[Background talking]
[Gavel bangs]
Speaker: Gracious God we are thankful for all
you have provided and continue to provide.
We ask you continue to give us wisdom, understanding,
and strength to lead in your direction and your community.
We ask all of these things in your son's name Amen.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Chair: This meeting is called to order.
Clerk please call the roll.
[Roll call]
We have two new employees with us tonight.
When I call your name please stand.
Michael Cortez, public works.
Jesse Ponder's, public works.
Welcome to the city family.
[Applause]
the clerk will provide the public notice.
City Clerk: The August 18th Council meeting was publicly
noticed.
As a reminder, public comments and presentations
are limited to three minutes unless authorized to extend
beyond that time by council.
prior to speaking at the podium please state
your name and address for the record,
to maintain order speakers must be recognized
by the Council President.
Please silence your cell phones and all electronic devices
for the duration of this meeting, thank you.
Chair: Item for, presentation of the mayor's citizen recognition
Award to miss Cherise rivers, will you please come forward?
Speaker: Every month we recognize
people who are doing outstanding work in our community
with the mayor's award, and just another amazing person who
sets an example in the community for what it
means to serve and give back.
I'm going to read your nomination,
and there's just so much more to what you do.
Cherise is a shining example of a rising community
leader who gives back to her community
through action and selflessness.
Beyond her work as CEO, she founded a non profit scholarship
to help young students go to college.
Shareece mobilized some of the country's most
acclaimed leadership speakers, and helped lead the charge
to bring them to Ocala for a high leadership conference.
A founder and CEO of Zinnia Health Management,
additionally she's a host for the Retirement Coffee Talk
podcast.
A mother of two, she loves to travel with her family
and her free time.
She serves on the Board of Directors
for the Chamber of Economic Partnership
and was chairman of the board in 2025.
This is just a short list.
What I see is when you are out in the community,
you are behind the scenes doing some amazing work
and you want to make a great difference,
Ocala is better because of you.
Congratulations on your citizen of the month award.
Charisse Rivers: I'm here to serve the community
and do all I can, I believe someone steps up,
you're just adding so much value.
Get on board if you are not!
Speaker: You get a gift card and a pin,
a key to the city, also a mayor's coin And a plaque.
[Applause]
Chair: Item for B, presentation of the Arts and health
day in Ocala, Florida proclamation to Arts and health
Ocala Metro executive director, Patricia Tomlinson.
Speaker: It's my honor to a proclamation for Arts and Health
Day in Ocala , improving mental health outcomes formerly
recognizes arts as a source for supporting mental well-being
in all stages of life.
Arts initiatives have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety
in patients recovering from addiction by 62%,
improving feelings of belonging and veterans by 56% and reducing
nervousness by 56% among school aged children whereas
participation in arts promotes mental wellness,
reduces depression, social isolation and loneliness while
providing accessible opportunities for healing,
self-expression, and personal growth for over 19,000 residents
of Ocala and all programs .
Whereas Arts and Health day within Ocala
provides an opportunity to recognize the contribution
of artists, healthcare professionals, educators,
researchers and community leaders
who advance the arts as a modality for mental health
and healing.
By virtue of the authority vested in me as the mayor
of the city of Ocala Florida do declare August 18th 2026 to be
Arts and Health Day in Ocala Florida.
Congratulations, and thank you for this work.
[Applause]
Speaker: Thank you very much, we are a nonprofit organization
but one of the more interesting things
we do in addition to making art with the public,
we also keep data on all of our arts interactions
to prove that art is actually good for you.
We work with veterans, children in the foster system,
those with dementia and their caregivers and a lot more,
and the statistics mayor Marciano
cited are our own statistics from right
here in Marion County, so thank you.
[Applause]
Chair: Item four C is the presentation
of a service award to Jerry Tafoya,
with 25 years of service for Ocala Fire Rescue.
[Applause]
Speaker: Fire equipment operator Jerry Tafoya,
originally from Albuquerque new Mexico began his career
in August 2001 as a certified firefighter paramedic in South
Florida before moving to Ocala.
Is currently assigned to engine four, as well as being
a part of the aircraft rescue firefighting team
at the airport.
Is also a founding member of the Ocala Fire Rescue Swat medic
team, having a hand in the team's development .
For 25 years in service, please join me
in congratulating Mr. Tafoya.
[Applause]
Speaker: Thank you for giving me a great place to work and not
firing me .
Chair: Item four D, the presentation
of a service award to Joseph Dotten,
For Ocala electric utilities.
Speaker: Beginning in 2001 as a tree crew equipment operator,
through his hard work and dedication Joe
was promoted to lion truck operator in 2006
and has continued to advance throughout his career
and currently serves as line truck operator
three, a position he has held since 2019.
Outside of his daily responsibilities,
he enjoys creating homemade sauces
and cooking chicken wings For the annual charity
cookoff, King of the wing.
When he's not at work, Joe enjoys cruising and camping
with family and friends.
He and his wife have three children,
and they are the proud grandparents
of two wonderful grandsons.
For 25 years of service, congratulations.
[Applause]
Chair: Item four E is the presentation
of a service award to Jody Taylor,
for 30 years of service in public works.
[Applause]
Speaker: Jodie Taylor has been employed
with the city of Ocala residential sanitation Division
for 30 years, beginning as a residential sanitation worker
before being promoted to assistant crew leader and then
clam operator and has been in his position
for the past 27 years.
Has expanded his role to learn additional trucks
and responsibilities.
Jodie is very reliable and dependable employee
who can be counted on to do whatever is asked of him.
Many times he has proved his value as an operator while doing
storm cleanup .
