Sep 16, 2025 Regular Meeting

Fernandina Beach, FL · 2025-09-16 · More Fernandina Beach, FL meetings · More Florida meetings

Agenda

[0:01] 1. CALL TO ORDER
[3:12] 4.1 PROCLAMATION - "LES DEMERLE AMELIA ISLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL WEEK" - Proclaims September 28 through October 5, 2025, as “Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival Week”. Founder/Artistic Director/Board of Directors President Les DeMerle, Board of Directors Vice President Bonnie Eisele and Board members will be in attendance to accept.
[8:00] 4.2 PRESENTATION - BUDGET SUMMARY - Comptroller Susan Carless will review the August 2025 budget summary and be available to answer any questions.
[20:46] 4.3 PRESENTATION - PROJECT UPDATES - Deputy City Manager Jeremiah Glisson will provide an update on current and/or pending projects.
[23:41] 5. PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA OR ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA
[36:37] 6. CONSENT AGENDA
[37:53] 6.2 GRANT APPROVAL - FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION - RESOLUTION 2025-161 APPROVING FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION GRANT AGREEMENT #3-12-0022-038- 2025 FOR RECEIPT OF FUNDS AUTHORIZED UNDER THE AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER'S ERRORS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Authorizes Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") grant agreement # 3-12-0022-038-2025 for grant funds in the amount of $727,710 allocated for completion of an Airport Master Plan Update for the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport.
[40:27] 7.1 LEASE ASSIGNMENT TERMINATION - ATLANTIC SEAFOOD LLC. - RESOLUTION 2025- 170 APPROVING A MUTUAL TERMINATION AND RELEASE WITH ATLANTIC SEAFOOD, LLC.; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER’S ERRORS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Approves the termination of the lease with Atlantic Seafood, LLC.
[49:54] 7.2 AWARD OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 25-08 - BEACH, PARKS, AND DOWNTOWN RESTROOM FACILITIES CLEANING - RESOLUTION 2025-171 AWARDING REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 25-08 FOR BEACH, PARKS, AND DOWNTOWN RESTROOM FACILITIES CLEANING TO BORO BUILDING AND PROPERTY MAINTENANCE IN FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER'S ERRORS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Awards RFP 25-08 for Beach, Parks, and Downtown Restroom Facilities Cleaning to Boro Building and Property Maintenance in Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
[52:03] 7.3 SPECIAL EVENT CO-SPONSORSHIP APPROVAL - RESOLUTION 2025-172 APPROVING CITY CO-SPONSORSHIP OF FOUR SPECIAL EVENTS SELECTED BY THE SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE AND FOUR SPECIAL EVENTS SELECTED BY FERNANDINA BEACH MAIN STREET IN FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER'S ERRORS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Approves five City co-sponsored special events: 1) Sounds on Centre, 2) Nassau Sports Association Fishing Rodeo, 3) Hometown Fourth of July, 4) Shrimp Drop and four Fernandina Beach Main Street co-sponsored special events: 1) Dickens on Centre, 2) Island Hop Craft Beer Festival, 3) 8 Flags Car Show, 4) Black Friday Pajama Party
[54:34] 7.4 PURCHASE APPROVAL & DECLARING SURPLUS - VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT – RESOLUTION 2025-173 APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT, AND RELATED ACCESSORIES, FOR THE CITY FLEET AND DECLARING REPLACED ITEMS AS SURPLUS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER'S ERRORS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Approves the purchase of vehicles, equipment, and related accessories and declaring replaced items as surplus for the City operations for Fiscal Year 2025/2026.
[1:07:50] 7.5 FY 2026/2027 LEGISLATIVE POLICY AND STATUTORY POTENTIAL AREAS OF CONCERN - RESOLUTION 2025-174 SETTING FORTH LEGISLATIVE POLICY AND POTENTIAL STATUTORY CONCERNS WHICH MAY APPEAR BEFORE THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE IN FY 2026/2027; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER’S ERRORS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Identifies and prioritizes specific legislative policy and potential statutory concerns in advance of the FY 2026/2027 Florida Legislative Session
[1:36:04] 7.6 OPIOID LITIGATION - RESOLUTION 2025-175 AUTHORIZING CITY PARTICIPATION IN ALL NATIONAL OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS THE CITY IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE INCLUDING TWO NEW NATIONAL OPIOIDS SETTLEMENTS; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER'S ERRORS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Authorizes City participation in all National Opioid Settlement funds the City is eligible to receive.
[1:37:38] 7.7 CREDIT CARD SURCHARGE FEES - AMENDING RESOLUTION 2021-140 - RESOLUTION 2025-176 AMENDING RESOLUTION 2021-140 TO PROVIDE FOR SURCHARGE FEES TO BE CHARGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE STATUTE; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER’S ERRORS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Amends the City's procedures regarding credit card surcharges.
[1:40:00] 8.1 MASTER FEE SCHEDULE - ORDINANCE 2025-09 ESTABLISHING AND AMENDING FEES FOR THE AIRPORT, BUILDING, BUSINESS SERVICES, CODE ENFORCEMENT, CEMETERY, CITY CLERK’S OFFICE, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, FIRE, GOLF CLUB, MARINA, PARKS AND RECREATION, PLANNING AND CONSERVATION, POLICE, SANITATION, STORMWATER, STREETS, WASTEWATER, WATER, AND IMPACT FEES, EXCLUDING WATER AND SEWER IMPACT FEES FOR FY 2025/2026; AUTHORIZING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION OF SCRIVENER’S ERRORS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Synopsis: Establishes the FY 2025-2026 Master Fee Schedule
[1:52:49] 9. CITY MANAGER REPORTS
[1:56:08] 10. CITY CLERK REPORTS
[1:56:39] 11. CITY ATTORNEY REPORTS
[2:08:12] 12. MAYOR/COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

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[0:29] >> now please stand by the blood of legions led by city attorney. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of
[0:34] america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
[0:42] >> please remain standing for the invocation, .
[0:54] >> let us pray. Thank you, god of justice and kindness for
[1:06] giving us life and giving us the chance to help our city. Assist us to listen with compassion and goodwill. Assist us to talk with
[1:15] charity and self-control. Help us to act with conviction and character. Instill a sense of servicing us. We thank you
[1:25] tonight for these, your servants, our mayor, our city manager, our city staff, and our city commissioner millers. We
[1:32] give thanks for the weight of service they have chosen to take
[1:36] up on behalf of all of us here tonight. We express gratitude to
[1:44] you, god, for your presence, your grace, and your inherent dignity and value, and each person as city residents. We
[1:52] express gratitude for being called to our neighbors, and be good stewards of your creation. Help us, lord, tonight, to trust
[1:59] you more. May we lean on your everlasting arms. Therefore, we
[2:05] pray that tonight's actions made by this city will exalt you. We pray that we will be able to recognize how our lives
[2:13] interconnected and how listening to and helping those who are
[2:17] most in need of our support serves the common good. We hope
[2:23] that your power will work in each of these servants of yours, bringing your kingdom to fernandina beach as it is in
[2:28] heaven. The voices of the most silent be heard clearly. May
[2:32] your light shine stronger and may your truth be exposed.
[2:41] tonight, they will employ this governing body to defend their calls, o god, in the name of jesus, we perfect love, your
[2:45] perfect love sets us free from all our fears, amen.
[2:57] >> folks in the audience, just a point of order, if you have any cellular devices, please silence them now. If you're going to
[3:01] speak to the podium submit a card to miss best, next over here. Any document distribution will also be submitted where the
[3:08] speaker cards will go. If you're taking photographs avoid crossing the front of the dais. Also, comes from the podium
[3:17] should be addressed to the commission as a whole or myself. That being said we will start us off with item 4.1, our
[3:22] proclamation for "les demerle amelia island jazz festival > whereas for many years the select to skip to this part of the video">week" . >> whereas for many years the
[3:38] "les demerle amelia island jazz festival week" has brought exciting world-class jazz entertainment to styles
[3:43] including contemporary, big-band, latin, swing,
[3:48] dixieland, blues, and more, whereas this year the amelia
[3:53] island jazz festival is celebrating its 21st anniversary with headline performers which include internationally
[4:01] acclaimed jazz vocalist, I hope I get these names right, grammy nominated legendary jazz pianist monty alexander, exciting 12
[4:06] piece salsa band tony cruz and the latin jazz legends, the 21
[4:12] peace university of north florida jazz ensemble, directed by dennis marx, the spirit of six dixieland band, and of
[4:18] course the dynamic les demerle band. It is truly an honor and a
[4:22] privilege to have these world-class performers here among us. Whereas the familiar island jazz festival is endorsed
[4:34] by jazz icons quinton marsalis, tony bennett, david sanborn, ramsey lewis, the manhattan transfer, and whereas in ever to
[4:40] reach out to as many concertgoers as possible the amelia island jazz festival is offering a wide range of venues
[4:45] including the springhill suites by marriott, the beer company
[4:50] and fernandina beach atlantic rec center. Is the amelia island
[4:56] jazz festival presents a free community concert and many educational programs including jazz and schools jazz for kids, just for seniors, as well as a scholarship program which
[5:02] supports continuing music education high school musicians who desire to study jazz music in college. Therefore I, james
[5:12] and and by virtue of the authority vested in me as the city of fernandina beach hereby encourage the citizens of
[5:18] fernandina beach to participate in the island jazz festival celebrations and further proclaim the week of september
[5:22] 28th through october 5th as "les demerle amelia island jazz festival week" in witness whereof I hereby set my hand and
[5:30] caused the official seal of the city of fernandina beach order
[5:35] to be affixed this 15th day of september 2045.
[5:47] here you are. >> thank you very much,
[5:53] commissioners, and thank you, mayor antun. We are so grateful,
[5:59] ladies and gentlemen, to present the 22nd annual. Amelia island
[6:03] jazz festival, for 22 years we've been swinging hard, and we just got back from maui two days ago and we did jazz for
[6:10] seniors council on aging on friday, and had a 100-year-old
[6:16] man come up there and do a blues brothers to with us, and on saturday we did jazz for kids, where we had a 1 1/2-year-old
[6:24] kid come up and play the conga drum with me. He took my gate on
[6:29] saturday night. He played well. We do this from the heart, we
[6:35] couldn't do this without my incredible wife bonnie , and our board of directors and all the volunteers, hundreds of
[6:39] volunteers through the years edina beach, one thing that he
[6:46] said if you don't know, if you don't know what that is, you'll
[6:53] never know. It's just a feeling. I know you guys have a lot of
[6:59] heavy stuff coming up, I'm going to lighten it up and give you a taste of what jazz is. Spontaneity, improvisation,
[7:07] creativity, and most of all, in my band and in our festival, the groove. Ever buddy snap your fingers like that. Two, three,
[7:12] four, the bass player would say , and everybody say this. Hey,
[7:35] hey! >> hey, hey! >> jazz fest is here! >> jazz fest is here! >> hey, hey! >> hey, hey!
[7:39] >> jazz fest is here! >> jazz fest is here! >> anything more than that I have to get fancy. We'll see you
[7:44] at the jazz festival. >> thank you to each and
[7:49] everyone of you who support the festival, we want to give joy through music happening all through the community, through
[7:54] the county and through the world. This is our contribution to that, hope that purpose and our mission, thank you so much
[8:01] for supporting us throughout the years. Thank you. >> thank you. >> I'll take us along to item
[8:12] 4.2, our presentation with our budget summary. Ms. Carless, come on up. >> you'll have to sing this for
[8:23] us, please. >> thank you for your patience
[9:14] while we work that up a bit. Okay. Wow, we are presenting
[9:23] month 11, 91.7% of the fiscal year is completed for this
[9:29] budget. Summary. As always, we'll begin with our general
[9:35] fund revenues. I thought this was worth talking about.
[9:42] insurance premium tax reported in our group for sales tax and other taxes. It's a significant source of revenue to us. We use
[9:50] it to offset the city's contribution for the pension funds we were talking about. So, in august, we received $534,923.
[10:01] split between the two pension funds. And I mention that
[10:09] because we budgeted around, I think, to 15. You're going to see a budget amendment coming your way so we can record that
[10:15] extra revenue. Those funds are not deposited by the city into city accounts when we receive the knowledges the receipt, and
[10:24] we fedex the funds directly to the fiduciary. The gatsby, our
[10:30] general government accounting standards board, says because you receive a benefit , and that it helps to obsess your
[10:36] contribution to the pension fund, we're going to ask you to recorded as revenue and expenditure in the general fund.
