3:04:43] staff
[3:04:46] and council representatives [
[3:04:48] indiscernible -background noise ]
[3:04:52] looking for city commentary in
[3:04:55] the area and support
[3:04:58] [ indiscernible - low volume ]
[3:05:07] development study they
[3:05:10] will be writing grants,
[3:05:13] looking for letters
[3:05:16] of support . With your permission,
[3:05:19] I will
[3:05:25] put this on letterhead
[3:05:28] for the city of punta gorda .
[3:05:31] another update,
[3:05:33] we talked about the website upgrades
[3:05:34] that
[3:05:37] are necessary.
[3:05:40] utilizing our credits
[3:05:43] we arty have.
[3:05:45] not a significant investment in dollars
[3:05:46] to refresh
[3:05:49] , upgrade the website.
[3:05:52] we want to make sure we
[3:05:54] are providing information on our projects
[3:05:55] and
[3:05:58] keep people updated on
[3:06:01] the projects. Go to the website
[3:06:03] to look at the projects that are happening
[3:06:07] and how they are progressing.
[3:06:10] we have done a lot of research into tools
[3:06:13] , software .
[3:06:16] we already have
[3:06:19] the tool.
[3:06:22] within that,
[3:06:25] we will purchase
[3:06:28] more of the training credits.
[3:06:34] project managers.
[3:06:37] [ indiscernible -
[3:06:40] low volume ]
[3:06:43] staff is
[3:06:46] working on the moratorium
[3:06:49] on storage units.
[3:06:58] [ indiscernible -low volume
[3:07:01] ] coming to council
[3:07:04] for final adoption .
[3:07:07] >>
[3:07:10] greg julian. Verifying
[3:07:13] the facility
[3:07:16] already the exception
[3:07:19] , is that great grandfathered?
[3:07:22] a letter from his
[3:07:25] attorney yesterday
[3:07:28] that , is that grandfathered?
[3:07:34] carwashes going forward ?
[3:07:35] >> so ,
[3:07:37] I was provided
[3:07:40] with a copy of
[3:07:43] the appeal that
[3:07:46] was submitted with respect
[3:07:49] to that. Ask zoning
[3:07:51] officials questions pertaining to
[3:07:52] that view.
[3:07:55] the determination this morning
[3:07:58] was that
[3:08:01] the heel was not
[3:08:07] --as that [ indiscernible -
[3:08:10] background noise ]
[3:08:13] the person submitting
[3:08:16] the appeal did not waste
[3:08:19] any opposition and comments at
[3:08:22] the configuring during
[3:08:25] special sessions.
[3:08:37] [ indiscernible -low volume ] both
[3:08:38] of which
[3:08:40] are mandatory requirements . The right
[3:08:44] to appeal. As a result,
[3:08:47] deem the
[3:08:50] special exception as final.
[3:08:52] [ indiscernible -background noise
[3:08:56] ]
[3:08:59] it would be
[3:09:00] grandfathered with respect to initial action.
[3:09:08] >> [ indiscernible -low volume ]
[3:09:20] that was the confusion here.
[3:09:23] allowing storage unit to
[3:09:25] be placed there, despite [ indiscernible
[3:09:26] -low volume
[3:09:28] ] .
[3:09:29] >> that is correct. [ indiscernible
[3:09:30] -
[3:09:31] background noise ] [ indiscernible
[3:09:32] -low volume ]
[3:09:34] [ indiscernible -background noise
[3:09:35] ]
[3:09:36] >>
[3:09:38] staff has developed more complaints of
[3:09:41] management according to
[3:09:44] for the cip projects,
[3:09:47] we put together a nice tool
[3:09:50] ,
[3:09:53] we will have the ability to
[3:09:55] have reporting which will allow us
[3:09:57] to pull information from the systems
[3:09:59] that is
[3:10:02] --our information is going into.
[3:10:05] in a more complex subway
[3:10:08] to the city council.
[3:10:11] february,
[3:10:17] we have our listening sessions,
[3:10:23] physical budget,
[3:10:26] cip
[3:10:29] 2025 updates coming up
[3:10:30] , and long-range financial planning.