Not only is he a productive worker,
but he has also shown the ability
to safely remove debris from situations where
it doesn't look possible and he's always found a way
to accomplish the task.
Jodie S lived in Ocala for 40 years
and has been married for 37.
Together they have three daughters
and six adorable grandchildren, we
are happy Jodie is a part of the city of Ocala
and more specifically part of residential Sanitation division.
Has been proud to make a career with the city
and plans to continue for many years,
thank you for your years of service.
[Applause]
Chair: Item four F is the presentation
of a service award to Major Gregory Martin,
for 30 years of service with the Ocala Police Department.
Speaker: Shortly after graduating from Forrest High
School, he served until 1998.
Major Martin was hired at the Ocala Police Department
in August 1996 after a year , he served many roles
and as a member of the Swat team for 15 years.
Was promoted through the ranks to Sergeant in 2006,
Lieutenant in 2015, captain in 2017,
and major in January of 2021.
Is commander of Special Operations Bureau.
He is married to his best friend and they have two children.
Austin is a firefighter paramedic
with Marion County Rescue.
30 years of service, thank you.
[Applause]
Speaker: Tony didn't bother me, 25 didn't bother me,
but I woke up this morning and 30 is kind of weird.
The most important part is not what I've accomplished,
but I've done it with my best friend by my side and it is not
easy .
I thank her every day for putting up with me,
because I'm a mess for sure and my son some of the biggest
flexes in life are our kids.
In the grand scheme of things, I've been incredibly blessed.
We live in a phenomenal community .
I've worked for tremendous people,
I've had tremendous councilmen and councilwomen, city managers
and mayors, and they've all been incredibly supportive
of us our entire career.
When you do that, you wake up every day
and it feels like just another day, doesn't feel like 30 years.
The citizens of Ocala have been fantastic supporting us
throughout my 30 year career, Mr. Mayor, thank you so much .
Chair: Before we move on to tonight's presentations,
we are going to consider two agenda items out of order.
First, we will consider agenda item ten
E which is the adoption of a successful collective bargaining
agreement between the City of Ocala and the local firefighters
and officers bargaining unit.
Do I hear a motion to approve this item?
Chief of staff Chris Watts is recognized
for the staff presentation.
Chris Watts: Beginning October 1st and running through
September 30th of 2029 -- the parties reached a tentative
agreement on July 9th and the proposed contract was approved
by the Union at a vote of 94 and nine against.
If approved by the Council , it is $8.7 million over the next
three years.
Staff recommends approval and I am here
to answer any questions you may have.
Chair: Are there any comments from the public or the council?
[Voting]
Next we will consider item ten F,
the adoption of resolution 2026 .
Peter Brill is recognized for the staff presentation .
Peter Brill: Council is considering
the removal of the BTR, To move forward
with the potential removal as pledge revenue,
finance has secured this solution
as the last piece needed.
Chair: Any questions or comments from the public?
[Voting]
Chair: The ayes have it.
We will return to agenda item number five.
Presentation of the Risk Manager of the year Award
to Richard Dennis from public Risk Underwriters
of Florida Inc.
[Applause]
Speaker: Good afternoon chairperson, commissioners,
and guest.
It is my pleasure to recognize an outstanding public servant
and leader in the field of public risk management.
We are honored to present the risk management of the year
award to Mr. Richard Dennis of the City of Ocala.
Risk management is about protecting people, safeguarding
public resources and helping organizations operate safely
and effectively.
Richard has exemplified those principles
through his leadership, professionalism, and commitment
to excellence.
His dedication to promoting safety, managing risk
proactively and supporting the city of Ocala
has made a meaningful difference within your organization
and serves as a model to all of our members
with preferred governmental insurance trust.
Richard, thank you for your hard work,
Congratulations on a well deserved recognition.
[Applause]
Chair: Item five B is the presentation of the 2026 Florida
Legislative Session recap in 2027 legislative session
preview by Sarah Suski, from the Advocacy partners.
Sarah Suskey: It is such a heartwarming experience
to come to your city council meetings
and see the presentation of the service Awards and all
the things you guys do at the very beginning,
it puts a pep in my step and makes me happy.
To have that many people who have served
this community for that long time and time
again is so incredible, and it says a lot about your leadership
and just a lot about this awesome community.
I'm here to talk about the legislative session,
and along those same lines today is primary Election Day
in Florida.
I see lots of I voted stickers in the room,
you still have a couple of hours to get to the polls
if you haven't voted and help decide
who is going to lead our state in the next year or two.
But I'm here to talk about the legislative session,
and I have to start off again by thanking
you guys for the opportunity to represent this amazing community
in Tallahassee.
Thank you for the access you give us
to your incredible professional staff,
they are a huge help to Steven and I
and our entire firm at Tallahassee
but it's truly an honor to get to represent this community
and also work alongside the incredible legislative
delegation you guys have representing you up
in Tallahassee.
The session ended officially on March 13th,
doesn't seem like that long ago but it seems like a lifetime.
Rather than going out with a bang again this year
it went out with a bit of a whimper
and for the second year of a row without a completed state budget
which is the one thing constitutionally
the legislature is tasked with doing every year.
Despite supermajorities of Republicans and vote chambers
of the legislature, once again this year there
were some disagreements on priority and spending
that ended up causing the session to continue,
or multiple sessions I'm going to discuss here in a little bit.
During the regular session there was almost 1900 bills
filed in Tallahassee.
237 of those 1900 actually passed,
and since the session ended, the governor
has acted on every single one of them.
Signed most of them and vetoed eight.
