e e e e call the April 17th city council meeting to order commissioner Smith give us the prayer pledge and fact of the day please sir let's assume the attitude of prayer Our Father God we come once again thankful for the many blessings you allowed us God thank you God for this opportunity to be stewards of your city we ask the Lord you guide our tongues and our mind that all that we shall say and do will be pleasing and acceptable in your sight bless our residents and all those that are in chamber in th son Jesus name we pray amen amen amen I pled Al to the flag flag United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible with liberty and justice for all fact of the day the for must thing is officially unveiled by Henry Ford II at the World's Fair in Flushing Metals New York on April 17th 1964 named for a World War II fighter plane the Mustang was one of the first vehicles that came to be known as a pony car Ford sold more than 400,000 Mustangs within its first year of production far exceeding sales expectations the Mustang was conceived as a working man's Thunderbird Accord to for Ford and carried a starting price tag of around 2,000 $300 back of the [Music] day all right got a set of minutes from the April 3rd meeting any corrections if not look for a motion to approve so move got a motion by commissioner Smith second second by commissioner nesa all those in favor I I all opposed motion carries okay what we can't hear you oh it it's okay on yeah my mic's [Music] on okay Cliff any any changes that you any changes to the agenda no you all right thank you all right we've got a couple of proclamations we'd like to get to uh one that's uh one that I gosh been partnering with this man for a long time Louis has been uh gosh the years at County and now the years here at the city and uh it's something we do every year we do denim day and so you want to why don't you go ahead and give us your facts and then I'll go ahead and read the proclamation okay Dynamite well thank you so much mayor for for supporting us again this year my name is Louie Damani I'm the executive director of the victim Service Center of Central Florida and um you know we believe it or not we've been providing um help and healing to victims for 25 consecutive years now we're celebrating our 25th year we operate a 24-hour helpline uh staff with trauma informed counselors and we provide in-person crisis intervention services advocacy therapy and uh and prevention education we are the only Rape Crisis Center in all of Central Florida and we provide Emergency Services uh 247 what that kind of equates to is this past year we provided 354 sexual assault um exams to people in crisis we made a answer to over 2200 helpline calls and we conducted over 3,200 therapy sessions for second time over 3,000 therapy sessions uh over the last last 2 years and altogether we helped over 9,000 individuals across our community now with that said we got to get those numbers down and the way to do that is through um awareness in this month the month of April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month so every every April we engage our supporters it's probably been a decade now that we've been doing um what we call denim day it always happens on the last Wednesday in April and every year we try to engage all of our local governments um Monday night I was in Oola County Tuesday I was in CMI tonight I'm here will be in Orange um already last week picked up uh seminal County so all of our local governments are supporting us and we literally have hundreds and hundreds of businesses that are uh joining on board and the great part is every citizen every individual can participate in denim day again it always happens on the last Friday in April and this year that day happens to be April the 24th it's super super easy to particip ipate and it's absolutely free we have a whole page on our website dedicated expressly to denim day if anybody wants to pull it up you can print posters to hang out in your uh hang around in your workplace but effectively what we want you to do is take a picture where well wear your denim then take a picture wearing your your Denim and then you post it use the hashtag denim day and then you tag us at VSC Florida and we're on every social media a platform that you can imagine and then just watch it explode and um I was just talking to your pi over here and she goes we're going to take a big picture on the steps and then we're going to post it and you will see uh you'll see it spread all the way across Florida and then actually we we were into Georgia last year so our little piece of Orlando and trying to spread awareness about you know sexual violence what sexual violence is and why we need to eradicate it in our community and this is this is a simple easy way to take a stand against sexual violence to stand in solidarity with survivors and and really set aside a time to have a conversation make it public and say hey we're not going to tolerate that here in our community so again I I I honor you for for staying with us year after year and allowing us to come back and get this message out to the community and uh and thank you for having us yeah well thank thank you for what you do and yeah well so next Wednesday if you see a folk some folks around city hall in jeans you'll know why so it's a uh put in what you feel is appropriate to the the the the jar and that all that money then will go toward Louie and his his team so yeah I forgot to mention you guys always raise money for us we don't even ask people to raise money but the mayor always gives me a big Satchel of cash so we're happy to take it by the way if anybody wants to donate awesome well thank you Louis thanks for what you and your team my pleasure so with that let me read the proclamation then we'll get a we'll get a picture with you whereas the month of April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month calling attention to the fact that sexual assault and harassment is widespread and harms our community and whereas the shocking reality is that one in four women and one in 26 men will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime and whereas the denim day movement started in 1999 as a Grassroots protest against an absurd controversial Italian Supreme Court decision in which a sexual assault conviction was overturned because the victim was wearing tight jeans at the time of her attack and whereas denim day is the longest running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history which seeks to rid the world of erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault and bring about the real Justice and support for survivors and whereas denim day encourages everyone to make a social statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of prot against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence and to speak up when they hear comments that blame victims or make light of sexual harassment or assault and whereas together we can change how people think and talk about this kind of violence and create a culture of respect equality and safety for our entire community and whereas the city of apoc apoc strongly supports the victim Service Center of Central Florida and their efforts to prevent the traumatizing effects of sexual violence and help heal those that have been impacted now therefore I Brian Nelson mayor sa a POA do hereby Proclaim Wednesday April 24th 2024 as denim [Applause] day go this way thank you very much [Music] next up we have a presentation on the autism acceptance month Proclamation and it really takes on a whole new meaning because of what our fire or excuse me our police department and and the officer of Sosa has done to kind of get this to the Forefront front and make some changes needed changes within the department so we know how to handle uh somebody as they deal with them at at the at the you know the front steps or or in their car and so we appreciate you know you and the and and chief McKinley and all that you've done to make this um an issue right at the top of of your you know um programming so with that like to read this the proclamation whereas autism spectrum disorder ASD or Autism is a neurological and development disorder that de develops in early childhood but progresses through a person's lifetime autism presents itself with a wide range of symptoms which is why it is considered a spectrum and widely varies from one person to another and whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control CDC autism affects estimated one in 36 children and one in 45 adults in the United States today people with Autism may have difficulty communicating and interacting with others those with autism may have delayed language and may have restricted and repetitive behavior and whereas autism impacts a person's communication interactions with others and how they learn common symptoms that transcend the four categories are repetitive behaviors avoidance of eye contact change in voice anxiety learning disabilities Sensi sensitivity to sound and social interaction and whereas an on average autism is diagnosed around the age of five in the US with signs appearing by age two or three and whereas early diagnosis can make a big difference in access to diagnosis and services that can help autistic people of all ages Thrive and whereas April is autism acceptance month and whereas the city of aapka the Apopka Police Department recently implemented the APD special needs registry program to serve people with disabilities including individuals with autism APD will maintain a database to notify officers during calls for service if someone at the residence or location has a disability in addition families can place a decal on their vehicle and or their residence which provides identification of a disability police in order to respond properly this registry allows our Police Department to provide a safe community and reduce miscommunication during emergency calls for service now therefore I Brian Nelson mayor cpka do hereby Proclaim April 24th as autism acceptance month in the city of Apopka come on officer so come on up and you give a couple words and then we'll have get a picture with you please hello good all righty uh first off I want to say thank you again for being able to speak in front of you guys um I'm happy to say that with the help of uh everybody at the police department with the help of it and and obviously with the help of Chief and his approval uh We've uh got the website down it's officially ready to go and we've got brochures stickers and other information that could be used to hand out to our citizens so that they can be as knowledgeable as possible whenever um having any questions of