[10:45] that's a little confusing I think, to some people. I wanted to just bring it forward and talk about it a little bit so
[10:50] you'd understand what you're seeing when that time comes through. Moving forward, general fund revenues. We've seen ,
[11:04] we've had a really good year , total just over 32 million. They
[11:14] exceed the total budgeted revenues for the year already by 698,000. You'll notice some changes on the slide, you can
[11:22] tell pretty evenly with last year, but intergovernmental
[11:27] revenues were reduced. This period by a request in grant
[11:32] revenues for the general fund for capital improvements. I've
[11:38] done an accrual for grant revenues, it was erroneously
[11:43] posted to the general fund and it belonged in our capital improvement fund. You'll see that effect between the two
[11:48] funds. Charges for services, this is significant. Charges for
[11:52] services reflect a significant increase in revenues from
[11:57] ambulance services. We had some challenges with the billing
[12:02] services last year and you'll probably remember, and our team and the fire department and cooperation and support with
[12:10] other administrative departments, we were able to implement a new ambulance billing service, so, year to
[12:18] date we're at 177% of budgeted revenue for the ambulance services. We have exceeded this year's budget and recouped our
[12:26] shortfall from last year. That was a lot of hard work for the fire and the other folks. Looking at general fund revenues
[12:38] this year, versus last year, the breakdown receipts is very similar. There's the three-point difference in the
[12:46] percentage of revenue from property taxes. When you look last year the revenue from property taxes comprised 62%,
[12:54] this year is 59%. Simply stated, what that means is, we found
[13:00] more money from other sources. That 534,000 from the insurance
[13:10] premium is in there. And it's an overall increase in charges and
[13:17] services of 800,000. And we moved to our general fund
[13:26] expenditures function. Just a reminder, we're 91.7 complete,
[13:31] what we're seeing is the breakdown of percentage by function is comparable, we're expanding our model in the
[13:40] manner over a period. We're seeing the dollars spent and I
[13:52] wanted to present it to you, even though the breakdown overall, it's helpful to see the actual dollars and how they
[14:01] compare. We see a decrease in transfers, and that's
[14:06] attributable to the decrease in the transfer to the improvement funds. So we didn't transfer as much money to capital
[14:14] improvements this year. Then, significant increases in
[14:19] administration, that's from litigation and settlement costs. And then it's also from capital projects, which were done in the
[14:26] general fund. The planning department for the egan's creek
[14:30] bridge, and the greenway. So that explains a little bit. Fund
[14:38] balance, the general fund balance has increased. The
[14:46] balance right now is about 2.4 million more than last year. And
[14:52] it's primarily because year-to-date revenue exceed
[14:57] expenditures. We brought in more than we spent this year so far.
[15:06] the next section we record on is special revenue funds, and I like to have this slide up to help people understand our city
[15:14] manager did a great job talking about them. The odd ducks, but,
[15:19] the important thing to remember is, they exist to account
[15:24] specific revenues with limitations on how we can spend them. They don't fund operations, so they don't need
[15:29] reserves. When we're looking at special revenue funds that's
[15:36] money we received and we need to spend it a certain way. These
[15:40] are the current fund balances as from the end of august. Just some notes, year-to-date revenues exceed expenditures for
[15:47] all funds except for these three. The building fund,
[15:54] expenditures exceed revenues by 169 2000 year-to-date. And that's by design, it was budgeted to do so. Wastewater
[15:59] capacity fees. Exceed revenues, expenditures exceed revenues by
[16:07] 34 896, also budgeted to reduce a reserve. And the community redevelopment area , expenditures exceed revenues by
[16:14] 483,000. And it's because of the work we're doing on the
[16:20] capital projects at north street. $94,000 was spent on
[16:25] these projects in august. Capital improvement funds, we
[16:38] talked about it a little bit, we have four of those. Three are similar, the one that's different is our capital expansion funded by impact fees. We usually do a separate slide
[16:45] on that want to talk about it. Looking at our capital
[16:51] improvement funds, this is a quick calculation of what the
[16:55] fund balance is at the end of august. Shows our revenue less expenditures, and our beginning cash balance. Year-to-date all
[17:05] of them have a solid ending fund balance, and I didn't see any
[17:12] unusual transactions. For august, we spent 300, 30,009 92.
[17:24] 37,000 on the men's locker room at a.r.c. 45,004 putt putt and
[17:30] 90,000 for the lighthouse. 94,600 for the central park batting cages. Four funds 315 and 330, there were no
[17:40] significant revenue or expenditures for august. This is
[17:48] our capital expansion fund. We also call it our impact fees.
[18:00] there are restrictions for how we spend the funds that come in, so we segregate it by department, here. When you see
[18:05] police, fire, sanitation, administration, those are the impact fees assessed, and then they go directly into each line.
[18:12] the only significant expenditure this period was 186 700 on the
[18:17] waterfront park, and that's reflected in the recreation parks total. Down at the bottom you see the budgeted
[18:28] expenditures remaining to be completed from these funds, so this is what was budgeted as of fy 25 and the amounts that have
[18:39] not been expended for those budgeted items. As our city
[18:49] manager explained, the enterprise funds are sometimes called our business class. They're also called proprietary.
[18:54] year-to-date revenues exceed expenditures for all but two of them. That's storm water in the marina. So, performing well this
[19:07] year operationally, year-to-date revenues are 99% of the total budgeted for fy 25, and 85.8% of the total budgeted for this
[19:12] year. Revenues exceed expenditures by 420,000 so far.
[19:19] the airport year-to-date revenue exceed expenditures by 292,000.
[19:27] sanitation revenues exceed expenditures by 230,000. Wastewater year-to-date exceed expenditures by 200,000. Water
[19:36] year-to-date revenues exceed expenditures by 73,000. Stormwater expenditures exceed revenues by 167,000, and the
[19:45] marina year-to-date expenditures exceed revenues by 260,000. As
[19:54] our city manager had mentioned, we had a couple of major expenditures in the marina, we spent $1 million for dredging.
[20:00] there was also a large expenditure for an annual payment in august, that was 505,000. That impacted them. And
[20:09] that's what I have for this budget report. Are there any
[20:15] questions? >> do I have any questions for our city comptroller? >> I would say thank you, these
[20:20] reports get better every month, and I'm very glad that we've increased the billing from the fire and ambulance services.
[20:26] again, it's a lot of little things that make a budget
[20:31] stronger. And I appreciate the hard work that staff is going on
[20:38] that, thank you. >> I appreciate the slide number
[20:44] and the heads up on the insurance premium, I would not have understood that line. Without a heads up, thanks for explaining that. >> all right, thank you.
[20:52] >> thank you. Taking us along to item 4.3, we have our project
[20:57] updates . >> thank you, mayor, as miss
[21:04] carless mentioned we are 92% through our fiscal year, this is the last project update you'll see for this year,
[21:08] commissioners, thank you all for your engagement for your
[21:13] prioritizing, guiding, funding, we got a lot done this year and this list reflects this. We had nearly 40 million worth of projects, in this fiscal year and the majority of those
[21:21] products have been completed, and those that have not are not marked in blue, will be rolling over to next fiscal year. As I
[21:29] moved down the list, looking at reference number on the left, to identify the project what's been added to the completion list,
[21:37] since last time we spoke was the city hall window replacement project. We continue to update this 120-year-old facility as
[21:45] funds permit, and that project has been marked to complete number 48, here, sidewalk installation, and replacement,
[21:57] we're wrapping up a little bit of work on north second street over the last few days and we will reopen that project next
[22:02] year with increased funding for new sidewalks for areas where we do not have any me and the replacement of existing of a 10
[22:07] million sidewalk network. Number 56 with the exception of some
[22:15] small service improvements on south eighth street which will be happening the next few days, the rehabilitation project,
[22:19] there is substantial complete, and we're happy to see that one
[22:24] behind us, as is 59. This is the last of our stormwater
[22:29] improvements for this year, as you all may recall, 20 projects were identified last year do to record amounts of rainfall, nine
[22:36] of those 22 projects have been completed, the stormwater department has been working tirelessly on a lot of these
[22:41] projects, and remaining 15 or so products will move to next year,
[22:46] and open up a new project for fiscal year 25 -26, we are
[22:52] getting a jump on 25-26, there's a few items for next year that you will see, on the regular agenda tonight, and you
[23:00] will see golf course irrigation rotation plan, replacement,
[23:12] we're getting a jump on that, so we can hit the ground running as we move into the next fiscal year in a couple weeks. That's
[23:17] all I have, we're happy to wrap up a number of these projects, and full steam ahead next year. Any questions?
[23:24] >> do we have any questions? Seeing none, we like to say we
[23:31] appreciate your hard work in the time I've been a commissioner this organization and keeping with how is something I've seen
[23:37] continue to improve. We appreciate the way we can not
[23:43] just see as a commission for our residents that there's quite a bit getting done by the day. Thank you. That will take us to
[23:53] item five, public comment for items not on the agenda, I have three requests to speak so far. If you still wish to speak,
[23:58] brave you're up to the city clerk, the first will be mr. Mac morris. >> thank you, mr. Mayor. It's
[24:07] been a whole two weeks. Mac morris, a 21 park view. I don't
[24:17] really want to be appear talking. I'm up here because of the actions of some of your colleagues, mr. Mayor. Because
[24:25] of those actions, the florida secretary of state , florida
[24:32] chief financial officer and their staffs are aware of the situation when it comes to the pay parking issue. The people of
[24:37] the city signed 2000 no pay parking referendum petitions in 3 1/2 weeks. Which I understand is probably a local record. We
[24:48] could have collected far more out of respect for the supervisor of elections and their current workload, they're
[24:53] collecting petitions from all over the county. We stopped after being assured of a certified charter which our team
[24:59] has acknowledged and confirmed. It was coordinated actions which
[25:06] causes resident driven charter amendment in the first place. A first for our city and county. All eyes are on commission next
[25:16] step mr. Mayor. Including tallahassee's. There is a way
[25:25] for the provides revenue without paid parking harmful effect on downtown retail businesses. Let's hold those discussions in a public workshop. Let's do it in the sunshine. Thank you.
[25:34] >> thank you, mr. Morris, next up we have mr. Guerrero.
[25:43] >> thank you. I'd like to hispanic heritage month, which
[25:50] began >> name and address for the record. >> 31 south fifth street.
[25:58] fernandina beach, home of bo benson. It was good to see that
[26:08] we still have $60,000 therefore the expansion of the skate park.
[26:12] I know we've got these projects that are going on. And that is
[26:17] probably one of the last things on your mind. We have two girls,
[26:26] three girls who are going to california to compete, in the exposure skate competition, which is the largest female
[26:32] skate competition in the world. It's in california. And they're
[26:38] raising money at the skate park by selling lemonade, and
[26:42] homemade bracelets. To try to make it out there. One of them we see potentially being in the 2028 olympics, just like we saw
[26:52] pope henson, went to that exposure competition, and took
[26:57] second place. And when she was 10 years old. We have another
[27:03] 10-year-old who is heading over there this november 1st and
[27:07] second, and third. So we hope that we can get our community,
[27:13] and our commissioners behind the effort that's being done. With
[27:20] such a small group. It's not like the baseball basketball football where they have a lot of kids. We have a small group.
[27:26] we're turning out at high levels. Another girl who got
[27:31] signed by a skateboard company, colorblind skateboards, and she
[27:36] just came out with her new skateboard. Shirts, hats,
[27:41] colorblind skateboards and her name is cadence hauser. Skidding
[27:45] atop levels. So, it really is good to see it in the capital
[27:53] projects that there is still a section there for us. We don't
[27:59] have any grants or anything. But, our organization is willing
[28:04] to chip in half the money . This was kicked over to nassau
[28:10] county, and I spoke with poe, taco poe, and, they said there
[28:19] is no money in the budget until five years from now. So, we like
[28:25] to see that pushed up a little, a little bit like that, and
[28:31] we're willing to see if we can bring it back, to the city commission, we like to show you the $30,000 that you gave us, we
[28:37] split it, was approved from the last commission. We would like
[28:50] to be able to come back and show you that presentation. Thank you. >> thank you, mr. Barrera. Next
[28:55] up. >> good evening, I live at 406
[29:09] beech street. On july 7th 2025, the city issued building permits 2511 97 through 12 . I appealed those permits it to the board of
[29:18] adjustment on july 16th, 2025. In a conversation with city staff attorney teresa prinz on september 9th, she said my
[29:27] appeal was too late. She claims it should've been based on the local development order that was issued july, june 12, 2025.
[29:34] here's the reality, the local development order was only sent to the applicant and to trc members. The city manager
[29:40] didn't receive it. The city commission didn't receive it. Neighbors didn't receive it. People who had active litigation
[29:48] in the fifth district court of appeals did not receive it on this property. None of these folks were ever notified.
[29:58] misprints argues that our notice was the trc meeting held back in march, but trc meetings don't approve progress. Approvals can
[30:03] come months later. I was confident I would be told when
[30:08] that happened because I specifically complained last november about missing application and was promised I
[30:12] would be informed. That promise was broken, and if I had been informed, misprints said she admitted that I intended to
[30:22] appeal. My intent was clear all along. I was simply denied my basic constitutional rights of due process. To say I missed a
[30:31] 30 day appeal on something I never received, nor did most staff members of the city, receive, is unconstitutional.
[30:36] courts of both the state and federal level are clear. Due process requires notice. I ask you, if I cannot appeal to the
[30:45] boa because my staff cut off my rights, who do I appeal to? The
[30:50] answer must be you, here, right now. The local development order
[30:59] was issued in error, the building permits were issued in error, both violate section 103 05 of the land development code,
[31:04] a section already upheld at the fourth district court, and the fifth district court of appeals. You have the case law to back
[31:12] you up, the florida case corona properties versus morrill county confirms that when permits are issued in error, the city has
[31:18] the authority and the responsibility to revoke them. Finally, I want to address the tone around this project,
[31:24] according to the fernandina observer, the developers attorney claimed that they could build 58 units on this property
[31:29] at this if the plan is overturned. In my opinion
[31:33] that's misleading. Only third street qualifies for live local
[31:37] and when I calculate the acreage et cetera, they can't even do a third of that. So, also, the developers attorney claimed that
[31:46] they will sue the city for bert harris act violations. I want to
[31:51] remind you the developer purchased this property in july of 2023. After litigation had already been filed, and many
[31:59] years after section 103 05 was written in 2006. For all these
[32:08] reasons, I respectfully am asking this commission to revoke those permits, and I have a copy of the case here. >> thank you. If you'll leave it over here, please.