One of them is going to be important
and of interest to you guys, I know you were already aware
but some of the notable things that passes
here were data centers bills that preserve some local control
over siting and development decisions,
I know the county had some workshops going on to discuss
those that have been postponed.
a cap increase on immunity claims ,
because of increased costs it would have brought to local
governments.
Another bill that passed was a piece of legislation giving
additional authority regarding municipal utility service
extensions , and agriculture package that connects farmers
in Florida with families and food banks,
legislation requiring verification of citizenship
before folks can vote in Florida,
and then a school safety package also passed.
Sometimes in Tallahassee what doesn't pass is even more
important than what does pass, and this year once again
the Renaissance bill did not pass,
the legislature did not successfully pass an AI bill
of rights , and a couple of other things.
But there were term limits for county commissioners, did not
pass this year.
And effort to repeal local governments authority to Levy
local business taxes, and legislation that
would have allowed large scale developments in Florida
to bypass some of the comprehensive plan
provisions that exist for local governments in Florida.
Once the regular session ended we
took a break for a couple of weeks,
but the governor had other plans for us
and called the legislature back for a special session on an AI
bill of rights, medical freedom proposal
and congressional redistricting.
The legislature ultimately decided
not to take up the first two, but passed
the congressional maps that the governor proposed
and then we were able to get on to the budget
and complete that work.
After several weeks of negotiation
the legislature eventually approved a $114 billion
state budget, which was $1 billion
under last year's budget and roughly $3 billion less
than what governor Desantis proposed.
It includes $14 billion in reserves, $115 million
in debt reduction, raises for correctional officers,
public defenders, investments in natural resources
and environmental restoration, funding for affordable housing
initiatives, cybersecurity grants and an overall increase
in education spending.
Importantly to this community, that budget also included
$500,000 for the city's exfiltration project which has
been ongoing for several years, and we were very fortunate that
the governor approved that line item this year.
The budget passed on May 29th, and the governor signed
the budget on June 29th a month later and a day before the final
day of the fiscal year he vetoed $1.7 billion out of the budget,
800 million of which were local projects like the City
of Ocala's which was more than last year but less than he had
done in the past, so we are all grateful for that.
Just when we thought we could head home for the summer
the governor brought us back for a third special session
and this one was on property tax reform.
I know you guys are incredibly well versed in what is going
on with that, but I will give a little bit of an overview
so that the House of Representatives had undergone
a pretty significant process of workshops around the state,
and a lot of conversations came up with some proposals,
and ultimately the Senate never took those up during the regular
session so the governor felt that it was important to call
everyone back to have a special session on property tax reform ,
and in short, the proposal that passed would increase
the homestead exemption for non-school taxes for Florida
residents to 150 zero zero $0 in 2027,
and that would go up to $250,000 in 2028.
It also limits the increase on assessed value for property
in the state and restricts local governments ability to use
property tax revenue for non essential items in the budget .
This proposal, as you know very well,
will require a 60% plus one approval in the November ballot.
We've already seen some court challenges that have resulted
in on Thursday a rewrite of the ballot language,
the summary and the language itself ,
and that seems to be what will go on the ballot in November.
If it does pass, the constitutional amendment will
take effect on January 1st of next year 2027.
The legislature will need to codify that as well as codify
a process because the language says that local governments can
use a plan to fully eliminate property taxes in a manner that
is prescribed by the legislature.
So, there's significant implications and lots
of conversations going on in local communities and certainly
here in the city of Ocala where you guys are
growing continually.
I know there are a lot of demands on the city's budget,
et, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with that
and the next couple of months.
Now all of the sessions are behind us,
legislators have gone back to their communities to spend time
with their families this summer, campaign,
a lot of elections are going to be decided today and it will be
interesting, but once we get through the November election,
the legislature will come back to Tallahassee in November
the weekend of November 17th to formally organize for the 2027
session, install our new leaders and get the committee process
underway.
Then in January, we will welcome a new governor
to the state of Florida who will be inaugurated in January.
In the meantime, we anticipate that in the legislature,
Senator Jim Boyd will very likely become our next Senate
president and Representative Sam Garrison from Clay County who
is an attorney and has done some work for local governments
in the past will very likely become
our next speaker of the House, will also
have some new leadership on state agencies
and a few surprises will likely be on deck,
we are going to be interested in seeing everyone's agendas
for the 2027 session, although we don't
know exactly what that is.
We know it's going to be very interesting and never a dull
moment in Tallahassee, so we will be ready for that .
Our firm is incredibly grateful to get
to represent the city of Ocala, and we
will be back in the coming months
to have a meeting with your senior staff
and to meet with you individually
as your staff works to develop your legislative agenda
for next session, so we will see you again soon.
We are incredibly grateful, thank you for your time.
Chair: Agenda item number six is our consent agenda,
are there any items with Council would
like to include on the agenda for individual discussion?
are there comments?
call the roll.
[Voting - all ayes]
item eight A is the Ordinance.
City Clerk: An ordinance to change the future land use
designation amending the future land use map designation
for property located in the 1700 block of Northwest Martin Luther
King Jr Avenue from medium intensity to public ,
approximately 11 acres.
Chair: Item eight B is an introduction and ordinance
reading .
City Clerk: The ordinance amendment of the city map
of Ocala in heavy industrial use,
for property located east of the 1700 block of Northwest Martin
Luther King Jr Avenue , approximately 11.2 acres.
Provide direction to staff for conflicted provisions,
provided for modifications arising from the consideration
of the hearing.
An ordinance amending the zoning map changing from B for general
business to M1 light industrial .
Approximately 5.93 acres , providing direction to staff
repealing inconsistent provisions for modifications
arising from considerations at a public hearing.