of anything having to do with either autism or any persons with disability so I would like to keep it short but I would like to thank you guys of course for listening to me today um and also listening to me last month thank you guys well thank you for taking such an interest in that [Music] spe all right next up presentation by Blen Sherman good evening mayor Commissioners at the last council meeting the mayor asked that I come back and share and provide an overview flowchart of the city's check cashing or check processing so I do have a flowchart for you guess I have to hit it here we go why you move the up yeah just a little closer to the mic there you go thank you can you hear me yeah okay so to start our process it starts with the purchasing process you have to complete that process and then issue a PO um level one of the purchasing process allows for purchases under 5,000 with a verbal quote and proof of cost level two for purchases between 5,000 and 14,999 requires two written quotes level three for 15,000 to 499999 requires three written quotes and 50,000 above requires a formal solicitation and of course Council approval as well so once that process is completed the department can submit you know the work to be done and after those services are completed um we're invoiced for those Services I'm going to try to use this so they make their purchases and then the department they review the when they get the invoice the department director they'll review the invoice and approve the invoice and then they send that to accounts payable the PO the approved invoice the delivery receipt because we have to have documentation that the services have been provided or the goods have been received in acceptable form so that goes to accounts payable then accounts payable reviews all of that information the invoice the delivery seat for accuracy and approval if it's approved accounts payable ENT the um uh enters it into adment for the check run okay but if it's not approved we notify the department for Corrections and we come back through that process however continuing on if it's approved on that Wednesday Clos of business is our deadline for any new invoices to be received in process for that Weekly check run going forward the accounts payable will enter any last minute invoices because it does happen and for the that are received on that Thursday again we review the purchase order using the listing and verifying against the invoices another check goes on right there Then accounts payable sends the PO list and the to the payroll and accounts payable manager to review it as well if she doesn't find any errors you will continue on with the accounts payable process to print the checks if it is it goes back through the process again to correct those errors but moving forward without any errors um the C payable makes the check with the backup they match the check with the backup then they give that back to the payroll and accounts payroll manager for review and final approval if that's uh we proceed without any errors on that the payroll and council member checks the backup like I said here review and approve it going forward then she gives the checks back to the accounts pable specialist for mailing purposes then we take the checks over here to City Hall for Milling if there's any corrections of course we go back through that process so it's kind of simple but it's not simple a lot of checks and balance a lot of checks and balances a lot of steps that we go through a lot of review and oversight so we wanted to share that information so if you have any questions please let me know any any questions for blanch all right okay thank you oh I am not the one that's going to be presenting all right the next item is going to be Daniel Anderson he's a partner with Malin and Jenkins he's going to presenting the annual audit results good evening Mr Mayor Commissioners as blanch mentioned my name is Daniel Anderson and I'm the partner with moldon Jenkins who had overall responsibility for the city's 2023 fiscal year and audit and I do have a presentation here we go um first of all I I'd like to just kind of point out that I'm happy to be here in the middle of April you know I know last several years it's been July August that this presentation's been done I actually went back six years and you know this beats the the most timely uh completion of the audit by about two and a half months so that's certainly a testament to blanch and her team uh for the extreme effort that they put in really starting back in midt when we started planning the audit process all the way through uh the beginning of April whenever we were completed with that process so uh happy to be here at this point in time and provide this information to you in a little bit more timely manner than we have prior years I do have a brief presentation for you here this evening uh some brief information about molden and Jenkins I'll talk about the audit opinions and the annual comprehensive financial report I'll go through the required Communications under government auditing standards and then answer any questions and comments that you have you should have a few documents in front of you one is the annual comprehensive financial report or the act for itself the separate the the second is a a document that we refer to as the auditor's discussion and Analysis and this provides all these required Communications that I'll be going through in a written format along with some additional information for you to read and then the last one is the Standalone financial statements for the CRA Florida Statutes required any community redevelopment agencies that had revenues or expenditures in excess of $100,000 to issue a standalone audit so that's the third document that you have as well so briefly some information about Malden and Jenkins we are a large Regional audit organization with offices throughout the southeast year audit was performed from our Bradon Florida office location our governmental Niche is the firm's largest Niche serving over 700 governmental entities in that footprint um additionally we do complete approximately 225 Standalone single Audits and that's a compliance audit um that we performed here for the city as well regarding expenditures of federal Awards uh some basic information about the AER uh you know the only required section under government Accounting Standards is the financial section there so the introductory section that provides the transmitt letter the organizational chart Etc and the statistical section which provides 10 years worth of information over Financial Trends Revenue capacity information uh debt capacity information and operating information that's where the city's chosen to go above and beyond what's required um by Statute and by like I said government Accounting Standards the financial section is the required part that includes our audit report management discussion and Analysis as well as the basic financial statements in footnotes I'll say it is a very large document um but if you kind of break it down and and pick and choose what you're wanting to look at it's a little bit easier to float through and I'm sure blanch would be happy to go over any of that information and I'd be happy to meet with any of you guys individually as well uh if you had any specific questions um or wanted some extensive time reviewing it uh we perform an audit to give our opinion on the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements uh we always want to point out uh we do consider the internal control structure such as the accounts payable process that blanch went through for the purpose of Designing our procedures to support our opinion however we're not issuing an opinion on the effectiveness of those internal controls our audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as well as Government auditing standards to provide reasonable not absolute assurance that the financial statements are free a material misstatement and the financial statements are the responsibility of City's management I'm happy to report that we've issued an unmodified opinion which is the highest form of assurance that that we can provide um and our responsibility does not extend beyond the financial information contained within our report in the back of the document there are some additional reports that you'll notice the first is a compliance report or what we refer to as a yellow book report and this is a report in regards to our test of internal controls and compliance with respect to laws rules and regulations that are deemed direct material to the the city this is a negative Assurance report which means we're not providing an opinion only pointing out any findings if we noted them I'm happy to report that there are no current year findings which again is the first time in at least six years or potentially beyond that I only went back six years uh that your Auditors can stand up here and say that we had no findings in performing the audit I spoke previously about the single audit uh the city did receive and spend approximately $3.8 million in federal Awards which required us to perform an audit over two major programs covering 3.2 million of the $3.8 million of those expenditures and we had no issues in regards to compliance or internal controls over compliance with respect to those grants that we tested uh some of the required Communications that I mentioned that I'll go through here quickly uh like the financial statements Management's responsible for the application of its accounting policies described in note one of the financial statements there was a new governmental accounting standard statement that was issued in the current year related to subscription-based it arrangements or subidas uh if you'll remember last year we implemented a new standard relating to leases uh where essentially if you had commitments and extent uh that extended Beyond one year they were bringing the present value of those future commitments onto the balance sheet and giving you a right to use that asset and then a corresponding liability uh this is the same accounting uh application but it's over any subscription software that the city's utilizing and again with contracts exceeding one year um so that has been implemented and recorded within the city's financial statements uh and considering the qualitative aspects of the of the city's policies uh we're not aware that the city's involved in any controversial emerging issues for which guidance is not available the financial statements do include several management and uh estimates um that we evaluate as part of our audit process some of those significant estimates include the fair value of Investments it includes