[32:16] >> thank you. Next up we have mr. Paul lori.
[32:28] >> good evening, 2794 longbow drive fernandina beach florida. I'm here today because of september 15th. If I look at
[32:36] this commission here, along this podium, when I look above, I see
[32:42] one thing. I see september 15th, 1700 22 signatures were signed,
[32:52] executing exercising their voice on how they feel for paid
[32:57] parking. If you look above you on the organizational chart,
[33:01] that's where the citizens are. If you look above you, the
[33:05] citizens are above you. They've spoken, they've exercised their
[33:12] voice, and will see your leadership. Thank you.
[33:19] >> thank you, mr. Lori, next we have mrs. Sandy carey.
[33:26] >> I just want to make a statement about a national --
[33:34] >> name and address for the record. >> sandy carey, forest drive. Charlie kirk, who was
[33:39] assassinated last week, who stood up for everything that this country stands for, I wanted to just acknowledge the
[33:45] legacy that he's left behind, and the millions of people
[33:49] around the world who are acknowledging how brave he was. He had such courage , stood up for his convictions, he never
[33:56] backed down, he stood up for his religious beliefs, and yet he
[34:01] always had the compassion to listen to what others had to say. That was what really truly made him unique and remarkable.
[34:10] he always tried to find common ground. He invited people who differed most with him on college campuses to be the first
[34:16] to come forward and reason with him. He would say let us reason
[34:23] about this, let's talk about it, let's see what you think, what you believe. He would speak the same. That's so important in our communication in our community. When communication
[34:33] stops, there is nothing. There's anger and violence and
[34:37] things that are not good. We have to keep the lines of communication open, even if we don't agree with one another,
[34:46] and we need to be respectful to one another. I don't care who
[34:50] stands appear, what their view is, I will defend it to the death. They have the first amendment right to freedom of
[34:57] speech, all of us do, that's what makes our country great. This man died prematurely at the hands of an assassin , left
[35:03] behind two young children and a widow only 31 years old. His legacy, his martyrdom will go on. For a long time. So, I
[35:12] wanted to take the time to acknowledge that, I hadn't
[35:18] heard anyone mention that and I feel like he was a really great republican, and conservative, and he stood up for what he
[35:29] believed in, that's what we need so much. We are a republic and we need to stand up for our rights because if we don't, we
[35:33] will no longer have them. And our freedom of speech which is why I have tried so hard with the last commission and this
[35:40] commission is so important, because all our other
[35:46] constitutional rights are hinged to that. If we lose the freedom of speech we lose all the others behind it. They are all
[35:51] together, so, I wanted to say that I have another thing to
[35:55] speak about but, it's unrelated. I think this is probably the
[36:00] only time I can bring it up. I'd just like to remind that
[36:04] the transcript today in the process of reading over that.
[36:11] the bert harris act with ryan, the claim was filed july 11th, I
[36:18] understand they have 90 days which would be october 11th.
[36:22] that's just a few short weeks away. And there's been a lot of overtures of rumors I've heard about some, and I hope that's
[36:27] not true. Because if you settle with them, that will be the
[36:32] beginning of the end of life as we know it on this, people are already moving because they're so upset.
[36:37] >> thank you, miscarry. I have no other requests to speak.
[36:42] seeing none we will move along to our consent agenda. To any
[36:49] commissioners wish to pull anything from the consent agenda? >> yes.
[36:53] >> commissioner minshew. >> I like to pull 6.2, grant approval for the faa, I understand there's adjustments
[36:58] that need to be made in that. And I see mr. Coyle is here.
[37:06] >> thank you commissioner. Any other requests to pull an item
[37:10] from the consent agenda? >> I moved to approve. Conditionally, 6.2. >> okay. You have a question?
[37:17] >> no. >> I have a motion, do I have a
[37:24] second? >> a second. >> any commission or discussion? Seeing none, please start the role.
[37:48] >> on your behalf? Would you like for me to mark that is
[37:54] approved on your behalf? >> yes.
[38:00] >> that motion passes 5-0, that will bring item 6.2 up before our seven resolutions. Mr. Nate coyle, come give us the short on
[38:10] this, please. >> commissioners, good evening,
[38:14] your port manager, the agenda this evening is the grant agreement for the master plan update. I sent an email out this
[38:23] week and the short answer is, they had issued us a grant
[38:30] agreement for the full 95% of the project, and do their fiscal constraints came back on friday and asked if they could faze
[38:38] that project instead. The revised grant agreement is what's in front of your hard copy. It reduces the total grant
[38:46] amount by $200,000. However, the second phase of that grant will
[38:52] come in the spring and will, the funding as it's presented within the packet will be the same. The master plan is an 18
[38:59] month project, financial will be able to bear that and will still receive 95% coverage instead of one grant which was what was
[39:09] initially issued, 11th hour change , they asked that we process the revised agreement that's in front of you here
[39:15] instead of what's in the packet. >> are there any questions on
[39:19] this agenda item? Seeing none, thank you for your time, sir.
[39:24] two I have a motion? >> moved to approve 6.2. >> motion on the floor, do I have a second?
[39:29] >> I'll second it, but we need to approve it, we need to amend it. >> approved the amended one that
[39:37] he's just handed out. >> moved to approve the amended. Agreement. With the faa. >> that is seconded as amended?
[39:49] >> yes. >> any additional commission or discussion? Seeing none, please start the vote.
[40:04] >> thank you for getting together . So last minute. He's
[40:12] not getting the pop up. >> did you join the meeting? Oh.
[40:20] going to have a lot. >> that motion passes 5-0, and
[40:38] will move along to item seven, resolutions and 7.1 is a lease assignment termination. Take it away.
[40:44] >> this is consideration of resolution 2025/170, which would terminate early the lease between the city and mr. Ernie
[40:53] saltmarsh for the atlantic seafood bait and tackle building located at 10 ash street. The current lease is not set to
[41:01] expire until 2028. However, mr. Saltmarsh closed his shop, and
[41:08] then contacted the city and asked if we would consider early termination of the lease. I do support that recommendation
[41:14] based on the amount of work that we're going to be having going
[41:20] on in the coming years, I think it does benefit the city to close the shop early. I'm sorry, recommend approval of
[41:26] this early termination. Mr. Saltmarsh is not asking for any
[41:33] buyout from the city, nor are we asking him to repay any lease
[41:37] payments that would be owed to the end of the lease. I do
[41:43] recommend one amendment to this item, and that is that you change the effective date to august 1st. So that we can
[41:48] properly account for the lease payments that have already been made. So, if that's the pleasure of the commission it
[41:54] would be an amendment to the resolution for the effective date to be september 1st. >> if I may, mr. Mayor, it would
[42:05] be an amendment to exhibit a, section 1 of the termination of the lease would be effective august 1st. I'm not looking at
[42:11] the resolution that's in there. >> august or september? >> august.
[42:16] >> thank you, miss campbell, misprints. Do I have any
[42:22] commissioner questions for miss campbell or misprints on this item? I do have one request to speak on the audience, miss
[42:29] julie pereira, please,. >> good evening, 501 dayton
[42:42] street. I think it's very kind that mr. Saltmarsh is and asking
[42:50] for a buyout. My question is, was going to happen with the land lease? Is that land lease going to be repurposed , or can
[42:58] that now become city property without it being a commercial building on it? My second question is about the atlantic
[43:07] seafood building itself, because it's an iconic old florida part
[43:12] of fernandina. I've gone down there, I've looked at it, it
[43:19] looks to me that if you knocked off the back shed, lean to shed it's on the back, the part of the building that's on the
[43:26] south side, that we could raise money and try to refurbish just
[43:33] that little commercial part , and have that be there as part of iconic fernandina. I'd be willing to try to raise money to
[43:41] do that. I know that in the past it's always been said that that
[43:47] building has to come down in order to continue the seawall.
[43:52] it looks to me, I'm not an engineer but it looks to me that if we took off the lien to shed, that that iconic piece of
[43:58] fernandina could be repurposed, maybe it could be a copy shop,
[44:04] maybe it could have a platform built up in there, so when the seawater comes in, the city could have , I don't know, coke
[44:12] machines in there, it seems like that building is an iconic piece
[44:17] of fernandina and I know that a lot of people in the community would like to see it still exists. Thank you.
[44:26] >> thank you, miss ferreira. I have no other was request to speak from the audience. Two I have a motion?
[44:33] >> I would move to amend resolution 2025.170 to make it
[44:37] effective date august 1st. >> I have a motion.
[44:46] >> second, and I'd like to, if I could, bring up because of
[44:54] what we're planning on doing at the waterfront park, this, this area where the building stands now, when that is removed, it's
[45:06] going to help with the boats coming in, getting into the
[45:11] ramp, it's going to make an easier swing. I'd like to ask city staff if they would look at designing a nice entrance going
[45:21] into the waterfront park. It wasn't designed for that, there
[45:27] was going to be potentially a building sitting farther back
[45:34] between the existing building now, and where the waterfront park starts, so that area now that's won't be occupied by a
[45:40] building, in fact, it would be spruced up to be part of the
[45:49] waterfront park. >> thank you, commissioner.
[45:56] seeing as I have a motion and a second with additional commission or discussion, does anyone want to weigh in on the
[46:00] suggestion? >> I would like to task the hdc or something with julie ferreira's idea of saving some
[46:08] part of that facade , the sign, something? I know we talked
[46:15] about in the future, where bretz is, I know the waterfront
[46:24] advisory board has talked about having, helping some of the
[46:29] businesses at the waterfront with their kiosk structures or something. Is that an hdc thing? >> yeah, it can be.
[46:38] >> mr. Mayor. I think it's two separate discussions, one is an
[46:42] action on the resolution and the agreement in front of you and
[46:47] I'm happy to talk about what happens next, we like to get direction from the commission. My preference would be to direct
[46:53] the building official to conduct an inspection of this facility, it's a supportive structure and I don't believe the floor and
[47:04] the pilings are salvageable, the building official needs to make that determination. My recommendation would be that we
[47:12] forward the demolition application to the hdc for their approval. Mr. Saltmarsh is going to salvage the sign, he's going
[47:18] to keep that and we have contacted the museum and asked
[47:22] them to document the facility before we take any action. At
[47:30] the pleasure of the commission, my recommendation is for the official to inspect it. >> thank you, miss campbell.
[47:39] commissioner tuten? >> I would imagine the building.
[47:44] I'm glad the building official will look at it, absolutely, I'm sure the structure has a lot of issues. I'm thinking
[47:49] about my funky old house, and a lot of funky old houses in this
[47:56] building that surely there must be some aspects of the building
[48:00] that could be saved or salvaged and incorporated into something as a historic memory. And maybe, can be hdc, before it's
[48:12] demolished, and everything is lost, could be hdc look at it?
[48:17] no, yes? Separate issue? >> officially.
[48:22] >> perfect. >> commissioner minshew?
[48:27] >> I was going to say that commissioner saltmarsh is taking the sign. Which is the most iconic component of it. And he
[48:36] wants to repurpose it in one of his other businesses. So, and I
[48:43] think we've agreed for him to do that. Once that sign is gone,
[48:47] then I'm not sure that there is much less there to be
[48:52] maintained, or to be recognized as significant or iconic. I
[48:59] think first of all we need to make sure, we need to get the
[49:03] building official to give us a report on the building. First, we need to do this, please. >> thank you commissioner.
[49:11] >> you're still up to speed. All right. I have an amended motion and a second come at no additional commission or
[49:17] discussion. Please start the vote.
[49:32] >> that motion passes five manager which brings us to item 7.2. >> know. As amended.
[49:43] >> do I have a second? I have a motion and a second, any
[49:50] commission or discussion? Seeing none, miss bass, please start the boat.
[50:02] >> that motion passes 5-0, and will move along to item 7.2. We
[50:07] have an rfp for restroom facility cleaning, take us away, miss campbell. >> this consideration of
[50:12] resolution 2025-171, which would award the cleaning services for
[50:16] certain city restrooms. After rfp 2025-08 was issued. We did
[50:29] not put a maximum dollar amount on this, the funds are budgeted in the parks and downtown departments, but not knowing a
[50:40] couple of things we didn't want to put a maximum dollar amount on that for you. We recommend a ward. The boro building and
[50:51] property maintenance is the theme of the company that we recommend a ward to. Esther michelson is here to answer any
[50:59] detailed questions you have. >> any commission or questions for miss campbell or mr. Michelson? >> these are the same people who are currently doing a beach
[51:05] cleaning. We >> beach?
[51:09] >> yes. Yes, this is the current vendor that's under contract with nassau county for cleaning the beach , covered by tdp
[51:18] funding, this is getting in alignment with that. This vendor would be cleaning other park city facilities as well.
[51:24] >> thank you. >> so, who's doing it today?