8d Is an ordinance amending the zoning map of the city of Ocala
for 3.23 acres for a property located at 1501 Northwest 14th
Street from governmental use to neighborhood business .
8e, An ordinance amending the zoning map of the city of Ocala
Florida changing from light industrial to medium industrial,
3.05 acres of property located in the 1700 block of Northeast
18th place .
8f., An ordinance amending the city of Ocala comprehensive plan
map series has required detailing the future land use
change amending the map from neighborhood to public located
in the 700 block of Northwest 14th Street,
approximately 0.52 acres.
Providing for modifications arising
from consideration of the hearing and effective date.
8g., An ordinance amending the zoning map of the city of Ocala
Florida changing from two family residential to government use,
located in the 708 hundred blocks of Northwest 14th Street
and the 1400 block of Northwest 17th place,
approximately 9.94 acres .
Approximately providing direction to staff repealing
inconsistent , providing direction to the Codifier
and providing an effective date.
Chair: Is there a motion for 9a?
Endira Madraveren: The agent for this request is Kendall Drake
of Drake Construction Services, the properties impacted
by the Northwest 13th Street aggregation include different
ownership, which are the Magnolia Extension LLC as well
as the property extension to the south.
The portion of Northwest First Avenue being aggregated
is internal to the Magnolia Extension site
and will only impact that property.
Both rights contain existing eight inch gravity sewer lines
and Northwest 13th Street also includes a street light,
but are otherwise undeveloped.
Utility easement has been developed .
The applicant has indicated the intent
to utilize the aggregate of areas
through further development of the site.
Staff finds the requested aggregation will not negatively
impact any adjacent properties.
Other than city utilities, no comments or objections
were received by any other utility providers.
Staff recommends approval subject to the following
condition that the applicant will assume responsibility
for the maintenance of the eight inch gravity sewer lines upon
the north half of the aggregation of Northwest 13th
Street, and upon the aggregation of Northwest First Avenue
and for the charges related to convert the street light
on Northwest 13th Street to a yard light subject to the charge
by OEU.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
Chair: Any public comments on this matter?
call the roll.
[Voting - all ayes]
item nine B is a public hearing to consider
approval for the on premise consumption for wine
at via Panini.
Endira Madraveren: The applicant,
doing business as via Panini, is requesting permission
to sell beer and wine for on premise consumption.
Via Panini is a proposed restaurant
located at 725 East Silver Springs Boulevard
with a proposed 20 seats and two employees.
Comments were requested from the Growth Management
Department, police and fire.
No objections were received, there
have been three calls for service
at this location during the past two years.
There is one church and no schools or daycares located
within the 500 foot radius.
Staff recommends approval, and I'm here
to answer any questions.
Speaker: It will be nice to see it activated as a restaurant
again.
I'm going to make a motion to approve that.
[Voting - all ayes]
Chair: Item nine C is the amendment
of the Housing Incentive fund revising criteria pertaining
to affordable housing loan programs including length
of terms, applicability, administrative process,
and interest rates.
Aubrey Hale: Chapter 106 addresses planning housing
in general for the city of Ocala,
but it also provides for the Housing Incentive Fund which
is used to offset the qualifying under the city's definition
of affordable housing.
There's a code reference to a loan program that has limited
or very restricted criteria.
There's federal and state housing programs
that help to address housing and greater access
to affordable housing within communities,
but the city current code reflects
kind of a short term loan program
currently at 0% interest.
This does provide for a faster return to the Housing incentive
fund, however it does have some limitations working
with federal and state programs.
Oftentimes those require longer financing affordability
provisions as part of the state so this code addresses
some greater flexibility and guidance to the programs,
and really what it does is Establish loans
that mature ten years or less from the effective date
and have a maximum interest rate that ranges from 0%
to half of the US Prime interest rate.
Additionally, here's another one that establishes a long term
loan program and does not exceed a 30 year max
period for that loan.
These loans for the long term program
would only be available to assist with federal, state,
or local housing programs and is worded in a way
to not allow for the sole source funding out
of the long term loan for assistance of other initiatives.
Again, the interest rate would be slightly higher for the long
term loans since they are longer term .
It ranges from half the US prime interest rate up to the maximum
of the US prime interest rate.
Lastly, it provides administrative authority
to the City manager designee to prepare the final signatures
and approvals for the documents with the proposed code.
In closing, the landscape of affordable housing is
continuously evolving and due to these changes in federal state
housing programs it provides flexibility and clarity .
Staff recommends approval, and is available for any questions.
[Voting - all ayes]
Chair: Agenda item ten, general business.
The adoption of the agreement for professional services
with air show management for the production and management
of the wings over Ocala Florida air
show at Ocala International Airport.
Do I hear a motion to approve this item?
Matthew Grow: This is a new event for Ocala with
the inaugural show scheduled for April 30th followed by spring
events in 2028 and 2029.
JLC Airshow Management is an experienced professional air
show producer having completed several successful air
shows around the Southeast United States.
JLC takes responsibility for producing and managing
essentially all aspects of the event, vendors, sanitation,
fencing, insurance, and ultimately event operations.
JLC is also responsible for all event parking
both on and off site, shuttles, traffic management,
all added expense.
The city's role is primarily to provide the airport venue
and coordinate public safety and emergency
services that might be necessary to safely conduct the event.
That includes specialized airport rescue firefighting EMS
teams, law enforcement, regular fire services and traffic
control along southwest 60th Avenue.
There will be a cost to the city for those services,
the police estimate approximately $23,000 and Ocala
Fire approximately 15,000 for a current total of about $48,000.
These costs will be paid for through the airport fund.