the net pension and total OPB liability that the city has recorded and it could also include you know the determination of the depreciable lives of your Capital assets so we evaluate those estimates as part of our audit procedures and deem that they are appropriate and in accordance with the accounting guidance that we have again as I mentioned we received full cooperation from blanch and her team and had no disagreement with uh management over the application of any accounting policies or procedures at the conclusion of the audit we obtained written representation from management over the information provided to us we're not aware of Management's consultation with other accountants or what we refer to as opinion shopping there were no significant issues discussed with management there were audit adjustments that were proposed and have been recorded in the city's accounting records but there were no uncorrected misstatements where we propose an audit adjustment and management elected not to post it and then additionally as part of the audit process we are are auditing the footnotes to the financial statements as well and ensuring that they are neutral and consistent in accordance with their required standards we're not aware of the audits being in information um other than what's been provided to you and lastly M and Jenkins is independent with respect to the city uh so I mentioned the auditor discussion and Analysis uh that you have in front of you that does include all the required Communications that I went through uh again you won't find any findings or recommendations in there for the current year audit and it does include some upcoming gasby standards and pronouncements that will be in effect in future years um gby has slowed down a little bit so there isn't anything really that significant that's going to be impacting the city at least in the next two fiscal years and that's the conclusion of the presentation that I have and I'm happy to answer any questions you have about uh my presentation the act for document itself or the audit process any questions for Daniel no questions well just I I've got just a couple of things like you just to when was the last time that you talked to me about the audit it was probably when we started in the planning phase back in August September okay and then have you ever donated any any uh money to campaigns with anybody on this Das no sir okay okay super well no other questions for him that's that's awesome thank you Daniel appreciate your help thank you a lot of all right we got six consent agenda items does anybody need to have any of them pulled oh public I'm sorry yes yes yes you want to come on Rod Olson 3156 ring Hills Lane nka mayor Commissioners again thank you for what you do picture oh good we got them together uh these 11 outstanding individuals are our Fleet Maintenance I learned a few things along the way as I've been working with them as I bring vehicles in occasionally to them no matter what you're do they're doing someone drops what they're doing and comes out and greets whether it's the officer the fire department or a volunteer like myself to take care of business uh I learned that it's not fire trucks and it's not squads and it's not 4x4 Vehicles they are called pieces of equipment and they maintain and keep on the road 1,500 pieces of equipment they're just a great group of guys and do a great job and left to right I just go Miguel Cody uh Colton Scott P Bill Scott K Jonathan Walter Dan Charles overseas the group Ben's in a separate picture couldn't get them all together but Ben orders every part for every piece of those 1500 pieces of equipment they're a great group of guys you have a chance to meet them or talk with them don't hesitate they're just a great group of people and do a fantastic job I do have a couple more things I'm not letting up on the fields at North recreational complex go for yourself and see there are some minor improvements but overall they need work they need more work they need rest we need more fields we will save the city and taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars if not Millions rather than going two a year for the next five years to get that ball rolling more quickly uh finally I am not a current dog owner I've had dogs in the past but we need to make sure we Tire dogs in uh this uh this past week uh we had on on the 10th we had goer toris day out at uh kitland Park uh dogs urinating on the post or the playground material urinating on the beds around it uh dogs under the control or lack of control of small children that twice intervention had to happen when the dog got aggressive with another dog where adults had to jump in and try to move it we need to do that the same thing goes at the North West recreational complex we have a woman I will'll get her license number uh that goes with a vehicle drives around the park scaring Runners scaring Walkers scaring joggers scaring kids being being run along in their little carriages with their mom because the dogs are large they're aggressive they bark out the window and they have a great timing of waiting till they're right on your doorstep and boom they there we need to do something about that uh the responsibility also at the Northwest Recreation Complex for Saturday night sounds as much as I enjoy it we have some people that think oh my dog is so well behaved they're just going to let them walk around without being on a leash there are kids out there throwing balls around things going on please take responsibility for your pets thank you thank you [Music] Rod hi mayor and Commissioners it's always nice to see you guys so on April 6 art took over downtown Art on Main Street gathered a great host of talent in an epic collaboration and filled the streets with vibrant art and activities it began with a sidewalk chalk competition hosted by commissioner Nesta followed by the Art Walk Market designed and curated by the Apopka murals group no borders art competition and the downtown barbers in the evening Main Street Apopka showcased breathtaking creativity featuring five local artists during the very first popup gallery and announc the winner of the downtown art competition then came the Afterparty Art After Dark hosted at three odd Guys Brewing had a belly bursting good time as the creative Hub rallied folks to partake in the online Tik Tok challenge paint your partner Misty morning crafts brought her pottery wheel to demonstrate her craft and You Don't Know Jack collaborations had artists painting live the Mastery on display that day was really magical and to Showcase this Art on Main Street event I've brought our recap video to play for you all tonight one two three draw [Music] [Music] we'd like to extend a special thank you to all of our partners and sponsors that helped bring this event to life and also to commissioner Nesta and commissioner Velasquez for attending our pop-up Gallery our downtown art competition brought in 3,528 online votes and the winner was Cassandra brown with her acrylic on canvas depiction of Highland Manor we're hopeful that her expertise talent and creativity will help our program design an image for downtown that residents and visitors can connect and identify with We are continuing to receive feedback from the community about Art on Main Street through an online survey and are thrilled with the Positive responses surrounding it speaking of surveys we have two additional online surveys available on our website that we would love The public's opinion the small business survey for anyone who owns or operates either a mobile at home or brick-and-mortar business in Apopka and then the visitor survey for anyone who does not have an Apopka address and both surveys can be found on our website we're already looking forward to our next event and encouraging everyone to follow Main Street of poka on Facebook Instagram and to check out our website so thank you everybody thank you awesome and what's the what's the website Main Street aa.com okay thank you thank you thank you for making that that day happened it was a really fun the whole day was absolutely incredible so thank you for you're really redefining how we kind of experienced our city and I'm very thankful for your group for that so thank you it was we enjoyed it good evening Sylvester Hall 391 Rolling Hills Lane uh uh mayor Commissioners it's always good to be here as I say it's another day in paradise but I have to remind people our country our city our state and our country we still in a national crisis too many good people and I have to keep homing this because in the military we had training annual monthly semiannual but it had to be consistent so everybody would know their responsibilities and so that's why I keep bringing this up because this is the problem with our country today too many good people are standing by watching bad things happen and not doing anything about it today we need strong leadership that will stand up for the people remember we're here to serve the people so today we need strong leadership now that will stand up for the citizens and say what is right and do what is right remember this world won't be destroyed by evildoers it's going to be destroyed by good people like ourselves sitting around watching things happen and not saying anything about it we're afraid to get involved we're afraid of the consequences but remember somebody died for us to have this Freedom that we have today and it's up to us to preserve that freedom when we normalize the abnormal we desensitize to truth and sometime we don't care about the truth so I'm I'm going to hit this when I hit it before we all just got up and we said one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all we all say that and it run off our tongue so so smoothly but we know it's not true we living in a world today where we know that's not true and it's up to each and every one of us to make sure that is a reality though it would be a say that's where we at today we don't realize what we're saying and what we say we just say it out of habit not out of reality I bring this up because if we want to truly make this a paradise if we hold our leaders and our elected officials to these simple values principles Integrity honesty accountability responsib ability morals ethics character procedures leadership laws all these things matters and that's what we should expect out of you at a minimum so when you look at this picture here you look at the picture you say and this was a a a training point in my career that I'd never forget but my supervisor said look at this pict what what do you see some people see a beautiful young lady some people see a old lady some people can see them both but the point