[3:10:34] it is really important for residents
[3:10:38] to attend this
[3:10:41] , march 22nd
[3:10:44] , city staff will be asking
[3:10:47] --looking
[3:10:50] for direction ,
[3:10:52] answering questions in the community
[3:10:59] [ indiscernible -low volume
[3:11:01] ] . We encourage residents to attend.
[3:11:05] I wanted
[3:11:08] to mention pickleball,
[3:11:11] a number of ideas from
[3:11:13] the community , thoughts from the
[3:11:17] pickleball community.
[3:11:20] mr.
[3:11:23] edwards suggested
[3:11:26] we design it , have
[3:11:29] our staff
[3:11:31] weigh in, get comments from the public.
[3:11:35] if you
[3:11:36] have anything, forward those along
[3:11:38] to us.
[3:11:41] the gofundme page,
[3:11:44] pickleball players
[3:11:46] are supporting the investment in some
[3:11:50] trees and potentially
[3:11:57] benches. Be willing to help with the fence they are
[3:11:59] looking at
[3:12:02] requesting.
[3:12:05] have good community engagement.
[3:12:08] anyone who has an interest
[3:12:10] and passion , may be interested in
[3:12:11] something
[3:12:14] like that. We have a resident asking
[3:12:17] information about
[3:12:20] the website, our planning board.
[3:12:23] that is something we can make
[3:12:25] more prevalent. Our list of projects
[3:12:26] in
[3:12:29] various stages,
[3:12:32] we
[3:12:34] have a lot of water projects going on.
[3:12:38] we have a grant application in
[3:12:41] .
[3:12:44] within the cip plan,
[3:12:47] how producers , upgrades
[3:12:50] as well.
[3:12:53] we are working with the rate study.
[3:12:56] discussions with council to
[3:12:59] serve that process
[3:13:01] should we look at alternative funding
[3:13:02] so that
[3:13:04] we can get the support and water projects done.
[3:13:08] get that information published.
[3:13:11] emergency meetings with the city
[3:13:14] .
[3:13:19] it would not be a special meeting
[3:13:20] .
[3:13:23] we can use that
[3:13:40] tool, too. I will stop right there. [ laughter ]
[3:13:41] >> mr. Levin? >> nothing further, thanks
[3:13:42] you.
[3:13:43] >>
[3:13:47] melissa?
[3:13:48] >> the duplexes on magdalena?
[3:13:56] sorry, rachel.
[3:14:02] >>
[3:14:05] that is still in progress.
[3:14:08] was evaluated and going through,
[3:14:14] we did note that the
[3:14:17] development must --may not be the
[3:14:20] best route,
[3:14:23] [ indiscernible -low volume ] we are
[3:14:26] now exploring the potential of
[3:14:29] a neighborhood
[3:14:32] residential district
[3:14:33] which would allow for residential
[3:14:35] uses and
[3:14:38] cap the size at
[3:14:41] two units.
[3:14:44] we are still working on that
[3:14:47] and it will go before planning and zoning.
[3:14:53] >> I went out and
[3:14:56] did a three hour,
[3:14:59] it would've been longer, but
[3:15:01] I had to leave, with tom spencer --
[3:15:04] if you have not been out there, I
[3:15:05] would suggest, take
[3:15:08] a tour with tom. The
[3:15:11] knowledge, who knew water
[3:15:14] could be so fascinating? It opened
[3:15:17] my eyes , especially around the
[3:15:20] budget talks. I appreciate that. Tom, I
[3:15:21] will give
[3:15:23] you the spotlight,
[3:15:26] maybe having some public
[3:15:28] tours, I think that is a great idea.
[3:15:32] the more
[3:15:34] the public and see what is going on
[3:15:35] and understand, that is
[3:15:38] it.