[51:31] city staff? >> I think city staff is providing coverage now, that's the contract, is that correct,
[51:36] scott? >> we had another vendor doing
[51:40] it before. Got it. Sorry. I didn't understand all that, thank you. >> I see no other requests to
[51:47] speak from the commission, and I have no request from the
[51:54] audience. Do I have a motion? >> moved to approve. >> any commission or discussion? Seeing none, please start the
[51:58] vote. That passes five manager which brings us to item 7.3, our
[52:13] special event cosponsorship approval. Miss campbell. >> thank you, consideration of resolution 2025-172 , this is
[52:21] our annual slate of events that we cosponsor. The first four are
[52:30] sounds on centre, nassau sports association fishing rodeo, hometown fourth of july and shrimp drop, and we also help
[52:39] partner with fernandina beach main street for four additional events, dickens on centre, island hop craft beer festival, and black friday pajama party. There are certain fees and
[52:47] charges that the city waves in order to be considered a sponsor
[52:53] and whatever the pleasure of the commission is on this item.
[52:58] >> thank you, mrs. Campbell, are there any questions from the commission? Commissioner minshew? >> so, I will reluctantly vote yes, on this, but I have a lot
[53:09] of concerns about who we're sponsoring why we're sponsoring,
[53:15] and some of the history behind some of the stuff we are
[53:20] sponsoring. I would hope that maybe before the end of the
[53:26] year, maybe early next year, we would have a workshop. Or we could look at what we do for special events, how we do it,
[53:36] what we're giving away, what we're spending city money on, and is that the right thing for us to do? Because we keep
[53:45] getting told all the time that we spend our money on wants and not needs. So, I would challenge this staff and this commission
[53:50] that we need to take a hard look at things like this, because
[53:57] these are a lot of wants. And not necessarily a lot of needs.
[54:01] so, I just would ask staff to take that under consideration, and let's put something on the agenda in a workshop relatively
[54:07] soon. >> thank you, commissioner. Any
[54:13] other requests to speak? Do I have a motion?
[54:23] >> moved to approve. >> I have a motion on the floor, do I have a second? >> second. >> motion and a second, any other additional commission or
[54:29] discussion? Seeing none, please start the boat.
[54:42] >> that motion passes 5-0 bringing us to item 7.4. A purchase approval and declaring surplus for our vehicles and
[54:47] equipment. Miss kim? >> thank you, I'm going to turn
[54:53] this over to deputy city manager glisson, he have a thorough presentation to give you on this year's fleet replacement program. >> glad to hear the excitement.
[55:05] thank you, mr. Minshew. In front of you is a large ticket item. This is the vehicle replacement plan for fiscal year 25-26. You
[55:15] just approve the budget, the final hearing for the budget, this is getting a jump for fiscal year 25-46, the
[55:21] acquisition of vehicles and equipment. History here is how
[55:30] we got here with the process and the plan that we have, we have our first vehicle rotation plan adopted by policy in 2005-2006.
[55:35] the goal was to provide for the planned replacement of rolling stock and assets because of the services that we provide in
[55:42] fernandina, we have a lot of different apartments, a lot of different departments the buildings and equipment and
[55:49] personnel to provide those services and our fleet alone is a $20 million replacement asset. It's about 380 rolling stock
[55:53] units, that's everything from the golf course, to the boats used at the marina, to fire apparatus , police, law
[56:00] enforcement vehicles, everything in between. A planned replacement plan reduces downtown, running your assets
[56:09] till failure is not a good business plan, not a good business model. While increasing safety and dependability and it
[56:16] provides city operations with consistent, reliable assets, and furthermore this improved plan for this year meets commission
[56:22] goals for all these assets were in your five-year capital
[56:30] improvement plan that you already approved, and it help the project management as you approve the go-ahead to move
[56:36] forward with a lot of acquisitions and replacement for
[56:40] projects for this coming fiscal year, you will not see a lot of these action items come back to you over the next few months.
[56:50] it's a big step in efficiency. How do we replace assets? When it comes to vehicles and agreement, all assets fall under
[56:55] a seven year 75 mile criteria, this is for critical duty assets, a 10 year 100,000 mile, which is regular duty assets,
[57:02] and exempt, those are assets that we do run till failure,
[57:10] specialized vehicles, equipped, trailers, pumps, you'll see those assets run 20+ years depending on the type of asset that we have. We have big-ticket items this coming year, you'll
[57:21] see a new rescue unit that you've already approved and the purchase on, a sewer cleaning truck for the wastewater
[57:28] division, gravel truck that's our yard waste collection
[57:33] program within sanitation, a new front end loader, that's a 22-year-old asset, and a new street sweeper, we have one and
[57:40] this is our front line and only line unit that we have . Of that you have 3.1 million in rolling stock this coming year with the
[57:46] enterprise other funds funding a majority of these assets. General fund as city manager campbell mentioned, 1.3 out of
[57:59] the general fund for vehicles this coming year, the average age of assets for this plan is 11 years, and on top of that we
[58:06] have other fixed equipment that, like I said, you would normally see come back to you through various agenda items that in the
[58:10] budget that you approved, generators, hvac, water pumps, for our wastewater and water plants, and other standing
[58:18] equipment that takes for these departments to operate,
[58:25] enterprise fund is funding 617,000 of that with general fund at 121,000 and the average age of these outstanding assets
[58:31] is right around 13.5 years. When is the right time to replace an
[58:36] asset? That's something that we're always working on, and what's pictured is the bathtub curve, that is a picture of,
[58:45] when is the ideal time to replace an asset? As you would see the ideal time is when the cost of ownership is at its
[58:50] lowest. Time is here to the right, depreciation of the
[58:56] assets on the left, and our goal, which is often a moving target, is replacing an asset here before the wearout period,
[59:02] before the asset is of no value, and the cost of repairs are high. This is a guiding document, as I mentioned we have
[59:09] policy that guides our vehicle rotation plan. That's captured
[59:16] by policy, we have our five-year capital improvement plan that details those purchases and of course there's funding
[59:20] availability due to if the money is not there, due to
[59:24] determination of need, those assets may move a year. And of
[59:31] course additionally we look at not just buying equipment but we look at rentals, lease purchase options, and often you can rent
[59:35] the asset over a course of several years, and it doesn't just, that's a route that we take, and all departments that
[59:41] have equipment within their purview, they have rental accounts for renting assets as needed for various projects. On
[59:49] the right is a chart that will make much sense, but a visual of
[59:53] our life cycle cost analysis. This is a model that we use for
[1:00:01] strategic planning, and what this does is help us plot the ideal time to replace an asset. Like I said, this is a lot of
[1:00:07] detail, I would have been hiding a bunch of columns and rows here
[1:00:12] to be able to blow it up larger, but, this is an example of how we get the recommendation to replace police patrol vehicles
[1:00:18] at the time and mileage that we do.
[1:00:32] >> on the right won't make much sense, but just a visual of our lifecycle cost analysis, and helps us plot the ideal time to
[1:00:47] replace an asset. Like I said, this is a lot of detail, here. I
[1:00:52] am hiding a bunch of columns and rows to blow debited larger, but this is an example of how we get the recommendation to replace
[1:01:07] police vehicles at the time and mileage we do. Recognizing that your assets are not just buying the asset, but it is the life of
[1:01:11] the asset. So, when we look at asset management, is the acquisition of the asset be purchased through government contracts, a lot of these contracts bring a pretty
[1:01:17] aggressive pricing structure, 20% or 30% above msrp, and we
[1:01:21] are also doing this quickly because when the city of
[1:01:25] fernandina gets behind the city of jacksonville we might not see those assets for a long time, 200 or 300 of a certain vehicle
[1:01:31] instead of three or four. We do try to move quickly to get ahead of those larger agencies. The life of that asset is through
[1:01:37] the maintenance operation by the responding departments and those
[1:01:42] assets are maintained in-house. They are contracted out, and we
[1:01:47] also have internal rotation. As assets get to end-of-life, we move out to the beach, they moved to search and rescue or
[1:01:57] get reallocated within city departments, for the life of that asset. On the back end, all the assets we dispose of are
[1:02:09] fully depreciated, and we do that through a competitive bid process. We also get acquisitions covered by policy
[1:02:13] as the disposal of assets is done through competitive, dove
[1:02:21] deals.com if you want to see what the city is getting rid of.
[1:02:27] that brings $250,000 per year in surplus revenue. That is what we have for the asset replacement plan for this fiscal year. Staff
[1:02:32] recommend approval of resolution 2025-173, and I do have a friendly amendment if you are amenable.
[1:02:40] >> eskimo please. >> in order to not come back here, and a couple of months, commissioner minshew, with the
[1:02:45] next step for the gas removal system, I would like to propose
[1:02:54] a friendly amendment to improve the purchase amendment of a gas removal system for fire station one in the amount not to exceed
[1:02:59] $75,000 from the capital improvement fund. We can go ahead and move forward accordingly if you are so
[1:03:07] inclined to make that amendment to this capital asset replacement plan for fiscal year 25-26.
[1:03:16] >> thank you. Do we have any questions for mr. Gleason, or do we have an amendment? >> I would like to comment,
[1:03:25] quick, that when I was a commission of the first time, we did not have this. We are running vehicles with the wheels
[1:03:32] falling off, and it was costing more money to try to keep these
[1:03:37] things up and running, I believe it was you that put this into action. And, kudos, because things are going so much better.
[1:03:48] >> and also, that the city won a national award for fleet
[1:03:56] management, which is really super impressive, and I agree,
[1:04:02] it is not just saving money for the actual asset, it is saving
[1:04:07] money and staff time when a vehicle doesn't function, staff
[1:04:13] is stuck, unable to do work. That staff time has a value. So,
[1:04:21] I appreciate it. We all do this with our own cars , when cars
[1:04:27] are costing us more than they are worth, but on a fleet scale
[1:04:33] it is impressive and complicated, thank you. >> thank you, commissioner. >> I have one question. With
[1:04:44] this fire department equipment normally be in this budget? >> it would have been included in our fixed asset system.
[1:04:56] without knowing it will be over $50,000 it will have to come back for approval, city manager, I mentioned that we had
[1:05:00] proposals in hands to make that amendment, we can move forward
[1:05:05] with the installation of that system, rather than come back to you. >> so, I would move that we
[1:05:14] approve resolution 2025-173, including the addition of the
[1:05:20] fire department diesel sump-something, equipment
[1:05:28] disposal. >> exhaust gas removal system.
[1:05:35] >> not to exceed $75,000. >> I have your motion, commissioner, but I do have one request for speak, for the sake
[1:05:40] of order I will take a second. Mission and second. Miss julie
[1:05:45] ferrera? You are recognized. >> julie ferrera, 501 eight
[1:05:59] street. I think it is great that we have had national awards .
[1:06:06] jeremiah has been around a long time and knows that occasionally, when we have this conversation about replacing the
[1:06:10] fleet, that I have always gotten it to say that we have the
[1:06:22] nicest police cars in the area. I don't have a problem with new rescue units and grapple trucks, but it seems like, in the spirit
[1:06:27] of saving money, I would like to know what the difference is,
[1:06:33] between a vehicle that has 75,000 miles, and 85,000 miles.
[1:06:37] we are on an island that is three miles wide and 12 miles long . It just seems like rotating every 5 to 7 years is a
[1:06:47] lot. I know that my car has 200 and something thousand miles on
[1:06:54] it, I did not put that much money into it. I did have to put
[1:07:02] $5000 into a transmission, but that was a 200,000 mile -- so, I also wonder if the building department, if it would be wise
[1:07:13] to look at electric vehicles . I don't know what our gasoline
[1:07:17] bill is. And vehicles are extremely expensive because of
[1:07:31] tariffs and other things I know that we buy chevy, but probably be carburetor or something is something that has to come from
[1:07:37] another country and I know that we piggyback off of jacksonville, and we try to buy our vehicles along with however
[1:07:48] many vehicles they buy so that we get a discount, I understand all that but in the spirit of saving money, not to run
[1:07:53] vehicles into the ground, none of us want that, but I am just wondering if there is not a way that we can stretch the amount
[1:07:59] of time that we put into vehicle use, thank you. >> thank you, miss ferrera. So, we have our motion and second.
[1:08:03] any additional commissioner discussion? Seeing none. Miss best, please start the vote.
[1:08:36] >> that motion passes, 5-0. We will move to item 7.5, the
[1:08:41] school year 2026-2027 legislative policy and statutory potential areas of concern . Miss laura lie jacobs is here.
[1:08:50] thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. Mayor. Laura lie jacobs, sr. Administrator. The resolution before you,
[1:08:57] 2025-174 is a follow-up to a discussion we have had our december 2nd meeting. >> that was a fast three
[1:09:05] minutes. >> sorry. >> I want to thank those of you who were able to meet with the
[1:09:16] city lobbyist, jacobs here and myself, over the past week to discuss these bills. As we know, the legislative session moves
[1:09:25] quickly, and I think respectively, identifying legislative policy issues of concern in advance is a great action to take. To complement you for this. At this time,
[1:09:35] there has only been two or three policy bills filed. We are still very early in this session. So, tonight, as I understand in your
[1:09:45] resolution, you have been provided a list of 11 potential legislative concerns that may come up in the upcoming session
[1:09:50] and you have been asked to prioritize those . Those of you
[1:09:56] who do not have your form, miss best is coming down with one. Does everybody have their forms? >> I already did mine.
[1:10:07] >>, good for you. You are so great. >> I thought I was going to be collecting your homework at this
[1:10:14] point. >> beisner?