is you can see that it's a lady so it's okay if you see things differently but at a face value we should be able to see that as a woman whether it's old whether it's young we should be able to see that and so when it comes to what's right and what's wrong we should be able to distinguish that if we don't we're doing the citizen of this country disservice we're doing our First Responders a disservice now when it comes to the audit if everything that the mayor has presented to you then the audit that commissioner Nester is is is asking for it should be a piece of cake it should be a piece of cake honesty Integrity that has to be a law that we live by when we're serving people so I ask for the Duran family one the City Commissioner said we gonna thank you Sylvester appreciate it thank thank you thank you appreciate that thank thank you Mr Hall appreciate it okay who who's next Susan who's next okay Albert mckimm 3603 golden gem road before I came here tonight I handed in the uh dockets to Commissioners to the mayor and to the city clerk so it's a matter of record tonight I am here to ask that our commissioners support the request for an emergency resolution to pay the residents in the city to have independent Water Analysis carried out on their Wells the city had having been negligent or having displayed Criminal Intent with respect to the cover up of a massive spill of non-potable water from its Retention Ponds in golden gem road which were designed to hold 350 million gallons of water and at the time of these photographs being approximately 60% capacity these ponds are now virtually empty the city has failed in its duties to report the sudden and vast egress of water in these pwns to relevant authorities these dissipated into the surrounding environment the city has a field to inform the residents of the possible health and safety hazards resulting from the failure of the liner due to their inability to properly supervise the project the city has issued documentation that states the problem cannot be remedied for six months the city has failed to supply us with information that we requested through Freedom of Information acts however the city today gave a statement to a TV channel stating the information that could not provide us with these numbers were miraculously picked from a hat or of the work of fiction because according to the city's own documentation it will be 6 months before an RFP can be written and the procurement arranged to determine exactly what requires to be done after a thorough investigation the city has cited the problem occurred because a contractor excavated too deeply into the Retention Ponds will the city be holding that contractor liable even though the city's own engineering department was responsible for overseeing the work carried out what contractual obligation has the city entered into with partners with respect to these Retention Ponds how does the city propose to service the contracts including Altimont Springs now that they have lost 350 million gallons of the 450 million gallons of storage they had I have obtained documentation to support my comments many of the questions asked here tonight have already answers for we've carried out research these questions have been asked simply for transparency and accountability tomorrow you will read it on the news today I request for you to support an emergency resolution into a speedy remedy because with the onset of rain and Hurrican season in many areas will face flooding if the administration fails to resolve the problems highlighted here tonight in respect of the city's failure to report on this I personally propose a vote of no confidence in the Water Department suggest that Brian Nelson tenders his resignation because of his inability to run this ination in a manner conducive to Public Safety we do not want to see further loss of life or mismanagement due to his incompetence Dr R Claremont I'm just here to clear up a couple things um make sure everybody is understanding what my family has done it's been 642 days since the death of Austin durian apka firefighter in that time we have absolutely waged a war against the city and the apaka administration in the efforts to prevent something like this from ever happening again we had learned in the course of this time that our attorney had listed individual firefighters on the lawsuit and that did not align with my family's core values we have always for the last 642 days supported our firefighters from one end to the other and we did not feel comfortable having an individual firefighter's name on our lawsuit so this is a letter that we sent our attorney good morning John as discussed yesterday we would like the lawsuit against the city of apaka terminated with prejudice at this time we appreciate all the hard work and effort you have put into this claim and we are thankful for your belief that Fallen firefighter Austin Durant's wrongful death and negligence that the city and the fire department should be held to a higher standard of accountability and agreeing to represent us we still feel that there was gross negligence on the city and the fire department's Administration part specifically fire chief sha wum and division Chief John Hal to allow the sand trailer to be used amidst the warnings of others lack of Maintenance and absence of training it was important for us not only for the city but also the apocryph fire department to do the right thing and admit that they had done something wrong corrected and own up to the negligent death of our son as discussed in our conversation we are not dropping this claim because we believe we do not have a winable case we are not dropping this claim because we feel defeated we are only dropping this claim because we do not want to cause any discourse with or between are dedicated and hardworking firefighters as noted in various reports by consultant agencies and the Florida Fire Marshal's Office the apoc fire department is far from perfect and they have a long way to go to become the fire department that my son envisioned our intent was to uncover carelessness and lack of judgment lack of training and lack of safety by the administration of the fire department and to rightfully hold the fire chief responsible and accountable but never to talk Target individual firefighters that were swept up in our Quest For Justice it is our hope that the city of apaka and the apaka fire department considers this a gift of good faith from my family and our son Fallen apka firefighter Austin Duran as we will continue to honor him remember him and carry out his legacy of serving this community of apaka as a firefighter this lawsuit is done it's over we will not seek this again and we want to get back to business we still feel that the city can do things and the apka fire department can do things to hold their individuals accountable our goal was to make sure that this never happens again and I'm sure every single person in this room agrees to that we only brought this suit because we wanted to provoke change and we f that we did we got the 18 firefighters that were desperately needed we got the training chief that we didn't have we got the health and life safety chief that we didn't have well Sanchez is here today and he testified that the department is making progress and that's what we wanted we don't want to hold anybody to harm we didn't want it we're not out to hurt anybody but we know what happened with our son could have been prevented and our aim and our goal was just to make sure that that doesn't happen to another family that we want every firefighter to go home at the end of their shift Austin did not thank you Mary Bushman hi my name is Mary Bushman I live at 307 North Hawthorne Avenue um I just wanted want to bring some information about what is happening in my community um I live at on Hawthorne Oaks um our neighborhood is an HOA neighborhood and the front of the neighborhood the drain is collapsing public works department has been made aware this is an ongoing thing I have been told that it's going to be repaired there's just no timeline and we need to have a timeline because we have two very mature oak trees at the front of our entrance and they are in danger of collapsing because of that the other thing I want to bring um up is we have a retention Pond also at the front of our neighborhood it seems that with the construction of the new car wash water has been filling our pond it is higher than it normally is trees that are on the bank of the pond are now submerged in the water that is a big concern for us we don't know if the water is being drained from from that car wash but we need to know if it is and if there's a remedy for it because we don't want to flood the other thing is a year ago Lumen came into our neighborhood and started the fiber optic situation they dug up our yards they tried to make a remedy when with newad it all died this month it's Metronet they have literally destroyed our yards It's a 65 home community and when I mean destroyed I have a little tiny patch of land okay it's 60 feet wide I have nine very large dead spots in the easement area they came out and replaced the sod The Sod is now dead so that is our our three concerns right now for the our HOA Community I appreciate it thank you and we've got your information right yeah you sent us you've sent us an email yes yeah right I know we're okay so do is not here but but um or well and I my understanding is there is going to be another yes company coming out so that'll be three Quantum F there's there's four of them in the in the yeah what's your hoa's name again hawor hawor that's what I want it or notk thank you app it okay staccia Carter I wish I'd known that we could that we could bring pictures because I have pictures on my phone my name is staca Carter and I live in The Pines of orava subdivision I'm also on our HOA board and I serve as vice president our subdivision is being damaged or destroyed for l of better words by various companies up our Lawns streets common areas to install fiber in December when we discovered pain markings on our streets and Lawns as well as Flags in our yards I called the city of apopa and I also submitted a written records request to find out why apopa said they had no permits or knowledge of any planned work a week later I received an email that the markings were because the state requires utilities to be marked every few years in the past few weeks we have had at least two different companies laying fiber cables in our subdivision digging up Lawns drilling into streets breaking sprinkler heads breaking sprinkler um lines leaving areas in disarray members of our community have called the city for assistance and each time