[3:15:39] >> janis ? >>
[3:15:41] I want to commend our public works
[3:15:44] for last week or so , I was
[3:15:47] riding my bike and going by the
[3:15:50] book club , there was our
[3:15:53] giant truck with the water pressure
[3:15:56] hose and a section
[3:15:59] hose. If the pipe
[3:16:02] is this
[3:16:04] big, silt and sand was six inches
[3:16:05] from the top. They
[3:16:08] were cleaning
[3:16:10] drains. We thank you and commend you,
[3:16:14] and want to see
[3:16:16] more of that, which I am sure you
[3:16:17] are doing. Cleaning drains, so
[3:16:20] concerned about we love the progress.
[3:16:23] thank you very much.
[3:16:24] >> jeannine ?
[3:16:27] >>
[3:16:30] thank you,
[3:16:35] I got in touch with her about the
[3:16:36] tour buses. Has
[3:16:37] anybody seen those throughout the city?
[3:16:42] a person lives in
[3:16:43] downtown in my district was saying,
[3:16:45] why
[3:16:48] are these buses here?
[3:16:49] they were parked on a small road and
[3:16:51] it was concerning
[3:16:54] to the residents
[3:16:55] that emergency vehicles could not
[3:16:57] get by , or
[3:17:00] traffic connected by. We
[3:17:03] got in touch with you . Those
[3:17:05] tour buses , we are going to fight
[3:17:06] a place
[3:17:07] for them to safely part so they are
[3:17:09] not in the way of
[3:17:12] traffic. Not sure if we did not
[3:17:15] realize that but it seems to be
[3:17:18] an issue . I do not think it
[3:17:21] will be an issue anymore.
[3:17:22] >>
[3:17:23] in contact with the tour company that he
[3:17:27] --
[3:17:28] in contact with the tour company,
[3:17:30] they had a new driver
[3:17:32] who was not aware. That will work
[3:17:33] itself out
[3:17:36] but something we want to
[3:17:38] consider in the future because they
[3:17:39] could potentially
[3:17:42] be other tour companies
[3:17:44] that need a safe place to drop people off.
[3:17:51] that will be staff discussion.
[3:17:52] >>
[3:17:54] I have never
[3:17:57] visited on a cruise line,
[3:18:00] if anyone is interested,
[3:18:03] go and see what it is all about.
[3:18:06] was
[3:18:08] not connected into the person called me,
[3:18:12] there is a tour bus.
[3:18:15] okay. There is that. Flooding,
[3:18:21] are there divers
[3:18:23] coming to look at our flood situation?
[3:18:24] how is
[3:18:27] that going ?
[3:18:30] how is that all going?
[3:18:36] >>
[3:18:39] engineering
[3:18:48] is in the
[3:18:49] process of that among many other things.
[3:18:51] >> thank you very much
[3:18:54] for that.
[3:18:57] are you going to say something?
[3:18:58] >>
[3:19:00] downtown flooding ,
[3:19:03] the solicitation --
[3:19:06] we extended it several times.
[3:19:09] we had two responses
[3:19:12] from companies and are obtaining
[3:19:15] the residences and will be
[3:19:18] setting up evaluations.
[3:19:19] >>
[3:19:21] do you have a
[3:19:24] sense of when it will
[3:19:27] be released?
[3:19:30] >> he said two weeks.
[3:19:33] [ laughter ]
[3:19:34] >>
[3:19:36] I wanted to get that on the
[3:19:39] record because
[3:19:42] --before the
[3:19:45] rain comes.
[3:19:48] the concern ,
[3:19:51] just
[3:19:53] like warehouse and self storage ,
[3:19:54] are we going to
[3:19:57] see this
[3:20:00] before us? The drc will look
[3:20:03] at this.
[3:20:08] thank you, rachel. You should stay closer.
[3:20:09] >>
[3:20:12] the way the code is
[3:20:15] written, punta gorda has the final decision
[3:20:18] , special exceptions
[3:20:21] , we are still finalizing that
[3:20:24] staff report.
[3:20:26] we were trying to dry conditions to
[3:20:29] save cars , it is surrounded by residential properties.
[3:20:33] we are finalizing the
[3:20:35] staff report and will get that out
[3:20:36] later today.