There's also a 100,000 sponsorship from the tourist
Council subject to approval and availability and it's intended
to support production and operation of the event.
The agreement contains a revenue sharing provision .
For the first 300,000 of their revenue,
they will retain 100% of it.
For net revenue exceeding 300 000, they receive 70%.
There is a mechanism to recover some cost to the agreement,
there's other protections in the agreement and either party can
cancel with 60 days written notice .
From the airport's perspective, it's
an opportunity to show off Ocala.
We have a great facility out there,
we could see upwards of around 45000 people
and where we are right now with the airport is a perfect time
to show it off.
Those visitors generate hotel stays and quite
a bit of other spending throughout the community.
Staff from the Marion County Tourism Development Council
are here and can address any economic related specific
questions you may have.
The airport Advisory Board absolutely supports the event.
Staff recommends approval , happy to answer any questions.
Speaker: As your representative, I sit on the council
and he has been working on this thing for about two years.
I always knew we had a diamond in the rough with the airport,
they did a great job of bringing it to Ocala.
Once we had it, then we had to wait to make sure
we did get the Blue Angels.
Now we've got it all tidied up, it's going to be a great event,
I am excited about it.
It's been a lot of work together,
I'm excited to finally see in front of us.
Speaker: I see a lot of new faces in the crowd.
This money is not taxpayer dollars, the airport makes money
and the money this airport makes is
what is paying for law enforcement and fire
to be there.
This is not taxpayer revenue, it's
coming from the airport revenue, I just
wanted to say that for the record.
Speaker: We're being conservative on those numbers.
Speaker: Having spent 20 years around the aerospace industry,
when I first moved to Florida we had
the Blue Angels in Gainesville and we'd never
seen anything like that.
They traveled around the country, this is a huge impact
and people will come far and away to see this
because it's a great show.
Speaker: We started initial contact in 2022
and have been trying to get the Blue Angels, that
was the initial push and we were able to get in the first two
years of this attempt and this year we
were able to get it secured by the federal government
and we're hoping to get some more for the future of that.
[Voting - all ayes]
Chair: Adoption of resolution 2026-50.
Matthew Grow: This meets goals, the total construction cost is
$427,542.
The airport's share is about $21,000 or 5% of the total cost.
The project is consistent with the airport plan supported
by the advisory board.
Once the grant is executed and we have the hard copy in hand
we are going to pursue some additional funding to further
offset the airport to expense through grant monies,
so you can expect to bring us back
again once we get the additional grant money for the project.
The FAA system grant disbursement
is a little confusing at times.
One grant was approved by Council, one was not,
but they were both signed at that time on August 3rd.
This agenda item at this time covers that signature ,
I don't know if you have anything else you want to add
about that.
Speaker: Nothing that you spoke to them once you learned
we signed it prematurely.
Matthew Grow: Staff recommends approval,
happy to answer any questions.
[Voting - all ayes]
Chair: Item ten C, do I hear a motion to approve this item?
Matthew Grow: This is the budget resolution for the previously
mentioned fiscal year 2025 2026 agreement .
[Voting - all ayes]
Chair: Item ten D is the adoption of the Second Amendment
to agreement with Honorum productions Inc..
Do I hear a motion to approve this item?
Amy Liberty: This agenda item supports
the city's strategic goal of quality of place
and operational excellence.
The Recreation and Parks Department
are responsible for providing events featuring artists
across various community venues and the city
does not have the in-house expertise or equipment required
to provide audio production services.
Renewing this contract ensures continuity,
maintains event quality and allows staff
to remain focused on developing programs
without technical concerns.
This is the Second Amendment representing the final two year
agreement option available under the original contract,
staff recommends approval and I welcome any questions.
[Voting - all ayes]
Chair: Ten g, renew property, casualty, liability,
and workers compensation insurance policies.
Richard Dennis: This item supports the city goal
of sustainable business.
The recommended renewal will retain continuity of coverage
beginning October 1st 2026.
This is a favorable renewal that reduces the city's
overall premiums, improves overall property protections
across major risk exposures.
The projection is $2 million representing overall reduction
of $76,889 or approximately 2.9%.
Staff recommends approval, and I am available for any questions.
Chair: We have one additional item,
the approval of an internal auditor employment agreement .
Chris Watt: This agenda item supports the goal
of being fiscally sustainable.
Council voted to hire current assistant auditor
for the internal auditor position.
As a charter officer, he would work
for council pursuant to terms of the employment agreement
by the parties.
As the internal auditor, the second council meeting
per the city charter, staff recommends approval
and I am happy to answer any questions you might have.
[Voting - ayes have it]
Chair: City manager, recognized for his report.
City Manager Peter Lee: There's several items
we will discuss on the city manager's
report and the public comment portion of last week.
I will leave those for you to read, especially the last two,
I can discuss them with you individually at a later date.
The email compromise incident, you may want to discuss.
I brought Chris back up here, he was the editor of this document
along with several staff members who I would like to thank
for their procurement of the internal auditor the risk ,
so they all work together after I found out about this incident
to put this together, as you know we've got the bulk
of the insurance money back , we got the check today so it was
a 27 to $28,000 loss .
Two employees are no longer with us as a result of this,
I don't know if you have anything to add .
Chris Watt: Mistakes were made and there
have been several changes to procedure that
have been put into place to prevent this
from happening again.
One thing I would like to say, if the procedures the city
had in place at the time that we put in place in 2019
as you will recall when this happened one other time,
this would not have happened, the procedures
if they had been followed would have stopped this
from happening.
Unfortunately, the employee did not
follow the procedure that was in place.
Mayor Ben Marciano: So you're saying
you have a procedure that will protect us
that hopefully now is in place?