[1:10:20] >> oh. Very good. >> I will briefly go over them,
[1:10:26] just for the public understanding of them. The first one was the bioethanol issue, which we remember from the
[1:10:35] legislative session was built 118, which sought to add language defining bioethanol production as nonchemical.
[1:10:45] proposals to eliminate reduced property taxes, there are many of those. A big concern is senate bill 180, which imposed
[1:10:53] significant restrictions on local governments ability to
[1:11:04] alter future construction, after a hurricane. And, that affects the entire state. Opposed limits on territorial charges, and
[1:11:14] enterprise transfers. Most of these are recognizing limits on home rule. Support preserving municipal authority, over
[1:11:20] utility revenues and the ability to realize the rate of return on
[1:11:29] utility assets. Support protecting municipal authorities that impact fees, to safeguard existing taxpayers from
[1:11:34] incurring additional infrastructure costs. Proposals to eliminate local business taxes, raising sources of
[1:11:39] revenue for local government and to watch closely for more changes . Opposed large increases to sovereign immunity
[1:11:48] caps that can be passed down to local governance. Dissolution of regional planning councils and redevelopment areas. On your
[1:12:00] form, previously you were asked to identify the strongest concerned issues, the ones that you are going to recommend we
[1:12:04] lobby for, and advocate. This will typically be a small number, just so you do not dilute your effectiveness. We
[1:12:14] already have our two appropriations with legislative priorities, and then the second list is ones that are of such concern to you that you know you will want us come already, even
[1:12:21] at this premature level, to get behind the league of cities position on. We will still be monitored and still be providing
[1:12:35] information as the session progresses, you can add those significant items later, if you see them going out in a way that
[1:12:39] you do not find acceptable. So, at this time, I will turn it back over to you. It might make sense to collectively discuss
[1:12:45] those he rate number one or number two, or other considerations. Thank you. >> thank you ms. Jacobs. Do we
[1:12:51] have anyone kicking off our discussion? >> I would like the ethanol to be number one up there for us to
[1:13:03] pursue . Also, the live local, in addition to that, I would
[1:13:08] like to add that barrier islands be exempt from live local. I
[1:13:18] would like to push towards that, because you know, live local might work for other parts of the state , but having more
[1:13:25] people gym into every type and piece of property left on this item makes no sense to me. So, I would like for this community to
[1:13:33] push for an exemption, not just for fernandina, but for all
[1:13:38] barrier islands . >> thank you, commissioner.
[1:13:43] beisner? >> thank you. I know we talked about this last meeting, about when we prioritized our
[1:13:50] appropriations , or at least set our appropriations. I have been
[1:13:56] on record many times saying I am not big on getting involved in
[1:14:05] state policy. I am a budget guy, I am a person who looks after, hey, what can we do to go find appropriations within the state
[1:14:13] , and that has been the focus since the time that I have been on the commission, and going back to it, I want to thank both
[1:14:18] senator yarborough, and representative black, you have
[1:14:26] done a phenomenal job. The job that we have done in those three years, you're one that I was here, we had $1 million that was
[1:14:31] put into appropriations. The governor unfortunately redlined
[1:14:42] that one, but year two we had $3.5 million that our legislatures were able to get in the budget. We lost 1 million of
[1:14:47] that from the governor's pen. This past year, focusing solely on appropriations, we were able to get $4 million, which made up
[1:14:52] almost 25% of house district 15's appropriations that they got, what did we do when we focused hard on appropriations?
[1:15:06] $8.5 million put in a budget for a city of 13,000. That is amazing. Fernandina has led the way, almost, from senate
[1:15:12] district 4 and house district 15 in our appropriations, it's all
[1:15:18] of our hard work from legislatures and lobbyists. I am just not big focusing on policy. We have a lobbying arm for that
[1:15:24] in the league of cities and league of counties, they are constantly in their ear . I think when you start to really
[1:15:31] try to put our lobbyists , it is not just the two that we go to
[1:15:39] and try to push this. You have to go into the leadership chamber, you have to go into legislatures that are going to
[1:15:47] want to listen to you, so you only have a few minutes. The four or five of us have been over there, you know when we go
[1:15:53] in to see the legislature you have five minutes, max. A lot of
[1:15:58] that is just eaten up with hellos. So, if the message gets
[1:16:03] sprawled out to five or six or seven items you will lose focus on those appropriations items . It will be very difficult to
[1:16:10] continue that, forward, because again, putting our lobbyist in front of every single person and trying to knock down four or
[1:16:15] five different items that are policy , not just appropriations, it makes it difficult . That is why, again,
[1:16:31] I am against our city getting involved in policy, I am strictly about appropriations, I decided to make my stance known.
[1:16:36] that is not something -- I haven't said on records multiple times. Throughout the process, people have asked me
[1:16:42] and I have written emails, you know, it is just not something that I typically get involved in. Thank you, that's it.
[1:16:49] >> thank you, beisner. Commissioner tuten? >> I agree with commissioner ayscue to a large degree. I
[1:17:01] definitely agree with commissioner poynter that we put bioethanol as number one , that we would like you all to
[1:17:07] directly lobby that bioethanol language does not sneak back into some bill. But, after that, I agree with commissioner ayscue
[1:17:19] , that we are such a small little city, that my biggest interest is the $4 million we have asked for , and that for a
[1:17:30] lot of this, absolutely, I agree with the florida league of cities. We should not illuminate property tax. How will we fund
[1:17:39] our government? We should make sure this bill 180 gets fixed, and all these other things. I completely agree about the
[1:17:45] barrier islands, and live local act, but, I feel like leaving
[1:17:50] that to tampa or orlando, or miami, somebody bigger to fight
[1:17:55] . That is my opinion. >> thank you, commissioner.
[1:17:59] commissioner minshew? >> while we stand there with our
[1:18:08] handout, asking for money in one hand, the other hand is being tied behind our back, and we are being -- our ability to
[1:18:18] function, and our ability to support this city is being taken away, bill by bill by bill. If all we do is ask for money, at
[1:18:29] some point, there is not going to be anything else we are allowed to do. Just because we instruct our lobbyist to keep an
[1:18:40] eye on these bills, and to pay attention to them, and to act on
[1:18:44] them if he needs to at his discretion, does not take away
[1:18:49] from our ability to ask for appropriations. And you know, I
[1:19:02] cannot tell you how many people have come up here and talked about live local, have talked about density, have talked about
[1:19:07] all of the things that we are struggling with not being able to do. If we just continue to never say anything about those
[1:19:15] issues, then we are doing our citizens a huge disservice. We have to do more than just ask for money and beg. We are a
[1:19:24] vibrant, active city , we have a lot of diverse city -- density
[1:19:29] issues. We have a lot of issues about how we allocate and get
[1:19:42] money. We are not a taxing authority. We have to stand in
[1:19:48] everybody's door with our hand out and say, please may I have a dollar? So, we do that. But, we can also do this. I feel really
[1:19:54] strongly that, at a minimum , we need to say these issues are
[1:20:04] important to us and leave it to the discretion of a very knowledgeable and experienced lobbyist , to do what is right.
[1:20:10] and I think that mr. Jacobs knows when he needs to intervene
[1:20:16] and when he doesn't, and all this is doing is giving him a little bit more direction than we have given him in the past.
[1:20:21] >> thank you, commissioner. I have no other request to speak
[1:20:30] from the commission at this time, and I see no request for public comment. Commissioner tuten?
[1:20:34] >> so, commissioner minshew, do you recommend putting more
[1:20:39] direction putting anything besides bioethanol as a want to
[1:20:46] directly lobby? >> yes. I mean, you know, one of
[1:20:54] the things they want to do is take away our ability to do the
[1:20:59] a 25% surcharge for people coming into the city, just to get city sewer and water. That money is not just frivolously
[1:21:07] spent, it is used, directly, to continue to improve and increase
[1:21:13] our wastewater capability. If we lose that money, and we lose the
[1:21:18] ability to do that surcharge, then we have reduced the ability
[1:21:27] to manage and maintain our wastewater system. And, that is something , I have already asked laura lie, I said get with
[1:21:32] finance, and get with andre, and I want to know how much money that is bringing in. What are we doing with it, and give that
[1:21:41] information to mr. Jacobs, so that when he is in tallahassee,
[1:21:45] and this issue comes up, he can actually say, that is an impact to my city of this much money, and if you make us lose that
[1:21:53] money, we cannot recover it someplace else. Except by
[1:21:58] raising taxes. Right? Or raising fees, or raising utility rates.
[1:22:03] which none of us want to do, because why should we continue
[1:22:08] to burden our citizens , over and over again, for things that
[1:22:13] tallahassee doesn't understand and we are not speaking up about. There is more to life than just asking for
[1:22:22] appropriations. And I just think that, we are not asking him to
[1:22:28] stand out on the street corner with a sign, marching up and down and managing protests. We are just asking him to
[1:22:38] understand that these issues are important to us, and as they
[1:22:43] become an issue that is at the top of the table, that we can respond to it. Otherwise, he just -- you know, has to keep
[1:22:51] his hands in his pockets, and not get engaged, and that is not
[1:23:03] really what we want. That is not what I want, anyway? I want a lobbyist that represents all the needs of our community and our
[1:23:08] city. And I don't think it is too big of an ask. >> thank you, commissioner. I have no other request to speak
[1:23:13] from the commission. And any other questions from mr. Jacobs?
[1:23:18] >> what are we doing with this? >> we have to kind of agree on
[1:23:24] at least a few priorities if we are going in that direction. My understanding, vice mayor is that you want to keep this as
[1:23:30] simple stick as possible, but I think it would be fair to take our reading and tally that, without not be appropriate, miss
[1:23:38] best? Pass these down and see what they add up to. >> just to clarify, while you're putting your rating, ms. Jacobs
[1:23:45] is in my office, so I want to make sure we are clear. If they put a number one, that will direct the lobbyist because they
[1:23:55] put a 2 on something, then that is just -- the city wishes to support the league of cities's position, and mr. Jacobs would
[1:24:04] not take any lobbying action. One is the city's lobbyist to support the league of cities, correct?
[1:24:09] >> that is how the form is explained in the document, and
[1:24:15] that has been my understanding before. >> commissioner minshew? >> why are we tying the hands of
[1:24:22] our lobbyist? He is a very experienced lobbyist, he has
[1:24:26] been over there for years and years, we pay him good money, why would we deny him the ability to intervene on any of
[1:24:34] these issues that are critical and important to us? Frankly, all of them are. I don't know if it is a matter of saying he
[1:24:48] cannot say anything about it, it is a matter of saying, these are our priorities, use your good judgment to figure out where you
[1:24:54] need to intervene, and where you don't. When you need to speak and when you don't. That is what we pay him for. So, why are
[1:24:59] we tying his hands? >> mr. Jacobs, would you like to speak to white you ask them to do members wonder gentoo dig?
[1:25:09] >> definitely number one it is critically important, because that is actual direction with what he will work on. What we
[1:25:16] will prepare for talking point papers when you all come. Number 2, I thought we would catch more categories, and maybe prioritize
[1:25:23] some of the ones that you already know. We saw these all last year. If there are ones that through your experience
[1:25:30] last year are your concerns, but that number 2 to get behind the
[1:25:36] league of cities. That was my intention. >> that doesn't mean that he cannot speak about them. >> thank you, mr. Goodson. Commissioner minshew, I think I
[1:25:50] understand it the way that mr. Jacobs has excellent which I agree with you, we should not be telling our lobbyist what to do,
[1:25:55] but I believe we are just, as the vice mayor said, if we go and we have five number one priorities, by definition, a
[1:26:02] priority means the number one thing. I do think we should keep it to a shorter list , or if we feel any of these are not
[1:26:10] relevant which I think most of the commission would agree they all are, that a3 would be relevant in that moment.
[1:26:19] >> if you would like mr. Jacobs to add any insight he might have. >> would you like to come up,
[1:26:23] mr. Jacobs, and add some color to the discussion?
[1:26:29] >> I just want you to know, first, that I appreciate very much, being the person who gets to represent you. I am just in
[1:26:43] sales. You all are in management. So whatever you want me to do, that is what I am going to do. I appreciate that
[1:26:48] opportunity so, whatever you want me to do I will do, this is my 63rd year of being involved with the legislature and I was
[1:26:56] not 12 when I started. We have really good support in the
[1:27:03] legislature. Whatever you all want us to do, we can do. We
[1:27:08] have been blessed and very successful, with clay yarbrough,
[1:27:13] great personal friend of ours. We have dean black, a great
[1:27:19] friend, and very good to us, he is a personal friend, too. So,
[1:27:26] whatever you all want me to do, I will do, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to do it. So, just tell me what you want to
[1:27:33] do, and let me just say something to you, I have been involved with the legislature , for the city, I guess over 20
[1:27:39] years, and I have really enjoyed each one of you, and whenever
[1:27:46] you all came to tallahassee, last year, you had impact. We
[1:27:50] went to kill the ethanol bill, we would see the chairman in the
[1:27:54] house, the chairman in the senate, and your presence and what you had to say was very influential. I invite you back
[1:28:09] again this year, we want you to come, because you all do have impact. So, whatever you want me to do, I will do. I do not care
[1:28:14] about what it is that you decided to do. Just let me know, I'm glad to do it. And again, I am in sales, not management. So
[1:28:20] you tell me what to do and that is what I will do. And really, being real honest with it, you are all in management and I am
[1:28:30] in sales. >> thank you, mr. Jacobs. >> as I have seen you operate, it seems like the best model is
[1:28:37] to take a vote and majority prevails. I think this would get
[1:28:43] complicated, if individual commissioners directed him to pursue different aims. >> I agree.