[3:20:37] >>
[3:20:39] exactly,
[3:20:41] my concern, I hope they understand
[3:20:42] the difference between zoning,
[3:20:45] they're saying [ indiscernible -
[3:20:48] muffled ] I am concerned , that
[3:20:51] is a commercial
[3:20:54] zoning and is allowed but is not in the
[3:20:59] residential area . I may need you again.
[3:21:00] no wall by the
[3:21:03] car wash. I
[3:21:05] am getting complaints of various people
[3:21:06] who lived
[3:21:09] behind it who are in
[3:21:12] our city, our hearing a noise
[3:21:15] . They said
[3:21:18] there is no wall. Next
[3:21:21] to the
[3:21:24] building you are in now. Just wondering,
[3:21:27] is there something we could
[3:21:30] put in , recommendations that would
[3:21:33] protect them ?
[3:21:34] >>
[3:21:36] we have
[3:21:38] had people stop by our office. Equipment
[3:21:42] --
[3:21:45] the boys --the noise was louder than
[3:21:48] in the past. We
[3:21:50] have law enforcement visiting them.
[3:21:54] they will have to do something
[3:21:56] to mitigate those noises.
[3:21:57] >> great.
[3:22:03] maybe adding a wall
[3:22:06] , especially in a
[3:22:09] residential area.
[3:22:11] so they can have some sort of tranquility.
[3:22:12] >>
[3:22:17] that will be part of the carwash and
[3:22:18] storage facility discussion.
[3:22:21] that will be in the
[3:22:24] discussion going forward.
[3:22:27] >> may I
[3:22:28] respond to your commercial comment
[3:22:30] ?
[3:22:39] I understand all the points
[3:22:42] of view.
[3:22:45] it is for marine purposes , to encourage tourism.
[3:22:48] some have their
[3:22:54] boats launched,
[3:22:57] I would not call it
[3:23:00] industrial, marine , tourism.
[3:23:03] they can
[3:23:06] put that in their
[3:23:09] facility . I have examples
[3:23:12] to both sides of the story.
[3:23:18] >>
[3:23:21] it is multi family
[3:23:24] , 15, a residential area.
[3:23:27] >>
[3:23:29] general multi family is a special
[3:23:30] exception. Accessory use
[3:23:33] to their boat. Still
[3:23:36] finalizing that
[3:23:39] staff report.
[3:23:42] >> that is fine. >>
[3:23:45] you will see the staff report.
[3:23:48] >> I have
[3:23:51] one item.
[3:23:54] boaters
[3:23:57] have lost the opportunity to take
[3:23:58] showers at the south park.
[3:24:00] plentycounty
[3:24:02] of places in reasonable proximity.
[3:24:12] I understand we can set
[3:24:15] it for the showers. They were able
[3:24:16] to
[3:24:18] get showers all year long
[3:24:21] at south county
[3:24:24] park.
[3:24:27] we are charging
[3:24:30] $15, I would like
[3:24:32] a temporary , reasonable accommodation for
[3:24:36] boaters. They are
[3:24:39] renovating it, a
[3:24:42] 2.5 month period. More
[3:24:45] reasonable
[3:24:49] three bucks per shower. One boater
[3:24:52] said it would be
[3:24:55] $5000 to
[3:24:58] take showers . He comes to the
[3:25:01] shore and goes to work.
[3:25:04] >>
[3:25:07] I can add that to a
[3:25:10] future agenda. Consider,
[3:25:13] in normal operations ,
[3:25:16] a considerable strain
[3:25:19] on resources to people in
[3:25:22] the harbor .
[3:25:25] >> I am only talking about
[3:25:28] the next two months.
[3:25:29] >>
[3:25:31] as we conclude the contract with management,
[3:25:34] have the dock master in place
[3:25:37] for those
[3:25:40] facilities.
[3:25:43] >> okay. >> wow, okay.
[3:25:49] I think this is great.
[3:25:52] great input. Eric,
[3:25:55] thank you for allowing us to
[3:25:58] use this facility.
[3:26:00] thank you for going ahead with the 911.
[3:26:03] our police trauma and fire department
[3:26:04] , the
[3:26:05] stresses they have been dealing with.