City Manager Peter Lee: We try to stay ahead of it,
Richard and I try to draw up the best insurance that we can ,
so when something like this happens --
it's unfortunate we have to spend taxpayer money on that
but as you can see, thank goodness that we do.
Getting close on the parking garage,
a lot of small things given the time and size and type of work
that we are doing, but we are down to the elevators
and signals from the fire rescue and safety in the parking garage
and as soon as we finish with those ,
I hope it's prior to next council meeting.
On Friday August 28th from 10 to 11 we're going to do the ribbon
cutting for the trolley.
That's all I have.
Chair: Item 13, Ocala Police Department Deputy Chief:
First slide is going to go over the three different types
of crime we track.
All three are down, if you wonder what societal crimes are,
they are things like public drunkenness, vandalism, drugs,
white collar crimes .
They are down this time this year from last year.
The next is covering acts, these two are also down in comparison
to last year's numbers , which is a good thing.
Speaker: 364 compared to 640 year to date or for the whole
year but we are trending down ?
Deputy Chief: Just a little bit over 7300 incidents
so far, slightly down from this time last year
and dispatch calls are slightly up.
Our final slide ,
traffic is slightly down by 12% although we just added a new
member to the traffic unit effective in September
in crashes are down by 12% which is also a good thing .
Any questions?
Fire Chief: Total responded to vehicle accidents across
the city was 164, total for the year is 17,480.
Just a few updates or highlights,
this was an extrication that happened on August 8th.
We responded to a single vehicle that collided with a tree
in the early hours of the morning .
Also we had some promotions this past week, Battalion chief,
captain .
On behalf of all of our personnel,
thank you for your continued support in the year.
Speaker: Are we still seeing the trend in the right direction?
Fire Chief: Unfortunately in the last month or so, I would say
it's starting to trend back up .
It could be a combination of things,
I think probably the combination of drugs also that is out there
that we are starting to see on the streets again .
Chair: We do have some public comments,
but I'm going to ask you to keep them to three minutes.
Ryan P.: I started out with just wanting
to know some simple questions and over the week I
have called the city approximately 30 times,
been hung up on 17 times, most specifically
by the city manager's office.
I called six times today, I left a bunch of voicemails
and I don't know why I've been ignored.
I've asked to talk to the city mayor and I've been ignored,
I have asked to talk to the city attorney
to find out if any of this was legal,
I've been ignored and hung up on and I just really
had some questions and I didn't know why I was treated that way.
I don't know if you're willing to answer me,
but I left a bunch of voicemails and I was just wondering why you
didn't get back with me , same question me and you Mr.
Mayor have had very good interactions.
I left voicemails for you and the city attorney,
I left multiple messages for you and I just
wondered why I didn't get a call back from anybody.
I wasn't asking for details of the case,
I was asking just general questions.
I feel like my First Amendment rights
were violated because if I can't even ask questions
to my government about money being misspent and scams
and I can't even get a call back,
I feel like that's a pretty easy violation of my First Amendment
rights and I just didn't understand why
you guys would do that to me.
Anybody interested in answering that question?
I could show you I have 30 times that I
tried to call your office.
Speaker: I heard about your phone call today literally
at 2:00, I would have gotten back to you.
Mayor Ben Marciano: I can't speak for the others why they
didn't call you back, I heard about it today at 2:00.
I'm answering your question, I'd be more than willing to talk
to you afterwards when the meeting is over .
City Manager Peter Lee: I got no messages to my phone,
chief of staff represents our office
and I told everyone he edited this document
and there was nothing to talk about.
Ryan P.: Though we're about to run out of time,
I asked the sitting president if you
can extend my time because this is a concerning matter to me.
Chair: We had just got the findings a few moments ago ,
so we know what we did know.
There was an ongoing investigation ,
so I can't answer why somebody didn't call you back .
Ryan P.: This is a lot of times to be hung up on, asked to talk
to supervisors, being totally ignored .
Don't you think that that's inappropriate?
Chair: Did you not talk to someone?
Ryan P.: I talked to the secretary
but they hung up on me when I called back and answered
questions.
Chair: How many times did you call back
and talk to the secretary?
Ryan P.: I believe it was 29 times,
I left voicemail after voicemail after voice message,
when I called back and asked for an additional question they
would literally just hang up the phone on me.
One time I called and they picked up the phone
and said oh it's that guy and hung the phone up.
Then I asked them, I believe the guy's name is Brian,
I asked him to go back and listen and see
if they hung up on me and he said he would call me back,
and that never happened.
I just think it's very suspicious or nefarious maybe
that it wasn't brought to our attention,
the city manager didn't bring it to the citizens
attention for a long time and when
trying just to get information, to ignore me for over a week.
That's a really bad .
You seem like an honest person, I
wouldn't imagine that you think that's acceptable.
Chair: I don't know what happened and what didn't happen.
I understand, you're giving me your answers.
I can't answer that.
What I'm saying to you right now sir, I understand.
The issue that we have right here now is we
now have the information to give you,
not just to give you, to give everybody.
So please, the information will come out .
I got what you're saying, but I can't
answer what I don't know it is time now
for me to move forward sir.
We could stand here all night, and I can't answer the question.
Ryan P.: I was trying to do this off
of the record for the last week, and I
think it would be really unprofessional to cut me off.
Chair: I need to move forward sir, I do appreciate you coming.
We do appreciate you coming, sir.
Ryan P.: This is how we going to do it quacks this was not right,
this was not right.
Sonia Richie: I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you .
We did attend the Marion County Commission meeting this morning
and truly appreciated the commissioners
being willing to listen, ask questions, and recognize
there's an important distinction between traditional and
synthetic products.