[1:28:52] >> I wouldn't do that. >> just like how we put in our
[1:28:56] city visioning session, the order of priorities for
[1:29:04] different objectives, those would be the ones that would be most effective to have our lobbyists keep an eye on and
[1:29:10] when the commission is able to give a little more interpretation, if there is anything bubbling around , this
[1:29:16] commission can then direct them to give it more attention at this time. >> okay. I do know how to
[1:29:22] statistically wait those with this type of scoring, which is
[1:29:26] why I chose it. But, does there have to be a public vote , or
[1:29:30] can I score by collecting the tallies turned in?
[1:29:38] >> right now I think what is happening is that miss best is scoring them. If you have an indication of how you thought
[1:29:43] they should be scored we should probably discuss that, and then they will put the tally up, as to the top items, and then I
[1:29:51] would suggest that the commission should vote on that, or discuss it and see if they want to rearrange it. It will
[1:29:56] require a vote. You have a resolution that says you are
[1:30:01] authorizing items, but some of this is how you will pick the items. So, the short answer is yes, we will have to vote.
[1:30:11] >> we don't have an electronic way to tally the provided, but we have our sheets here. Would you like us to read the top four
[1:30:20] into the record? >> certainly. >> bioethanol which is the lowest scoring, which means it
[1:30:26] is the highest scoring. The second one was the proposals to eliminate property taxes, third-place tied with proposed
[1:30:38] limits to extraterritorial surcharges, and enterprise funds transfers, as well as the live local act.
[1:30:43] >> thank you, miss best. Is there any commission or comments regarding those top four, any lack of consensus about those we
[1:30:54] might pursue? Is there anything not in that list that we would
[1:31:02] like to make sure is also emphasized, even if it is not number one? Seeing none. Would it be appropriate, met him
[1:31:14] attorney, to take a motion on supporting those four legislator directives? >> for item number 1, and then if you will do any to direct the league of cities, that would be
[1:31:20] a separate motion. >> thank you. Do I have a motion? >> I moved to approve the top
[1:31:30] four that we just picked, and everything else on the list would go to the league of cities.
[1:31:37] >> supporting the position for the league of cities. Do I have a second? Any commission or discussion? I would just like to
[1:31:47] add in as mentioned earlier that if we can say any other priorities arise, we would then bring that back to the
[1:31:52] commission to amend this intention in our direction. So,
[1:31:58] I would support that accordingly, and seeing no further discussion, no public comment, miss best, please start the vote. I have you for 8.1, sorry, would you like to speak
[1:32:07] on this item? Come on up. >> julie ferreira, 501 dade
[1:32:26] street I just want to say that money is our lifeline. He has
[1:32:35] contacts left right in the middle, he has long-term friendships, I think that he needs full leniency to respond .
[1:32:44] things pop up in the legislature all of the time . Jennys has a great point about home rule. Home rule is being sliced and
[1:32:52] diced and this city needs to push back. Senate bill 180 is a terrible bill. It is being pushed back on throughout the
[1:33:00] state , and why we don't have that on our list is beyond me. I
[1:33:07] am glad that no ethanol gets great support because under no ethanol -- but, I also don't understand why we think that but
[1:33:17] he would only get five minutes with people. I went to the state legislature and I sat down with both black and yarbrough, one I
[1:33:24] got 45 minutes with and the other I got 35 minutes with. I don't think that we can say that but he will only get five
[1:33:30] minutes with somebody. So, let's be as simple stick as we
[1:33:35] can. I just hope that, you think about 180, that you also about just giving him leniency to keep his ear to the ground. He knows
[1:33:45] what is good for fernandina, and what is not good for fernandina. Right? Right? >> thank you, miss ferreira. We
[1:33:51] have our motion and second and mr. Jacobs, would you like to
[1:33:59] add a comment? >> I would like to reassure miss ferreira that senate bill 180 will be hard-fought at the state level. The league of cities will fight that hard, and there are
[1:34:07] lawsuits , and we are approved to work with the league of
[1:34:13] cities on that one, so I don't think it will be ignored. >> thank you, mr. Jacobs. All right, folks. We have our vote.
[1:34:26] that motion passes 4-1. Once again, for a point of order, do
[1:34:32] we need a second motion for any secondary priorities? >> commissioner poynter printed it all in one. The only thing is
[1:34:40] that on the cover sheet, ms. Jacobs did point out that there are five league of cities policy cities that a commission may
[1:34:48] discuss and appoint commissioners to serve on, that
[1:34:53] would have to be done at a public meeting meeting, for this
[1:35:01] agenda item if you would like mistake is to address it now or bring it back at another meeting, or just not discuss or vote on it at all. That is on your covert summary sheet, and
[1:35:08] that is something you will have to have separate submission on if you so choose. >> are we ready to talk about
[1:35:23] it? >> I think commissioner minshew makes a fair point. If this could be brought back at a
[1:35:27] future meeting so commission has time to review this information and can make a better decision, I think that would be good. >>, asked the question? When would you need this in?
[1:35:35] >> I can do it at the next meeting. I did hear from one commissioner is specified a certain policy committee and
[1:35:42] another commissioner two, provided that list in the email
[1:35:47] yesterday. So, it does seem like this is a little bit in process. >> is there a deadline to get this done, before certain time
[1:35:53] in the legislative session? Or is this done at the league of cities? >> it will be done at the league
[1:35:59] of cities meet, they do have a policy meeting in september .
[1:36:03] next week, in fact that I was going to send you information for that, but anyone can go. >> thank you, mr. Mr. Buddy
[1:36:15] jacobs? >> I just want to say thank you to sarah. She did a great job. She has been involved in the literature for a long time, too. And she did start when she was
[1:36:22] 12. Anyway, you will really have a great opportunity this year, I think we will do well, and I appreciate your support. What I
[1:36:28] have noticed about all of you all , you're really servant leaders. You care more about all of these folks in this room then
[1:36:38] you care about yourselves, and I thank you all very much for
[1:36:42] doing that but I appreciate it. >> thank you, mr. Jacobs. So, we have our tabling of that
[1:36:48] discussion for the next meeting, our postponement. Which I believe brings us along to our 7.6 , our opioid litigation. Is
[1:36:59] that you as well, mr. Jacobs? Take us away. >> okay. You all are familiar, I am sure, with the opioid
[1:37:03] settlements florida. It was aggressive in securing opioid settlement funding , that being funding produced by drug
[1:37:12] manufacturers and purveyors that contributed to the opioid
[1:37:17] epidemic. So we had already received one funding stream
[1:37:22] through that. There are two more national opioid settlements, and they are perdue and sackler, mylan's son and zydus. So, this
[1:37:34] resolution just direct the city to pursue a settlement through
[1:37:42] those a settlements. >> thank you. Do I have any questions? >> thank you for keeping an eye out for these. >> I will add, you will see
[1:37:48] another resolution on this. We do not know how much money we
[1:37:53] will get at this time, because it depends on how many jurisdictions apply for state funds. At some point they will
[1:37:57] let us know and the police department will make recommendations for their use, so we will see the final
[1:38:02] decision-making again. >> thank you. Are there any additional questions for ms. Jacobs? Seeing on, and I have no
[1:38:07] request to speak from the audience, we have the motion? >> I have a motion in the second. Any additional
[1:38:14] discussion? Seeing none. Miss best, please start the vote.
[1:38:37] that motion passes 5-0 which brings us to 7.7. Credit card surcharge fees, amending resolution 2021-140. Take us away, miss campbell. >> thank you, this is a
[1:38:42] consideration of resolution 2025-176, which would broaden our ability to correct collect credit card processing fees. In
[1:38:51] 2021, when the commission adopted this resolution, only certain departments were authorized, and that was utility billing, code enforcement, planning, conservation, and
[1:38:56] police . We are being increasingly burdened by these
[1:39:00] merchant fees, particularly at the golf course, and marina. So, we would like the ability to charge credit card convenience
[1:39:04] fees . Under florida statute, we are limited to only actual
[1:39:13] charges. We can only pass along what we are actually being assessed. But, this would broaden this to all city
[1:39:17] departments, and for an example, the golf course had about
[1:39:22] $58,000 in merchant fees this year , and the marina was over
[1:39:26] $200,000 of merchant fees. So, this goes a long way in sharpening those two energize funds , bringing them into the
[1:39:35] black, into the operating area. Staff highly recommends approval of this . >> thank you, miss campbell. Any
[1:39:45] questions from the commission on this item? Seeing none, with no request to speak from the audience, do I have a motion?
[1:39:50] >> I moved to approve resolution 2021 -176.
[1:39:56] >> I have a motion and the second. Any additional discussion? >> I just want to thank miss campbell. If the state authorizes us to capture these
[1:40:03] fees, we are all confronted with that everywhere. You know, to pay by check or ach or cash, instead of paying those fees .
[1:40:13] so, if we are authorized to capture them, we need to capture
[1:40:17] them. I we have some of the highest credit card fees in the
[1:40:22] world. Thank you. >> thank you, commissioner.
[1:40:27] >> as a small business owner, we pay credit card fees . With the
[1:40:40] motion and second, no additional discussion noted, miss best, will you please start the boat? That motion passes 5-0. 's
[1:40:56] second reading of the master fee schedule. Miss campbell? >> thank you, mayor. This is the second reading of the annual fee
[1:41:01] schedule update. I will ask attorney prince to read into the record by title only and I can describe some of the amendments
[1:41:06] that are proposed. >> ordinance 2025-09, and ordinance of the city of fernandina beach florida to
[1:41:11] establish fees for the airport, building, business, services,
[1:41:19] code enforcement, cemetery, city parks office, city manager's office, fire, golf club, marina, parks and recreation, planning and conservation, police, sanitation, stormwater, streets,
[1:41:28] wastewater, water, and impact fees, excluding water and sewer capacity fees , for fiscal year 2025-2026, authorizing
[1:41:34] administrator of -- of scrivener's errors, providing
[1:41:44] for severability and providing for an effective date, thank you, mr. Mayor. >> thank you, misprints. >> so, in the attachments, which is 31 pages, all of the
[1:41:51] departments are covered. We make numerous changes, and all the department we listed in the title . Some that I will point
[1:41:57] out briefly, we now have a rental rate for this space, for city hall chambers, golf and marina, we made significant
[1:42:05] adjustments, too, and gave them the ability to flex rates during peak usage , peak seasons, this gives them a lot more
[1:42:12] flexibility and efficiency on those rates . Parks, a number of
[1:42:17] adjustments in the parks area. Planning and conservation, nothing to cause significant. There were some fees we were
[1:42:27] charging already that had not been codified, so we are cutting them down in this policy, now. Adjusted the closure of center
[1:42:35] street rates and side street rates , to have more teeth when
[1:42:43] somebody tries to close down a road that impacts the central business district. I am happy to answer any questions you might
[1:42:49] have on other miscellaneous changes. >> are there any questions from miss campbell on the current fee
[1:42:54] schedule? Commissioner minshew? >> so, I am looking for it, now.
[1:43:07] the cleaning deposit for parades , under parks.
[1:43:11] >> page 15. It is up on the screen, as well.
[1:43:19] >> so, the last time this city worked to redo special event
[1:43:27] stuff, I worked really closely with the current city legal
[1:43:35] staff about the ability to have a reasonable price for grade permits. It is a first amendment issue. There is research that I
[1:43:44] found from aclu that talked about, you cannot use fees to
[1:43:50] prevent first amendment rights activities. And if you do, then
[1:43:57] you have to have some way for people to ask for exemptions ,
[1:44:07] because they are indigent or whatever, so that everyone has the ability to do this. With that, the fee was set at $25,
[1:44:14] which I think has been fine, it has not been a big issue. Now, there is a $250 security deposit for parades, which, I understand
[1:44:26] security deposit for when you are living in central park or
[1:44:32] you are renting out something big for a special event, but I do not understand why we would ask somebody for a $250 cleaning
[1:44:41] or security deposit for a parade that is a $25 fee , and has
[1:44:51] actually got a bunch of first amendment rights issues associated with it, so, I would either like us to take it out,
[1:45:00] or to understand how we would wave it upon request, if someone
[1:45:09] came in and said they were indigent and cannot afford a $250 security fee , but that they want to have a parade for a
[1:45:16] particular issue. >> thank you, commissioner. Either miss campbell or misprints, do we have a fee
[1:45:23] waiver application process? >> I cannot look at anything in
[1:45:28] the code related to parks waivers , or parade waivers specifically. >> if you wanted to, legally,
[1:45:38] because it would be less restrictive, you could remove it, or you could vote to approve it with and amendment of the
[1:45:42] ability to waive it based on indigence, and we would have to
[1:45:50] bring something back for a proper application, or bring up some sort of form, but you could approve it with that condition,
[1:45:55] that a waiver is created on the basis of indigency. >> can we also ask as to why we added this?
[1:46:09] >> that would be my question. >> how do you decide that a parade needs to be cleaned up? >> it is a security deposit.
[1:46:17] normal you can get it back if it is clean. >> scott michelson, department of parks and recreation. My
[1:46:27] recommendation would be that if you wanted to take it out, just take the parade aspect out, and leave the for other facilities.