we have been brushed off one Company Apex who was digging for Blue Streak had a supervisor contact me and they worked with us when there were issues the next company said they would put anything they dug up back in place but so far that has not been true today a neighbor C the city because a third company was drilling so hard that they were rattling the pipes inside her home the city response was was there was nothing they could do and call back if they burst a pipe this is unacceptable why are we at the mercy of these companies and the city has no control at all over their work it seems no permits are required or at least that's what we've been told and it seems the city is washing their hands of any responsibility when someone from our community calls we understand utilities have a right of way but what can but what can and what will be done for the citizens of AP popka or are we at the mercy of each and every fiber company who decides to dig are there regulations that must be followed why isn't any notice required I'm asking what is the city of apoa's involvement and responsibility in this mess and I do mean mess I have pictures to show the mess that are leaving our subdivision in if you look at my subdivision you will see this mess thank you for your time um Cliff do you want to weigh in on the it's it is a mess and I I uh this is our attorney so just so you know briefly there's there's they the utilities have lots of Rights and we don't have as many what we have is the ability to call people and fuss with them and try to get them to cooperate and some sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't and the closer they are to franchise renewal the lot more likely they'll talk to you and listen and the farther they are away the less they listen that's that's sad reality but I I'll be happy to reach out to them and fuss I I don't have a problem with that because I do have the name of the AT&T area manager who is I think she's Blue Streak Blue Street is digging for AT&T she promised me someone called me Monday morning and the subdivision to show all the places they've dug that they haven't replaced um they also had cabl sticking out of the sticking out of the ground in some places and then our front if you've ever driven down Rock Springs Road and you see our front we've always had a really nice entrance and also now half of it is stand so I do have that name and then I only have the name of the third company that showed up today um I don't have a supervisor because they don't because the workers most of them don't speak English or Le they pretend they don't speak English and they won't give us the name of a supervisor no problem I'm happy to give you my contact information uh in and take care of reaching out to whomever you've spoken to and see if I can't get somebody sometimes when you say attorney that gets people's attention not all the time but sometimes okay thank you thank you hey hey Rob would you mind getting your team together and see if we can at least get the the four companies get some kind of a contact and let's put something up on the website just so you know and we can put the dis I get with Cliff we'll put a disclaimer at the front end that you know here are the four companies out here here is a a district manager that if you have a an issue with you know waterline I my they cut my waterline at the at my office on Park Avenue so I I know the I feel the pain as well the pain is real yeah yes so if we could if you could help me with that thank you thank you Rob okay all right next up anybody else I'll okay thank you you okay thank he W popka Florida mayor has was a pretty good acting show there I thought they was going to put a loose around your neck first but you had to tell them you didn't take the money from the investment company or you didn't ask them no favors or anything you know you're getting pretty good at that I wasn't coming up here tonight talk about you but you're so easy lie after lie corruption after corruption no heart he take a good Hometown community and turned it into a septic take preach to them people out there at on the Welch Road 165 of them they had to have that septic system put in what a lie even your own engineer here that's the waste of their money but you don't care cuz you probably got a kickback since the guy from Tallahassee and you were friends with him up there when you were there but you know it's all going to catch up with you like you are the gross negligent reason that Austin dur life is no longer with us you and you alone you put a man incapable of running a fire department that placed someone that was incapable of doing that job and a young man's life was lost Brian is very disappointing in the way you've done in the city Mar land ran it 60 years without nowhere near the controversy that you've caused nowhere near it and when he said I was a popka proud that's because he was he wasn't only proud of his term as the mayor he was proud of the citizens of this community that reached out and love to come home from work and sit in their front yard go to a ball game on Saturday morning enjoy their families go to the city park and enjoy it that's gone you certain areas when you can go to on certain times y'all putting a fence around Amphitheater we've got Park Rangers out there I don't know what the reason for the fence is probably never will know but to me it would been a lot more simpler to hire some more Rangers retired officers or something and let them have a little extra income instead of paying all that money for that fence also to real quick before I run out of time here because people's got something on their minders limited to what they can say but the VFW those veterans over there they've been running that place for long time Here's my thought on it maybe the city should manage the bookings let the veterans go ahead and continue putting the chairs and tables up let them keep receiving the same thing we ain't missed up money in the past and it sure helped them out there's no reason to can change that contract y'all manage y'all do the bookings and that way there won't be no cross bookings or anything else and let the veterans continue drawing the money they were drawing they're there every day that's their home that's a lot of people that's all they got they go up there just to socialize you know that Diane they got their little Museum in there something they're proud of they're proud of they stood up for this country and fought for us for some  to run it the way they want to and do their way they want to and by the way the county is getting the paperwork for me Mr denim uh Jerry Den denon's money Brian yet like you didn't know what it was about last meeting now you know that it okay all right we've got uh six con consent agenda items uh anybody need to pull any of those not look for motion to approve some got a motion by commissioner Velasquez second second by commissioner Smith all those in favor I I'll oppose motion carries unanimous next up approval of the easement agreement with Duke Energy good evening mayor Commissioners rad the Williams parks recreation director uh I'm here first tonight uh for approval of an easan agreement with Duke Energy excuse me uh we need temporary power installed at the location the city property where the fire station 6 fire truck is going to be located while the station is constructed uh so this is a simple easement agreement for Duke Energy to come on the property install the overhead line for that service to to plug the truck in any questions for Radley anybody from the public wish to speak on this one not close a public hearing look for a motion to U approve the easan agreement with Duke Energy so got a motion by commissioner Vasquez second by commissioner Nesta all those in favor I all oppos motion carries unanimously next up execution of the recreational facility use agreement with the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 10147 all right uh after last council meeting I met with the VFW commander and Leadership staff uh to discuss the items that were discussed at the council meeting uh out of those uh we did uh discuss the additional dates for the Bingo uh and actually they're looking at a bunco fundraiser as well uh so we did add the 24 dates for that we did ask that uh and put in that those would be Monday through Thursday uh dates for those type of fundraisers we updated exhibit B uh as far as compensation to $20 an hour for rental uh use of the VFW tables and chairs and $20 an hour per rental for use of the VFW kitchen equipment uh terms are also added uh for the VFW to provide their is IRS form 990 annually which is what they have to report as nonprofit to the RS r s with their tax return VFW was agreeable to all the adjustments um and Commander Anderson signed the agreement this morning uh so we are ready to proceed at the pleasure of the council any questions for Radley just one quiot question S I didn't ask this before the financial reporting requirements is that on any of other our other agreements with any other entity uh not to my knowledge no okay thank you anybody from the public wish to speak not close public hearing look for motion sure uh Sylvester Hall just for the record uh the question that commissioner Nester just asked the annual fing is not on other contracts so why do it need to be on the VFW contract can we can we have that removed if it's not on any other contract we want to be consistent these are the things that I'm talking about being fair being consistent we're here to serve everybody equally whether we like them or whether we don't it's our job to serve all people not discriminate not to impose our likes or dislike it's what is the law and what is fair and what is the procedure if we don't do it for everybody else why are we doing it for the VFW so for the record I ask for it to be taken [Music] off I guess what that ends great point that was my question of I guess what's the reasoning for that or the motivation for that I believe part of the discussion is that the VFW is getting a great benefit out of the use of the building um so to verify that the filings are happening as they should be the the form 990 is a public document so we have access to it anyways then so it doesn't need to be in here then if we already have access to it then I wouldn't put in the lease or I it's not a lease but the use agreement agreement thank you it's at the pleasure of the board well I would move to uh uh well before you move to do that um when we did ask for it um when was the last time that they filed it because my understanding was that the last time it was on file was 2019 am I correct I believe that that was correct yes so we don't have 20 21 22 23 is