[3:26:10] I would love to see more
[3:26:13] workshops we will be having,
[3:26:16] making sure people can know they
[3:26:18] can talk to us . They may have some
[3:26:21] great ideas that we do not even think about.
[3:26:27] I think it is really nice for us to
[3:26:28] have that
[3:26:31] input. Also,
[3:26:34] a resident sent me an email saying
[3:26:37] they're looking for the cars.
[3:26:40] they want to
[3:26:43] do something with the
[3:26:46] car washes. They were asking about
[3:26:49] that. Also,
[3:26:55] I was asked to shout out,
[3:26:57] same day as our event on march 22nd,
[3:27:01] bicycle
[3:27:04] clue, I guess
[3:27:07] is what they are doing. It will
[3:27:10] be fun.
[3:27:13] last,
[3:27:16] do we have any residents
[3:27:19] for final input ?
[3:27:25] >>
[3:27:28] two things, one,
[3:27:37] on the search for the future city manager -- I have done a
[3:27:40] lot of
[3:27:43] thinking about this, my
[3:27:46] family
[3:27:48] has been here for a long time in punta
[3:27:49] gorda .
[3:27:55] shut me
[3:27:57] how much taxes she has been in two,
[3:28:01] three homes.
[3:28:04] we are letting somebody
[3:28:07] who knows florida , somebody
[3:28:10] who is not
[3:28:13] from out-of-state, and somebody who knows
[3:28:16] the specific water problems
[3:28:19] that are happening in the state
[3:28:22] . I want to let you know,
[3:28:25] other people in our
[3:28:27] legislation delegation do not know
[3:28:28] what is
[3:28:31] truthfully happening.
[3:28:34] I have to tell you,
[3:28:37] I bump into our
[3:28:40] former city manager all
[3:28:43] the time , I have his cell number,
[3:28:47] eye call him to shoot the breeze and
[3:28:49] we have great conversations.
[3:28:55] I spent a lot of time, had
[3:28:58] people want me to start a consulting
[3:29:01] firm for politicians, et cetera, no.
[3:29:04] I am citizen.
[3:29:10] I will tell you,
[3:29:13] seeing what happens
[3:29:16] in study with the harbor , other
[3:29:18] scientists and other people who were
[3:29:19] working
[3:29:22] to help improve the problem in florida.
[3:29:25] we need somebody
[3:29:30] who is going to really take care of
[3:29:34] us. I have met a lot of
[3:29:37] city managers,
[3:29:40] and when I leave these
[3:29:42] meetings, I am feeling good. I don't
[3:29:43] have an
[3:29:46] upset stomach.
[3:29:48] I do not feel like I'm getting the
[3:29:49] wool pulled over
[3:29:52] my eyes. I want to say , right now,
[3:29:55] our city manager
[3:29:58] is done one
[3:30:01] hell of a job. [
[3:30:04] applause ]
[3:30:07] step in in a
[3:30:10] very difficult time.
[3:30:13] whoever will put their name and
[3:30:16] that had , I appreciate
[3:30:19] it and want to tell you, when
[3:30:22] you have somebody
[3:30:25] , a system that is working, not
[3:30:28] only working , light years
[3:30:31] ahead of anyone in
[3:30:34] the city with experience , we have
[3:30:37] to respect
[3:30:40] that. Regarding the attorney,
[3:30:43] we are here because of
[3:30:46] a few poor decisions. Freedom
[3:30:49] of speech , lawsuits.
[3:30:52] thank you.
[3:31:04] >> hi.
[3:31:07] I have
[3:31:10] a picture , a suggestion,
[3:31:16] maybe put
[3:31:19] in the commercial
[3:31:22] -- maybe
[3:31:25] put it in a commercial.
[3:31:28] this store is probably
[3:31:33] eight feet tall, this is three times
[3:31:34] that height.
[3:31:40] right next to the houses.
[3:31:43] just a suggestion.
[3:31:58] >> I
[3:32:04] want to thank they mayor for
[3:32:07] tallahassee,
[3:32:10] a good job, especially to
[3:32:12] the mayor for spending her own funds
[3:32:13] to facilitate that.
[3:32:16] I want to comment on your search.