I appreciate the willingness of the City Council
to sit and have the conversation and I
want to personally thank Ben Marciano for taking the time
to come and sit down with us and have a conversation about what
we serve and how we operate and the difference
between traditional pure leaf and the products that are
creating legitimate concerns.
We stand with the city in addressing
synthetic and manufactured products.
What has been important to us from the beginning
is making sure traditional pure leaf is
understood and not simply lumped together with other products.
For eight years we have operated responsibly
as an alcohol free establishment in the community
and will continue to do so.
I wanted to acknowledge the willingness
we have seen from both the city and the county
to listen before making decisions.
In my opinion, good policy starts
with conversation, accurate information,
and understanding what is actually being regulated.
I appreciate your time.
Kibbie Fulton: We are the only alcohol free bar ,
we are a food establishment regulated by the state as a food
establishment.
I never can stick to the page.
I heard some of your commentary not too long ago,
and I would like to keep everything professional
and let you know we run professionally
and I would also like to be included with decisions
you guys make, I would like you to be able to ask me questions.
We don't believe in seven oh h, I
think we align with Mr. Marciano if anything that is synthetic.
We never sold it .
A potato in a cup doesn't make it vodka,
there have been bad players in the industry that
have created something off of a leaf off of a tree
and made it something that is not good for anybody.
I would like to propose to you, like we have dispensaries
for medical marijuana.
Since we are food regulated, what
if we were the dispensary for the leaf kratom?
we're already licensed and inspected
by the state, what if we helped set
the bar for the testing, batch numbers, licensing,
everything you guys are wanting accountability for.
I'm just trying to offer you a pathway so that a Florida
legal substance can stay legal.
The state is already taking care of the problems .
There will be more things that are probably
coming up for testing.
This is all new, the DEA is getting
ready to drop the illegal side of the bad players
in the industry, we are not one of them.
I want you to know a lot of people jump to judgment
not too long ago up here, and we've been in business
for eight years.
We care about our community, we care about integrity.
I have compassion for anybody who
has been subjected to people who are just seeking to make money
and change something that it should have never been,
that's just my proposal to you and I'm
willing to answer any questions, I'm
willing to sit down with you.
If you guys go and make another meeting
that has to do with this product,
please let us be a part of it.
I'm not here to cause problems for you,
I'm here to actually solve some of the problems
and make it easier and I can bring
people in to help you to understand everything
a little bit easier not to benefit me,
it benefits everyone.
Like this morning we had someone flying
in from DC I had no idea who was going to be here to speak
about the kratom leaf product.
I know you have heard a lot of bad things,
but there are some really good things
that have come out of people in recovery,
pain management, veterans, so they are not on opioids.
It's just a leaf.
That's all I'm asking you to do is just consider
our small business.
Thank you for letting me go over Mr. President,
I appreciate it Mr. Marciano, I enjoyed meeting you,
thank you guys for listening to me.
Sabrina M. I'm also here as a representative of Muddy Lotus
tea, I just wanted to say this is only relevant because we went
to the county commission meeting this morning
and it's convenient the public comment at the City
Council, kratom has been a hot topic recently
and it was quite wonderful and really engaging
and informational, it was awesome to see support
from places like our capital and have the global Kratom
Association come take care of some things as well,
I felt like there was some real headway.
I feel like this has been beneficial bringing it
to the attention of the city in general,
I feel like things can get overlooked, shoved under, sold
in the back corners of gas station in effect individuals.
When we see the differences, it feels sometimes
like you're having to put up a wall and fight,
it's really nice to get that information out there
that there are differences and these things do hurt people
and there's people that need to be held accountable
with standards.
I think that's the biggest portion of that is that
their standards to uphold and when we don't create better
standards, people who hurt people just get away Scot free
and that's always been the bigger fight behind not just
banning it but really looking into the standards that we set
that hold other people accountable to their actions .
It's been great publicity, we did a good job at the bar
keeping our community safe for the past eight years
telling them over and over be careful where you go,
be careful where you buy from, these things are unregulated.
It's a passion project at this point
not only to advocate for something that can help people,
but also something that can also harm people when it's mislabeled
and people are thinking they are getting something that's
good for them, so I would love to see the standards,
it feels like the county commission took it really
seriously and they are interested in putting paws
coming back to it reviewing it and making headway
with that, so I'm hopeful in the future you guys will also
consider what it looks like to really create standards and not
just put a ban, because there's a good and bad to everything,
and this is an industry that needs
help to have its full potential and its good light
and actually hold other people accountable
to their bad actions.
Thank you for your time and support.
Peggy Thomas: I would like to first of all thank the city
of Ocala , I am a descendant of Vern Dawkins,
and I do have my badge with me that was presented to me here .
Chair: There's nothing we can do from right here, it
has to come from you and your staff here I want to hear,
but I just need to have one of your people.
You've got five minutes.
Peggy Thomas: I inherited the family property and home where I
reside .
I've been back in Ocala at least five years,
and I've been living in the house with no heat,
no hot water , it's been a challenge.
I found out my pipes were tampered with .
I have children in the Miami South Florida area,
it's been a challenge for me to be in the house.
I signed up for the re Bilitation program five years
ago when it first opened .
Four months ago I found out that I was taken off the list,
and I wasn't notified, no one sent me a letter
as to what the issue was.
Once I addressed it with Mr. Haynes
then I was told that there was a lien on my house
and I had to retain a lawyer to refute that, it was 20 years ago
from a repossessed vehicle.
I had a neighborhood of children I transported back and forth
to school 20 years ago, so I've been having
bumps in the road with this.