is that correct correct so the only other organization that is occupying or was occupying a city building is the chamber the chamber the apaka chamber asso organization they do have a lease for the building out in the parking lot yes do we have other organizations that use our facilities uh we have a facility use agreement with Central florid soccer club to use the fields we have a lease with the orange oton Society for the birding Park well that one and we make that requirement of the financial well no we we leas Little League the birdie birding part in the Little League do they all provide they don't we're not Auditors it's not our job we're not the governing entity to make sure that their filings are done that's for the IRS to do right that's not our job okay so I would move to approve this but taking out that they have any type of financial reporting requirement within this agreement okay okay got a motion by commissioner Nesta I want to be consistent with all the organizations that have if we're not requiring it from the other ones I don't feel it's it to single out the VFW organization and I'm afraid it'll go two or two but I'm going to Second it got a motion by commissioner n second by commissioner blasquez all those in favor I I'll oppose motion carries destly next up resolution number 20248 resolution 20248 resolution of the city council of the city of Republic of Florida amending the budget for fiscal year beginning October 1 2023 and ending September 30th 2024 providing for a budget amendment thank you Susan good evening mayor Commissioners um budget amendment um 20248 as Susan just mentioned in the amount of 277,000 31 I have four different items I'll go over with you the first item is insurance proceeds that we received from um police K9 Ted he was injured in the I assume the line of duty and he was insured and we received $15,000 and the police department would like to replace him also we're asking for a head account increase for sanitation um an equipment operator um due to the the growth of course in sanitation there's a need for an additional sanitation equipment operator and so the cost reflected here is just to continue the cost related to going forward not the entire year for the fiscal year so it's $40,000 $ 4,931 I've always talked about a new system implementation since I probably been here you've heard me make some moans and groans about the current system that we have so we want to begin that process of replacing that system um one of the main things that we need to do is document our system requirements to make sure we do this properly and get the system that really need that we really need that can meet our needs so I'm asking for $70,000 to be taken out of Reserve to bring on a consulant that we do have under piggyback or you just approved under the piggyback agreement so we can begin that replacement process of our financial system the last item um we're asking for $152,000 out of reserves to cover the temporary move of fire station 6 from Advent Health Hospital property due to new construction again that total is $277,900 any questions for blanch uh where where we're moving the fire department to Bion road yeah we own the property and we own the where the the sell Tower is MHM we own property across the street which backs right up to a apartment complex right so we're going to do is have the firefighters will be staying in an apartment and the they go right through the their fence into where our fire truck will be so they're the same the building closest to the to our property so they're literally There is close from here to Radley from their apartment to the where the firetruck will be okay and there's going to be a a hanger or something from the yeah yeah yeah we're building a hanger some they moving some type of lotting as the awning we have will be moved yes I think they're adding another one if the chief told me and to confirm there's still we're still renting the trailer they're living in or no we're going to be living in their apartment units October first we got it rented until o it's a cut off yeah we have what rented until October first the trailer the trailer then what are we doing then they they take the the owner of the trailer takes they got they're going to take it now because yeah there is a cut off okay thank you okay any other questions for blanch anybody from the public wish to speak on this one I hope I can get a respon response out of one of the four of you but how long have we had the money for the fire station 6 in our account can blanch answer that or can you honestly look at the mayor and say it you don't know yeah no I didn't think you knew it's going to cost us $150,000 for a temporary move and we've had the money we've had the land and we set on asses not to station six thank you taxpayers thank you so much unreal and I just I can't believe it the station six still be still be built by the end of the year that promis that y broke ground can't answer that one either wow anybody else want to speak on this one not we'll close the public hearing look for a motion to approve resolution 20248 so move got a motion by commissioner Smith second second by commissioner Velasquez all those in favor I all oppos motion carries and ab thank you thank you next up city council reports commissioner Nesta you want to start us out absolutely got a couple different items to go over we're going to bounce around a little bit here we did speak about and I appreciate commissioner vasco's bringing up uh the Chamber of Commerce building is there an update with that is it being used when does the lease expire what's going on with that building and Radley sorry that I I forget that you are over that as well no worries um I did speak uh with the chamber actually earlier today uh for an update uh as you know there's damage storm damage to that building they had to file some insurance claims to get that moving replaced the roof and then they also had to do some remediation inside the building that's all been completed and the latest update I got today was that they're approximately three weeks away from hopefully beginning the interior renovation of the building uh they've uh received quotes and bids to do that work and have made a selection and they'll be starting that again approximately they gave me in about three weeks okay thank you for that while you're up here can you provide an update on the P for the soccer field what does that look like a timeline when can we start expecting actually seeing something sure um so actually I had a meeting followup meeting again with this this morning on the soccer fields uh we have built out the scope uh for the RFP that's going to go out for that or the bid that's going to go out for that uh reviewing that in the procurement uh division right now over in finance uh that is the first bid up on the list for our Parks and Rec Department uh and hoping to have that out here very shortly at that point we'll get the uh respondents back make a selection and move forward what is that to educate me please once it's at an RFP we it's 30 days 45 days I believe don't quote me that project I think is about 30-day Okay window and then from there it'll come back to us I assume because for a contract approval okay and then when can we start to expect to see ground moving uh as soon as that contract is signed the we're trying to move that thing yeah as fast as possible definitely needed yes we hear it every meeting and it's definitely uh something that our community needs for sure so um and also just to kind of also highlight that project in particular rather than as you know we have a phased approach for this for adding Fields year-over-year uh as opposed to having to bid this project or a similar project out every year we have built the the scope of the project to be a multi-e contract so it's a natural field installation contract so we can use that for multiple years and also multiple types of athletic fields so we'll know up front our end date of these fields being complete then once that Contra correct we'll have a contract signed and then it'll still be year over-ear based on the budget okay um but the procurement will be taken care of okay all right perfect thank you um the golden gem issues do we I guess what's going on with the the the water there the Wastewater pond it's not Wastewater it's not waste water it's reclaim water um I know we're we've got it out for uh not a design it's just trying to determine what it is whether it's a a sinkhole a legitimate sinkhole or is it just a a depression that formed in the bottom of the pond so that's and then we got to determine how to fix it um so uh hopefully we'll have some ideas in the next 30 to 60 days as to what what the um the fix is for the pond okay and then were is there requirements to report this to any governing bodies in any capacity yes it's been reported to D and to St John's okay perfect thank you all right that's that one uh I'm going to be starting to do every other month a uh city property cleanup the the one that I did on Martin Street was really successful and so we're going to start doing that and there's a lot of uh residents that want to get involved in that so we're going to start doing that more and more um so be on the lookout for that if there's any specific properties that we own that that needed I'm going to start with fire stations up front and and move from there I've talked to Radley we're going to create a schedule and kind of move forward with that do some other Parks I think that's going to be um really beneficial for the community um going on to and again a lot of this is going to be bouncing around here the shade meeting for Union negotiations um it was requested and it was I guess understood that you want to wait until commissioner elect Anderson is here yes so it'll be I've talked to um um Jeffrey Mandel and we'll have it he's got a I think a negotiation on the second I want to say Daytona Beach or anyway the East Coast he should be done at around noon so he said when I get done from there I'll come swinging this way and we'll some he said if you got some flexibility during your commission meeting I will make it I'll make it happen so he um so Cliff we're good on the we're just going to be flexible on when we' go into the uh the shade meeting yeah and because it's the labor shade meeting you can you have a lot of flexibility notices and so forth so yeah so why don't we do Zoom like we did last time or previous time uh to help expedite the process well she doesn't take she doesn't take office until the 30th so I understand that too and and commissioner like Anderson too are would you be comfortable with us having a meeting beforehand before you actually