[1:46:35] the intention was not to prohibit anybody , just like a
[1:46:40] rental at central park, a parade it involves a lot to do. Sometimes there is clean up after it. It is more the intent
[1:46:47] to make sure the people who are holding these events are
[1:46:53] accountable. Like commissioner poynter was saying, it is a deposit. We are more than happy to return it , it is just
[1:47:01] sometimes, with any event, there can be issues afterwards.
[1:47:06] >> thank you. >> so, for the last two or three
[1:47:18] years, since we have had this $25 permit, have we had issues with parades that would cause us to want to do this?
[1:47:24] >> I would say, after a parade, including streets, I think there is a lot of cleanup that is done after the event .
[1:47:34] >> by the parks department, or by the streets department? >> a combination. >> you don't give any of that
[1:47:39] money if it is kept to the streets department? >> it would be in the general fund.
[1:47:48] >> to me, it is a first amendment issue. >> I believe it with the commission, parks and recreation
[1:47:55] has no problem with it being removed if that is the will. >> commissioner tuten? >> will make one comment that I
[1:48:05] live relatively close to central park, and after almost every single event there, I purposefully walk the dog in
[1:48:10] that direction, because there is so much trash to be picked up, but we still get it, for events, you get it. So if you are having
[1:48:22] an event at central park, you pay $250 deposits, and every time we are good stewards, and we clean up
[1:48:32] >> that is correct. >> I'm talking specifically
[1:48:40] about parades. >> one thing with parades is,
[1:48:48] where people are setting up for the parade is in central park.
[1:48:56] >> it is a first amendment right issue to me. >> I totally agree, and I went refute your point, but I do see
[1:49:04] the need that if the city will be burdened with a potential cleanup that there is some safety mechanism, that there is
[1:49:11] teeth to the contract, there is skin in the game on the vendor or the interested party that holds the event. But that the
[1:49:16] will of this commission I would be happy to move this be applied
[1:49:22] to events instead of parades. >> how often, when you give back
[1:49:27] -- parades have never had it? This is the first time. So it
[1:49:33] wasn't even a $25 thing? >> it was the permit that was
[1:49:38] 25. The permit was $25, so there was not a deposit. So, we have
[1:49:43] not held it. I will say that
[1:49:55] -- willing to work with us. So, I don't think it will be a
[1:50:05] problem either way. >> let me ask one more question. If you have a special event and a parade, today, you are paying
[1:50:14] the special event fee, and you are also paying the $25 parade fee, are you going to get charged two cleanup fees?
[1:50:19] >> no you will not. You would pay the $25 permit fee for the
[1:50:25] parade, and then if this would proceed, you would then now have
[1:50:34] to make a deposit, which would be refundable after the parade.
[1:50:38] >> I don't think that is what she was asking. >> oh, I'm sorry. >> so, today, if I want to have
[1:50:45] an event at special central park, I pay the special event
[1:50:50] fee and I pay the 250 dollars deposit for central park, and I
[1:50:57] have a parade, too, is that a second $250 fee? >> no. We wouldn't do that. >> well, it doesn't say that.
[1:51:04] >> we did have that conversation. I think it would
[1:51:09] be the higher of the two deposits, with the rental fees,
[1:51:16] based on rental fees if it is 50% of the rental fee, whichever is higher at that point we would do that deposit. If that makes
[1:51:24] sense? >> I will make a motion to
[1:51:33] remove the $250 deposit for parade.
[1:51:41] >> I have emotion. Approving the rest of the fee schedule ending? >> I have emotion, to have a second? Motion and second. Any
[1:51:51] additional discussion? >> I just have a question. How many parades do we have in the city of fernandina beach?
[1:52:01] >> I am not 100% sure off the top of my head, but I would say maybe 10 or 12 throughout the year. The majority of people
[1:52:07] having parades are local organizations , that people know
[1:52:13] in the community. >> thank you, vice mayor. With
[1:52:22] no additional discussion or request to speak from the
[1:52:30] audience, miss best, please start the boat. >> which boat is this? >> this is to remove the $250
[1:52:34] fee . >> to approve the whole thing?
[1:52:42] >> no, this is just a motion to remove the $250 fee. This is
[1:52:47] just an amendment. >> commissioner tuten?
[1:53:12] >> thank you, everybody. >> now, and I have a motion regarding the remainder? >> to approve. >> second. Any additional commissioner discussion? Seeing
[1:53:18] them, miss best, please start the event.
[1:53:33] >> that motion passes, that brings us to item 9, our city
[1:53:42] manager reports. >> several things for you tonight. I wanted to give an update after four full weeks of
[1:53:46] the grocery getter shuttle, we have had 27 protestants in that
[1:53:51] program, it averages about 7 writers per week. We will
[1:53:56] continue to track that as we get it from the parks department.
[1:54:02] the city received correspondence from our partners at oasis
[1:54:06] marina, they have been acquired , and they are now called alliance marine . No changes to the staff that we are working
[1:54:17] with , and legal will be reviewing the agreement to
[1:54:21] determine whether we need to update that agreement, since it is being assigned to a new organization. I wanted to thank
[1:54:34] miss carless and miss brown, jeremiah, and all of the other department directors for their work on the budget. We spent
[1:54:39] hours and hours, together, myself and miss carless, being
[1:54:49] new to our roles, I think it took us some extra time but we wanted to make sure that we have a full grasp of every single
[1:54:54] fund, and I think smooth passage tonight speaks volume to their effort, including how they put it together. So, we have
[1:55:01] established the public stakeholder group to discuss paid parking. Their first meeting will be thursday
[1:55:11] afternoon at 3:30 p.m. I believe that agenda has been posted, now. We have some discussion items for them to consider, and
[1:55:20] then again, it will come to the commission for a workshop on october 7th. I wanted to thank the I.t. Department for the
[1:55:24] monitors behind us. They were up last meeting but not functioning
[1:55:34] yet, so now the audience should have full visual kit ability, no matter where in the room they are to see what is going on, on
[1:55:39] the big screen. Lastly, I have been invited to tallahassee, to speak as a panelist, to the house select committee on
[1:55:47] property taxes. I will be going to tallahassee on september 23rd
[1:55:55] , representing small cities. There will be a city manager from a small city, a medium city, and a large city, and our
[1:55:59] role is to educate the panelists about how it works, how we plan
[1:56:03] our budget, I am not there to lobby , or to apply for a
[1:56:08] particular position, but I am there to educate them about how
[1:56:15] gets calculated, that sort of thing. So, I will report back how that goes. That is all I have. Thank you. Happy to answer
[1:56:21] any questions. >> questions for ms. Campbell? >> I have one question. Regarding oasis, do we want to
[1:56:27] add, at some point, 28 workshop agenda, halfway through the
[1:56:33] year, sometime in the spring, on potentially bringing marina
[1:56:37] management in-house before that one year contract is over?
[1:56:42] >> sure. >> any objection? Let's get it on a workshop. Any other questions for ms. Campbell
[1:56:53] before we pass it along to miss best? Seeing none. >> thank you. Be paid parking initiative committee had their
[1:57:00] certification requirement . That item will be on your october 21st regular meeting agenda for consideration . Pending your
[1:57:10] forward movement , we will -- that item will go to the ballot,
[1:57:18] or not, depending on how you vote on october 21st. >> thank you, miss best. Any questions for miss best? Seeing
[1:57:24] none. City attorney reports? >> thank you, mr. Mayor. I have
[1:57:29] a few items tonight. One, I wanted to update to the
[1:57:33] commission on potential tax deed sale that we would bring to you
[1:57:41] tonight, as an expansion item, but, we learned at the 11th hour before coming to this meeting, that someone went on behalf of
[1:57:47] the property owner and paid the $3200.90 owed in property taxes
[1:57:54] . The owner of the property is denton llc, it was an llc that
[1:57:58] has a georgia address. It purchased the property at a tax
[1:58:05] deed sale in 2009. At some point in 2019, it stopped -- denton stopped paying taxes, and one of the tax certificates that it
[1:58:14] sold was right for a tax deed to be requested, the cell was
[1:58:18] october 7th. Golf group holdings acquisition is the one who paid
[1:58:22] the taxes, on behalf of the property owner. That does not give them any rights, and mr. Jeremiah glisson has brought up
[1:58:35] the property. We want to let you know that it is completely wet .
[1:58:42] mr. Glisan can show you that. We have spoken with the county, I
[1:58:48] spoke with brandon carvalho, who also spent time with county
[1:58:53] manager pope. It is completely wet, the property appraisers
[1:58:59] site it is designated as wasteland. The commission , the
[1:59:05] city manager consented to bring to the commission because it is adjacent to city property , and we wanted to hear your thoughts
[1:59:12] on bidding . We don't have the opportunity anymore, but I
[1:59:20] don't have a lot of concerns, my presentation tonight was going to inform you that there is not much you can do with this
[1:59:24] property. There is actually nothing you can do with this property it is not developable, based on the wetlands, and it
[1:59:31] does not have access, so there would be issues that would have to be resolved, and from the county perspective, because it
[1:59:36] is property within the county, it is not developable, based on
[1:59:40] their reviews. While it was an opportunity that the commission
[1:59:45] may move forward on, we will not be moving forward if the taxes
[1:59:52] have not been paid, we will find in a few years that it comes up again, because, you know, they stopped paying taxes when they
[1:59:59] realized. So that item did not come before you tonight, but ms. Kirkland had sent information to the county and mr. Glisson,
[2:00:07] forwarded it to me, we coordinated with the county to
[2:00:18] make sure we would not be in a bidding war and today, we found out taxes were paid on behalf of the landowner, so there we are.
[2:00:23] but I just wanted to bring it up, since we had let ms. Kirkland know we would be speaking aloud about it and a
[2:00:28] lot of people were interested. The other matter I would like to bring before you at the next meeting, on october 7th --
[2:00:33] >> before you bring up the second one, can I have a question about that? I know this was going to all happen really
[2:00:38] fast, and we would hopefully authorize the city manager to use the money in the conservation fund. Is there any
[2:00:45] merit, or any ability to make that kind of emotion, now, that
[2:00:51] if something similar were to come up some of that we would authorize the city manager to use the balance of the
[2:00:58] conservation land fund? >> that would be great. However,
[2:01:07] the commission agenda that I had put together was an extremely complex -- because you had several steps, if it is $100,000
[2:01:19] or more, you have to get an appraisal, if it is 100,000 or less, you are allowed to vote to waive the appraisal. You would
[2:01:24] have to get the city manager a limit which we would do tonight, you would have to get the city manager the authority to do ,
[2:01:34] due diligence. The reason this would be an expansion item is that we only get 30 days notice on a tax deed sale. That came
[2:01:39] into my office on the ninth, on a tuesday. I it is a great idea but it is a bit complex. It is something we will have to bring
[2:01:45] to you again, in this kind of situation. We have discussed, ms. Campbell and I, about amending your section of the
[2:01:49] code , to allow for emergency measures, which would be a tax
[2:01:55] deed sale, a sheriff's sale. And handling it by ordinance, to
[2:02:03] give more authority to the city manager for those things which are truly triggered so quickly, that it is very difficult for us
[2:02:08] to jump on top of it. But, I it is too complex, to just make a motion to do it at that time. >> any other questions on that
[2:02:17] particular piece of property? The other matter I would like to
[2:02:26] bring before you at the next commission meeting is your communications media technology, cmt procedures you have in
[2:02:34] place. Earlier tonight I spoke about your commissioner policies
[2:02:40] and procedures, and that has been adopted and in place. You have a separate technology agenda policy, that has not been
[2:02:46] of repealed or changed since covid, and it does not allow any
[2:02:52] form of, for anybody to attend via zoom , any commission or
[2:03:04] board member to attend via zoom unless there is an executive order of the governor. So, that is a very broad , and probably
[2:03:12] two extreme and does not allow for us to period if we need to, in a truly extenuating circumstance. You have to have a
[2:03:21] quorum in person. No doubt you would have to have three. I will give some examples in the attorney general opinions, you
[2:03:30] have covid and don't want to come to the meeting, that is an extenuating circumstance. You have a family member die, you
[2:03:34] have -- one of the examples was back surgery and they could not
[2:03:43] come to the meeting. Those would be times when we would allow a commissioner or board member to potentially appear via zoom. So,
[2:03:48] I would bring it to you for you to look at. Looking at the extenuating circumstances. It came up, because of our board of
[2:03:55] adjustments, again. We had the trend dolly appeal set for
[2:04:01] tomorrow , and now we are down to four. And we had to postpone
[2:04:07] that appeal. Nothing to do with the comments that were said earlier, but we do not have the ability. We had one extenuating
[2:04:16] circumstance, somebody had to be called out of town, we don't have the ability to allow him to appear via zoom. For the record,
[2:04:22] all of the attorneys involved , mr. Poole will be representing
[2:04:27] the board, I will be representing staff, mr. Anspach or is the owner applicant, and ms. Krasner is represented by
[2:04:40] mr. Brooks. So, all of the attorneys got on the phone and said, there is no way we can violate your policy. So, we
[2:04:45] could not allow the board member to appear via zoom even though
[2:04:52] he was willing to put that is what brought this to my attention and we thought we would like to bring it back
[2:04:57] october 7th, because we have an october 15th, now, board of adjustments appeal, and if this came up, I would again not have
[2:05:02] any ability in a true emergency. Is is not I forgot I will be out of town, there has to be some sort of extended waiting
[2:05:07] circumstance, so, I would like, with your consensus, to bring it back to be something that we could look at and vote on.