[3:32:19] I was a recruiter,
[3:32:25] search consultant, one thing,
[3:32:28] people who do this for a living
[3:32:31] are not just looking
[3:32:33] for people who are looking for a job,
[3:32:34] they already have a
[3:32:37] multitude of people who probably can't
[3:32:38] do the
[3:32:40] job very well and are not necessarily looking.
[3:32:43] these are people you will not
[3:32:46] be --
[3:32:49] these people are not looking, this
[3:32:50] is what
[3:32:52] an executive search form can do. --
[3:32:53] this is what
[3:32:55] an executive search can do.firm
[3:32:59] >> I will
[3:33:02] make this quick, $165
[3:33:05] per hour,
[3:33:08] the cost savings
[3:33:11] are significant.
[3:33:14] [ indiscernible -low
[3:33:17] volume ] you do not have to take
[3:33:20] his opinion. Something
[3:33:22] about giving people access to meetings.
[3:33:26] they have an ordinance
[3:33:29] in public buildings.
[3:33:35] I
[3:33:36] do not know if that has to do with
[3:33:38] the legislation you are
[3:33:41] looking at.
[3:33:47] [ indiscernible -low volume ] I know
[3:33:50] he has experience. His judgment
[3:33:53] is sound.
[3:33:59] would
[3:34:00] you want your pediatrician to treat
[3:34:02] you today
[3:34:05] ? You would want geriatric care.
[3:34:08] [ laughter ]
[3:34:11] something to think about.
[3:34:14] also , the cost of living has
[3:34:17] gone up exponentially. My son
[3:34:23] got offers for being
[3:34:26] six $5000 you
[3:34:29] --$65,000 per year
[3:34:32] ,
[3:34:35] you would
[3:34:36] be surprised with the recommendations are.
[3:34:44] his firm is very large.
[3:34:50] thank you very
[3:34:53] much.
[3:34:54] >>
[3:34:56] mike, punta
[3:34:59] gorda ,
[3:35:02] [ indiscernible -muffled
[3:35:05] ] from the hospital to
[3:35:08] city hall ,
[3:35:11] [ indiscernible ]
[3:35:13] you cannot build a building in that
[3:35:14] area. You
[3:35:17] cannot build this building today
[3:35:20] located on olympia or
[3:35:22] marion avenue. You would have to have
[3:35:23] a second
[3:35:26] for multi family use or office.
[3:35:28] I am a commercial appraiser and I
[3:35:29] appraise properties all over
[3:35:32] florida and 60%
[3:35:33] to 70% of the properties I appraise
[3:35:35] are single tenant buildings. The current
[3:35:38] [ indiscernible ] eliminate
[3:35:41] --the proposal
[3:35:42] for the city market place the staff
[3:35:44] is reviewing
[3:35:46] is not for a potential buyer or developer,
[3:35:47] it is for
[3:35:49] the owners. They have no plans to
[3:35:50] develop the site
[3:35:53] merely trying to sell the property
[3:35:55] the attorney for city marketplace
[3:35:59] --[ indiscernible ]
[3:36:03] the development site was not feasible
[3:36:04] without the increased density and
[3:36:05] over
[3:36:06] a year later, nothing is happened
[3:36:07] except they are raising the price
[3:36:11] to $12
[3:36:13] million from $8.4 million. The plans
[3:36:17] need to be admitted back to the
[3:36:19] prior densities and uses , so the
[3:36:20] only commercial growth you will see
[3:36:22] in punta gorda will be in john's loop.
[3:36:24] [ indiscernible -background noise
[3:36:26] ]
[3:36:29] and the 75,000
[3:36:31] people per day that use that arterial.
[3:36:35] and provides a two-tier market
[3:36:38] for commercial development.
[3:36:40] that is all the developer you will see.
[3:36:44] 64 years,
[3:36:47] nothing has been built
[3:36:50] on the site.
[3:36:53] now we have a medical district with no hospital. That
[3:36:56] cop plan should be rescinded.
[3:37:00] [ applause ]
[3:37:07] >> anybody else ?
[3:37:10] we are adjourned. Thank you very much.