are seated and then have another one after you're seated we're GNA have many more actually okay so and the only downside to that other than the extensive delays that we've already been experiencing is that we have from what I my understanding Orange County s County Winter Park and Orlando are all actively going through negotiations right now uh we're comparing all of our numbers to their old ones those are all going to be updated here soon and it only gets more expensive as we progress so the more delays that we experience the more expensive this gets for my residents so that's fine as long as you guys understand that these delays are costing more and more money I was just uh shown that city of Orlando opened up their contract for the police department and they just increased their um pay for their police officers so again this is only going to get more expensive as the longer we delay this and um it doesn't quite make sense why we need to continue to delay it but that's okay uh so are we doing May 2 correct okay is that right is it or is it May 1 I'm just excuse me May 1 it will be during our commission meeting okay yeah May 1 I'm sorry and then in reference to the forensic audit yes ma'am uh I know you're asking for scope things like that you want very specific items labeled and things like that I know we had the discussion and I wrote emails back and forth and I I stated it in the the minutes that we also approved earlier today that my presentation was as granular as I want to get I think it needs to be a very wide cast net was the whole point of this that a 5 vote agreed to so if you want I don't know to what extent you need my assistance on that level but I don't know if there it doesn't need to get more granular than that it needs to be a widenet that's the whole point of it and I don't know what else to it doesn't need to get more specific I guess it's my concern is that the more specific we get the more things we're going to miss so do you want me to disregard um the comments from our previous commissioner Becker no don't disregard anybody's but his were also very uh broad as well his were not deep dive specific they were um he's referenced what he wanted and and sure use that as a a template of sorts but it's not going to be the it only is this item again it's it's a wide cast net okay I would draft based on the information that I have and I'll send it out to each of you to give a final review to let me know if that's how you want to proceed and we'll go forward that's perfect I appreciate that okay and mayor I know you had said you had other items you want to add to that at the last meeting so I would love to hear those at some point um whenever you want to present those uh we had we pay a tiger Bay Club membership fee is that for all the commission to go to and attend what what does that entail that's my membership I'm served on the board as president of the Tiger Bay Club which is a it's a political organization that um we bring in uh both sides you know Republicans and Democrats and we talk about issues um so it's a we've uh matter of fact we've got one coming up the first of the next next week uh excuse me May 2nd that's the reason I got the date wrong the um for we're having the a legislative update so I've got I was in charge of selecting the speakers or our legislative panel so I've got broer true now Arrington Thompson um Mr to so I was in charge of putting together the panel so it's a way for me to to uh to be able to network with other elected officials in Orange seol and Oola counties so I I what I think would be beneficial if if it's I think we need to be allowed all Commissioners should be able to go to that as well I think it'd be beneficial for that so um to fund that correctly so that we do have everybody can learn and grow and network in the same capacity and get legislative updates as well uh in May I'm going to be starting to do uh office hours it's going to be every Thursday from 11: to 1: p.m. here at City Hall uh I'll have 30 minute time slots for residents to come speak about whatever they' like to speak about on whatever topic anything and everything or nothing so I will be that much more available to our residents so that'll be every Thursday starting in May from 11:00 to 1: p.m. um spoke to uh chief of police as well as uh Lieutenant Brick we're we I was at the Cod enforcement meeting yesterday and I go to every single one I've only missed one since being elected uh and I've been told I was very missed at that one totally kidding uh that not specifically to finds but more so the Foreclosure policy and formalizing some type of policy that says once a residential property hits a million dollars in fines and as long as they don't it's not a homesteaded property it doesn't have any other leans or uh uh clouded title then we start the foreclosure process and pretty much everything else will start at one and half million and and again same requirement so I think formalizing that and I'd like to hear from you guys if you guys are open to that and having staff move forward with a formalized process for what the foreclosure process looks like for code enforcement um that sounds like a good idea because um we do have some that are what up in the we have many that are multi-millions so I just think it gives teeth to not only our department but it also just because the whole goal is not to gain Properties or to gain money from fines it's to just get everyone in compliance that's our whole goal that benefits the community and its entirety so it's not a land grab but I think that helps to when we formalize it they know okay once that hits uh once this dollar amount hits then the for it's real now you can't just keep this going on and on and on so I think I think it helps our uh code enforcement department to move forward with that but again I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts on that do we actually we have multiple is it residential or commercial or is it both do we have them exceeding a million yeah both we do have yes I I get updates often about it and it's varying properties in varying areas U and very different amounts I want to say the highest one right now on the residential side is $6 million in fines $6 million for one residence correct do they have a process I mean I'm looking at Chief mckenley with code enforcement do we have anything yeah we do have a process in in discussions with commissioner Nesta a lot of times it's what are the violations some of them are public safety issues that we do need to proceed with the attorney and move on some of them aren't necessarily a risk to the community or Public Safety or anything else and those fines run and they may be put off to the side if you all want to determine a dollar amount that they automatically go I think we currently have 15 or 20 with Mr Shepard's office going through the process uh obviously there's a fee that he's charging us to do each one of these so we try to take the most serious ones with the most serious violations to the attorney to follow through um you know Lieutenant brick does a good job of sitting down with the Code Enforcement Officers all the time and deciding which ones need to go which ones are it you know I think we do sort of consider the million-- dollar threshold um sort of excessive obviously and we make those determinations uh when he meets with them and he'll forward those to U Mr Shepard's office for the proceedings um so there's there are a lot of things that go into how we decide what's going forward and obviously you know we also try to be physically responsible with how many we have over there he only has so many attorneys and we can't keep you know if we have a hundred of them I don't think we can send a 100 to his office and expect them to be handled in a timely manner for information purposes each foreclosure costs 2,000 000 in filing fees that's not legal fees so if he sent hundred send me also $200,000 to pay the filing fees I mean I'll be happy to work with anybody and make sure that you know we have a process in place I think we have a process in place I'm comfortable with the way it's being handled uh but if you want me to look into a little bit further and come back and tell you you know I don't know what to tell you because each situation is different it's not that every violation is exactly the same some of them are very you know we need to deal with them and we need to deal with them immediately um and some of those get brought before the code enforcement hearing a little bit quicker than some of them that we're just trying to get somebody again as commissioner Nesta said it it's about compliance it's not about the fines it's not about the fees and there's a lot of restrictions on who we can take if they have a homestead ex except exemption uh we can't do anything with it really we can let the F Fe fines run but we can't do a lot with it because of the homestead exemption on on the resident so you know they do look at and try to prioritize who needs to go to the attorney so so when they have a homestead what protects them with homestead you can't take that it's it's their Homestead you can't take it so and I Mr he's he's more versed on this than I am but that's pretty much it it's their Homestead they filed for homestead exemption on it and you can't that is 100% correct and it's one of the reasons why people who owe big money in other states were Homestead is not protected move to Florida if you'll remember way back when the old baseball commissioner buyun did that he moved to Florida so he could take his money and keep it away from creditors by put it in a really big house down here that's very common so th those leans or code violation that come before us um to be resolved that means that we have paid the $2,000 to have those filed yeah well only if it's been if it's been filed not all of them they come before you we may be resolving it before whatever went to Mr Shepard's office um I don't know the status of the one that came before you tonight what I don't think it went to Mr Shepard's office a lot of times they'll be settled if the property's going to be uh sold it's got to be settled it's got to be resolved before the property gets sold so they'll want to come into negotiations as to what they can do to um pay the city get the lean removed from their property get the code enforcement fines resolved whichever the case may be and be able to improve the property and that all comes with the stipulation that they are going to improve the um property and come in to compliance with what the violations currently are so so you're comfortable with the process you have in place currently I am comfortable with it I I mean again you all want