Then, I was number two on the list to get a rebuild and then
I've been Inquiring --
I was told that I was taken off the list
and no one had sent me a letter, no notification or phone call.
I'm here to find out definitely when
I will be scheduled for rehab, because they put me back
on the list.
All I knew was they were building houses all around me
and I started to question if I'm number two on the list,
why is everybody else getting homes and I'm not?
once I inquired, that's what I found out about,
a lean 20 years ago that I was not informed.
I couldn't be in the home during the winters, most of the time
during the summer I am in South Florida where
my children and family are.
I would like to get some answers as far as how should I proceed,
what's going on .
Like I said, I have no hot water.
Chris Watt: We will be moving forward with your request
as fast as we can.
I will give you my card, if there's anything else you would
like to speak to me about , you can.
Peggy Thomas: Thank you all for hearing me out, I appreciate it.
This has been a value to me, this is my family history and I
respect police officers, my oldest brother was a retired FBI
agent, I have a brother in Gainesville who's a retired
colonel in the Army, so I respect law enforcement deeply
and I just want to live out the rest of my life in comfort here
I appreciate you giving me some extra time .
Chair: Item 17 is notices about different activities
that we have going on with the city, make sure to read those.
Comments, we will start with Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Hilty.
Councilman James P. Hilty Sr.: Isn't there
some record of the guy who said he called 29 times?
I'm asking the city staff about is there
a record of the voicemails, that you
spoke to an individual did you leave a message to whoever
you were calling?
I don't want him, I want to hear from the city
as to why the citizen isn't getting responded to.
Speaker: Mr. Ryan's statements are not completely accurate.
I spoke with him a week ago in the presence of the city
attorney at which time he was demanding public records
requests be fulfilled regarding this investigation
and what happened.
I explained to him it was ongoing,
when it was done the report would be released to the public.
That was unacceptable to him, numerous times he said
I was covering it up, a crook.
Eventually I said to him by when someone continues to go on
and on I said I'm sorry I don't have any more
information, if that's hanging up on someone,
then yes I did it twice.
Yesterday once I knew the report was almost complete, we would
have it ready for council today, he had called many many times.
All the calls that come through the switchboard are recorded,
I've listened to dozens of them.
His characterization of what happens is just not accurate,
I called him yesterday to try to stop this nonsense
and I called him at the number he had left
and I told him that it was going to be released today
and would he like me to leave it at the clerk's office
or email it to him?
he became irate and called me a crook and insisted I give it
to him now .
I said it has to go to the council
first before it can be released, he
said I don't want you to leave it at the clerk's office
or to email it to me, I want you to be a man
and hand it to me, which may it be observed, I did.
I don't know what else to say other
than his characterization of what occurred
and what I listened to and what I
experienced by speaking to him could not
be further from the truth.
I think he did call 29 times, I think
he called more than that, but every time in an irate manner
the man spoke to a city manager that was at a conference
or had a business to run and wasn't at his beck
and call eight hours a day and wasn't available
and I tried to explain to this gentleman the thing
that he was demanding wasn't ready to be released yet, there
still in investigation and when it was I would have it for him
and when it was I gave it to him.
Mayor Ben Marciano: Thank you for coming out today,
I've had several conversations with the Attorney
general and the testing for the synthetic kratom,
there's one place that does it and they have to come up
with some more testing facilities
to be able to put a major focus on the synthetic kratom which
I do agree is causing issues in the community
and there needs to be a focus on that.
I'm going to be working on that to get that done, I appreciate
the time we met together and I thought it was a good meeting.
I also just want to reference I am in city council a lot,
I do speak to a lot of citizens and I see our staff
and how they interact with the citizens every day,
and I really believe they go out of their way to do a good job.
Sometimes we get it wrong, but I will tell you
that a lot of times the stories we hear are not always accurate.
I own a business, I hear from customers all the time,
but I will tell you our staff go out of their way
to try to do a great job.
I see the email strings, I just want
you to understand they are doing a good job most of the time
and really putting a lot of effort
into helping our citizens.
Lastly I just want to recognize our public information
office was named Government Team of the year,
I think Greg and his team have done an amazing job,
I think I wouldn't be able to do my job without him
and it's a great acknowledgment of the work that is being done.
It seems like a lot of our teams are consistently
recognized for the work they are doing
and Ocala is a great example for the rest of the country
and how they should lead.
Councilman Jay A. Musleh, Pro Tem:
I would like to thank Pete and the rest of the staff
for putting together the report on the fraud incident.
I think it was very thorough, I managed to skim through it .
It's unfortunate, but if policy and procedures
had been followed, we would never have had a loss.
To the employees that are out there,
I think you are doing a great job,
but the policies and procedures are in place for a reason
and they need to be followed, particularly in this day and age
when we are targeted for scams and frauds probably multiple
times an hour .
Thanks to the good work, we did recover a substantial sum
of money and thanks to the risk management
side we had the proper insurance in place
and to the rest of the employees I just
implore you to know your policies and procedures
and follow them so we don't have an incident like this
in the future.
Thank you.
Chair: Last week, a few of us went to the conference
And we talked about a lot of major issues
like property taxes, how to counsel management system should
operate, the decorum, we talked about policies and procedures
and just about anything you can talk about.
Places like that to go and sit down and talk to your peers ,
geographically things are different but most
of the information is the same .
We took advantage of a great opportunity
and I think we all came back better informed on how
to do our job, how we should work together and make things
happen for our city of Ocala, and I just
wanted to make sure we said something about that conference,
because it was outstanding.
Okay, we are at the end of the council meeting.
I hope all of you will be safe travels,
this meeting is adjourned.