[2:05:13] >> absolutely. Any objection from the commission? Seeing none. Thank you. >> on that note, the appeal has
[2:05:17] been moved to the third wednesday, october 15th, and for
[2:05:22] the board of adjustments meeting. Then, lastly, the sales tax on leases has been repealed. So, I know our comptroller, and
[2:05:33] ms. Campbell have been on top of the landlords collecting sales
[2:05:41] tax for properties that are not being used for municipal use ,
[2:05:47] we are no longer allowed to collect that sales tax, and we were just remitting it to the state anyway, so that has been
[2:05:52] waived, and the city staff is moving forward to properly administer our license. That is all I had.
[2:05:57] >> thank you, misprints. Any questions? >> I have a question for the city attorney. Can you please
[2:06:04] explain what ms. Christer was referring to in the public
[2:06:11] comments? Because I have no knowledge of what has been going
[2:06:19] on. Could you please give us an update? >> certainly. I wanted to speak with mr. Brooks attorney and ms.
[2:06:26] krasner was on the phone and we were talking about attorney theories and arguments , that we might present in front of the
[2:06:34] board. We later had an attorney discussion without -- it is not
[2:06:39] really appropriate to have the appellant , or even city staff,
[2:06:48] it was the lawyers trying to determine what would be before the board of adjustments, what was appropriate to be before the
[2:06:52] board of adjustments, it wasn't that the appeal of the building
[2:06:57] official is untimely, it was whether or not any appeal related to the trc, local development order was timely. So, with that first meeting, ms. Krasner was on it, we have had
[2:07:09] two or three meetings with all of the attorneys since. Miss chris is well represented, and we are all arguing what we are
[2:07:15] going to present, and what the parameters will be, in front of the board of adjustments.'s that is something unfortunately
[2:07:25] ms. Krasner was on the call and heard some theories being bounced around, like lawyers do, but no final decisions have been
[2:07:30] made, except for, we know the appeal as of the building official permits, and we are working with the agreed
[2:07:39] parameters . >> now I am more confused.
[2:07:43] >> I bet. >> so, has miss christmas appeal
[2:07:55] been denied? >> no. Miss christmas appeal has not even been considered. It was going to be considered tomorrow
[2:08:02] night, it was on the agenda, it was going to be heard. And now it has only been continued, postponed . -- which oceans of
[2:08:18] the city process was going to be in front of the board of adjustments. But her appeal has not been heard.
[2:08:25] >> it still has a standing? >> for the building permit, it
[2:08:33] has standing. There is some question as to whether or not the trc has standing, but that is something that the board of
[2:08:39] adjustments will take up. That is something that will have to
[2:08:43] be decided on by the board of adjustment, with advice and counsel, so it is all at the board of adjustments level, and
[2:08:50] those things will be discussed on the record at the meeting, when she is afforded a quasijudicial appeal.
[2:08:56] >> okay, thank you. >> thank you, misprints. Any
[2:09:01] further questions for the city attorney? Seeing none, we will move along . Ladies first, commissioner tuten?
[2:09:09] >> I have a couple of things . One, I think I mentioned before,
[2:09:19] an organization, affordable housing first is building tiny homes for workforce housing, they are kicking off a big
[2:09:29] fundraiser, you can find them online at affordable housing first, as in 1 st ,.org. Wally mentioned the hispanic heritage
[2:09:45] festival, I just want to remind everybody, it is saturday, october 11th. From 12:00 to 9:00 on south third street. There is
[2:09:54] really great food. And then, I got a text from a friend , maybe
[2:10:03] a week ago or so, with this crazy picture of a palm down
[2:10:07] across south seventh, and it was a sunday morning, maybe, and I
[2:10:14] texted jeremiah, and before anybody could do anything, magically, cruz appeared on the scene . My friend text me back.
[2:10:26] I wrote it down, she said, city yard debris guys.the tree. They always do a great job picking up yard debris, great guys and hard
[2:10:36] workers. I decided to give our guys a shout out. I did actually end up running into them here, and I told them I was going to
[2:10:41] give them a shout out and he said oh, can you mention one thing, when we all part put our yard waste out, to look up. If
[2:10:47] there are wires or overhanging tree, there big giant grappling
[2:10:56] arm struggles with that, so find a better place. But anyway, they are great for us, because my gosh, we generate yard waste.
[2:11:10] and then, the last thing, jeremiah, could you put a picture up for me, of the flooding on front street, if
[2:11:14] anybody missed it? It was on my calendar, because I was watching
[2:11:19] when we were going to have this, we have a noaa gauge at the
[2:11:34] marina, we were 2.34 feet above the mean high water mark . Last
[2:11:40] year, we had 10 days of sunny day flooding but it was not the
[2:11:45] full moon, it was many days after the full moon. That is at
[2:11:50] the crossing. That did not go over the railroad track this
[2:11:56] time, you can sort of see some bubbling in the center , because
[2:12:04] we have -- correct me if I am wrong, it is a waste water pipe
[2:12:12] running in there? So, this flooding water is entering our
[2:12:16] wastewater system, which is going to our wastewater treatment facility, which cannot handle this extra flow. I just
[2:12:27] wanted to show this picture, because I was walking around and
[2:12:31] ankle-deep water, taking photos. This is happening more and more
[2:12:37] to the city and we need to build a seawall. That is all I wanted to say on that. >> thank you, commissioner.
[2:12:44] commissioner minshew? >> okay, I have a question. I
[2:12:49] thought we spent several hundred thousand dollars putting in
[2:12:55] really fancy stuff underneath all those streets and relining pipes to keep water separate? >> absolutely.
[2:13:04] >> what is bubbling? >> that particular situation was a manhole cover . When we redid the pavement in that area, we
[2:13:14] replaced an agent manhole cover with a brand-new polycarbonate
[2:13:20] one which is supposed to seal 100% .
[2:13:24] >> and it leaks? >> did experience some weeks during that event. We have since , the next day, went back out
[2:13:30] there and fixed it, addressed those issues. We use these opportunities to really , they tell us what we need to see when
[2:13:38] we go. At the building in the photo with the green roof, we
[2:13:42] found a broken cleanout . We went out there and smoke tested
[2:13:48] that area, the following day , and we found an area that was
[2:13:53] billowing smoke . The property owner went in and made the repair. So, when we see these issues it gives us an
[2:14:00] opportunity to address them. >> our nice fancy lined pipes are all still fine? >> absolutely.
[2:14:05] >> thank you. >> can I also give a shout out
[2:14:11] to storm water? Because my gosh, they were all out there dealing
[2:14:15] with this. And then they got yelled at by somebody, that had
[2:14:23] nothing to do with it. This was literally just the river
[2:14:30] deciding it was coming into our city, and therefore, we need a seawall to keep the river out. And protect the historic
[2:14:35] downtown. That is it. >> thank you.
[2:14:40] >> so, I would also like to thank the city staff, the city manager, the finance folks, and all of the department heads who
[2:14:50] work so hard on the budget and capital improvement plan this year. It is head and shoulders above anything that I remember
[2:14:57] seeing from 10 years of sitting out in the audience. So, I am
[2:15:04] very happy to see things like finding places where we can get
[2:15:14] more money, we can increase revenues, we can be more efficient and productive. Those are all really great things, and
[2:15:19] I am very proud of everybody working on that. So, thank you for doing all of that. One of the things that I would like us
[2:15:28] to look at as we get into the new budget year, and we have talked about this briefly, before, is the possibility of
[2:15:34] increasing approval limits for the city manager, and creating
[2:15:41] new approval limits for the deputy city manager, who does not have any of his own special approval limits. In a way,
[2:15:51] again, to speed processes up him and not have to have so many
[2:15:57] things come in front of us which adds weeks and weeks to processes. So, I would ask that if you are ready to start
[2:16:06] looking at that, but we should do that sooner, rather than later. And then, last week, I went out to the economic
[2:16:18] development council's training class on artificial intelligence. And I only use it to look up crossword answers, so
[2:16:29] I am not really a big user of it, but I was actually blown away at all of the possibilities and potentials. I was there for
[2:16:35] another group to think about how we -- for them to use it, but
[2:16:41] all I could do was sit there and think about all of the different
[2:16:47] things the city could be doing with artificial intelligence. So, I think that is something that, maybe, for next year, we
[2:16:51] should begin to look at. And I think it would help with budget planning, it can help with doing analysis, to determine what is
[2:17:01] the right approach , there's different ways. But it was
[2:17:06] actually very interesting, and I learned a lot. And I am going on
[2:17:13] vacation for two weeks, starting friday, so don't send me an
[2:17:18] email. If you do, I will be answering it, just slowly. And
[2:17:23] that is it. >> commissioner poynter?
[2:17:31] >> the only thing I would like to ask, to see if this commission would indulge me, I met with buddy jacobs last week,
[2:17:36] to go over the various issues facing our city, vis-à-vis the
[2:17:43] state legislature, and we were reminiscing a little bit, and
[2:17:50] one of the things that we all believe, that eventually we will
[2:17:54] have to do is replace city hall, and I was involved with him
[2:17:58] trying to get the post office building, and he thinks that
[2:18:05] maybe now is the time to go back and try to do that again. Things
[2:18:11] are changing at that building. There is one person that operates, the federal government now is looking for ways of
[2:18:20] cutting cost and this type of stuff. One of the reasons why we did not take the building when we were suggested that we could
[2:18:27] get it is that we would have to pay for all of it, to be improved, and then the post office got the whole first
[2:18:31] floor, for the next 100 years and free rent. We did not approve that. But now, they spent over $3.5 million on
[2:18:45] repairing the infrastructure of that building, new roofs, new ac, new dehumidifiers and stuff, so I am just asking if this
[2:18:52] commission would allow buddy to go ahead and start working on that, again. I spoke with him, and he is absolutely thrilled to
[2:19:03] start working on that again, he also knows a lot of people in dc, and we have a great congressman, there, he was able,
[2:19:09] the last time , he was able to get it into the senate because
[2:19:17] of senator nelson, but, it stalled in the house, and we have got somebody in the house, now. So, I think it is a good
[2:19:24] time to try to do it. As you know, it takes a while to do
[2:19:31] this, and if you guys give permission then we can ask him
[2:19:37] to do that and he would love to do that. >> is there any objection from the commission to look into this
[2:19:42] kind of acquisition? >> I think it is great. If that building is not used. It is less likely to be saved? It is an
[2:19:53] incredible building downtown. >> there is one person in the entire building. >> charlie george definitely advocated that is worth considering at the least, and it
[2:19:59] just didn't seem to happen last year for obvious reasons. The city was facing, so, I like the sound of it, we will see what we
[2:20:08] can come up with. >> thank you. >> thank you, commissioner. >> meisner? >> thank you. I read an article online, so I would have to go
[2:20:15] back to wastewater and utilities, I think a culvert or
[2:20:24] engineering a pipe there off of simmons, instead of using a big consultant, the engineering firm, you were all able to do
[2:20:29] that in house, I want to give you kudos. You do an amazing job there, with keeping a lot of things in house. I know
[2:20:37] everybody has drainage problems and it is tough, but, just give them a really good shutout, they do a good job with what they
[2:20:45] have got. On another note, I want to talk about the citizens petition for paid parking, I want to acknowledge the
[2:20:51] committee that did a lot of that work. It is not lost on people
[2:21:00] that I am a pretty big political junkie. I like politics, I like things like this. You know, I have been involved in a lot of
[2:21:11] campaigns, and when you go through petitions, it is one of the biggest things you have to get. Countywide, for a county
[2:21:16] commissioner it is like 730 or something like that. Constitutional officer is right around that same number. And I
[2:21:22] have watched candidates struggle to get that, in a countywide election for two months, trying to track them down. What this
[2:21:29] committee was able to do in a voter registration number of
[2:21:34] about 11,000, to get right at 2000, and 10% is not an uncommon
[2:21:41] number , that is a pretty common thing. To get that many in four
[2:21:51] weeks , it baffles my mind . It truly does. As somebody who
[2:21:59] watches politics, who sees things, it absolutely floors me, that it was even possible. I am going to say something, and I
[2:22:09] don't want it to sound like it is a threat, I just want to put
[2:22:13] my feeling out there on this , and my political consultant
[2:22:17] would kill me. I have never been afraid of recall. Simply because
[2:22:24] the threshold to do it is almost impossible. If you read the
[2:22:31] statute, even when people were talking about recalling me , or
[2:22:35] recalling the last commission and everything, when I look at statute I said, good luck. They accomplished the second half of
[2:22:44] that recall petition, which takes 60 days, in 30 days. I have never been terrified of recall, but it is on the table.
[2:22:56] and it is not a threat to anybody, I'm not trying to say that, design, it is a legitimate concern, that any commission
[2:23:01] going forward needs to worry about. I just ask that as this
[2:23:13] process moves forward, that maybe we sit down and start talking to the committee, and start talking to these people about, you know, the no paid parking people, how do we move
[2:23:20] forward and how does this look? And what can we do to simply allow the citizens to go out on this, and that is all I got.
[2:23:31] >> thank you, vice mayor. On a more somber note, I would like to extend condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones
[2:23:35] of woodrow ,■ woody mullis. He graduated from the tricycle and
[2:23:44] then moved to nashville and built a immensely successful career in the music