me to send every one of them to over th a million dollars or a threshold $100,000 to Mr Shepard's office we can we can do that there is an extreme cost associated with this um and again my and S to interrupt there but my point is and I and and we've discussed this and again the only commissioner that goes to all these uh meetings and hearings and understand what's going on there is that we want compliance if they're not if we're not going to if we're not willing to go to the worst case scenario and people know that we're not they're going to take advantage of us and they have there's many residents that have or many what what happens a lot is it's investment firms and companies that don't live here that don't have a a a stake in our community other than rental homes or or a an old building that they may own and that's what's being a blight on the community and if we're not going to initiate something or be able to look back and say as Commissioners and as as the city be able to say look no we have a policy in place that once this hits this isn't we're not being uh um we're not targeting anyone it's hey once this is hit we're moving forward it has nothing to do with your political affiliation who your friends are the amount of money you have once you hit this we're moving forward it's a policy so I think so and a lot of those that that you mentioned are the ones we are going to go after because they don't have the homestead exemption because they're a corporation that own a piece of property uh so those are you know some of the fruit at the lower lower hanging fruit that we are going to pick off because they are the ones that we don't have to deal with a lot of them that might be up over the million dollars might be a homestad exemption where we can't do anything I mean we can I know you get a report I don't know if your report I haven't looked at it in a little while includes which ones have homest I think it does have homestad exemption on it yeah last time I looked at it and you know they can be at $5 million there's really what are we going to do sure but the ones that are owned by corporations or owned by businesses where they don't have a homestead exemption those are the ones that are easier and I'm pretty confident we're going after well and and so and I and I appreciate you bringing up the I do ask for a pretty consistent list and updates on our code enforcement our top I think it's 15 or top 20 of who owed who owes the most and um that would actually be beneficial I think for everybody all the Commissioners to have to to see what that looks like I think that'll be very good for everybody to understand kind of the information I'm running with here and because there's a lot of properties there and and not to rebut but we are missing a few that are some higher um properties that I know are not Homestead and I know they don't have other and there are some organizations on there that do have exess some high fines but they're in compliance now but they're still f but there are still fines but they're in compliance and the goal here was to bring them into compliance eventually some of those properties are going to be sold well then we have repeat offenders as well which is something that I know Lieutenant brick does not prefer and and and goes pretty aggressively at them so that again it's the it's and you you had said it earlier as well it's the ones that I want to create a policy that is still fluid enough that you guys do what you need to do without any interference but at the same time it gives the teeth when it's needed and there's some that I think that are needed um and again I mean we know that there's transitions in departments sometimes and you may get new officers out we just got a new one actually he just did his first hearing um yesterday uh Mr LeBron and he did a great job so um it's those that help to we are fortunate to take him from Orange County I know I'm very happy we did that so it helps to have uh those in place for any of our new officers things like that as well so I again it helps us to point as a commission as as police department to say look we're not weaponizing anything it's in our policy it's been written there it's signed it's delivered where that's what it is so I think it helps to create again more policies that are consistent across the board where there's no ambiguity nobody can say that there's anything inappropriate going on no and and obviously we don't want any improprieties looked at sure to make it look like we're doing anything but at the same time in some of these situations you know there has to be some discretion as to what are the violations um what is the situation it it you know that led to those violations and other things there there's we're talking about people people's homes and people falling Hard Times how do we get them through that what what is their ultimate goal me but you know it's the homest set of property that doesn't count I think that you know if you want we can send all the Commissioners the list that you currently get with the top 15 top 20 whatever it's it's easy for to populate and if there's a particular property that you have an interest in or you want an explanation in we can by all means meet sit down meet with you and discuss that particular property and decide which way we should go with it or if we're not going in the direction you think I think right there that that that's that inconsistency then I think you if I have a concern over a property it takes that away that nobody can have a specific concern it's it's met the threshold but again we can still create that ambiguity a little bit to where you let the officers do what they need to do at the same time to your point if it's not a repeat offender it's uh one rental property that somebody owns it's not their Homestead of property no leans are on it but it we they Tall Grass once they forgot to pay the fine not a big deal we're not going to foreclose on that one so I want to create something that still allows your officers that flexibility but at the same time it doesn't allow me to meet with you and say I want to foreclose on this property and we'll do whatever you want to do to all of you I mean um you know we we try to process them in a fair and Equitable way and deal with them I don't know if Mr Shepard has any policy recommendations um I'm working with his office on a couple other ordinances and uh polic IES I'll be happy to work with them on another one to see what we can do but um you know it's it's trying to write language that allows discretion sometimes is becomes as ambiguous as what we're trying to avoid the one property you referenc as residential has a $6 billion fan so is that properly homestad it is so there's nothing we can do correct but you you want to hear it yeah okay so uh in my prior lawal life before I started representing cities and governments uh I did HOA foreclosure work condo foreclosure work deed restriction enforcement there's hardly a more thankless job in the world other than maybe the road road Ry um and let me just say say this the policy that we used in order to ensure higher collection rates is we picked the worst which is essentially what the chief is trying to do and we went after them hard and and once we successfully took the property away from them or won a judgment in which they had to pay legal fees you know thousands of dollars in legal fees etc etc in order to hang on to their homes or their cars or whatever else we might be taking uh we would publicize it I would my advice to the uh homeowners and condos was if you have a newsletter put it out in the newsletter that um hey don't let this happen to you this is what happens when you do not pay attention to your your fines your assessments your deed restrictions or whatever it might be so it it's kind of the theory that the squeaky whe gets the grease much like people prioritize their credit card bills and other things uh versus their mortgage payments mortgage payments usually come first because those are the ones that'll cost you your house and other things that are not secured like credit cards typically don't cost you anything except bad credit and so that's how people prioritize and so once people realize that these code leans can be turned into actual foreclosures that mean you actually lose property uh then the tendency would be to get them in line now that's not going to work for everybody because as the chief mentioned if you got corporate investor owners they're just they just said you know whenever you get around to me in the meantime I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing but for for the other folks the ones that actually are just thinking that they can get away with it the best education is by beating the crap out of people and then telling them that you've done that and they're coming for you're coming for them next then they get on the compliance train and so that some version of that can work here and you if you asked the question how would you notify them well if you know who they are you can notify them directly if you want to put a broader notice you certainly have the utility bills and the inserts and so forth but my suggestion would be notify them broadly send out a you know certified mail return receipt and so forth uh here's a copy of the Judgment we just obtained from so and so in these three foreclosures um this is what's going to happen next next uh or you can come into compliance that would be my suggestion okay and I appreciate that and I think but to your point I like that idea if we create a policy of that because that if we just do it once like you said we need to continue to do it needs to be something we're doing twice a year quarterly whatever it may be to keep that reminder going and again creating a policy that sets that and uh sets that expectation correctly I think so I I I would I think it would be beneficial especially on the real estate side just I really feel that the Market's going to be doing different things and that we may have more issues with this down the road especially on the commercial property side that we need to formalize something up front now uh to get going with it correctly and support our officers correctly with this so what I'd like to see is some type of if we can just get a draft policy it doesn't need to be adopted doesn't need to be anything if we can just start on that at least and let's see what that looks like by next meeting and and kind of move forward from there if we want to move forward and I mean I always offer that if any of yall want to come in Lieutenant brick I know sits down with them you know because the same thing applies to who we bring before code enforcement you know is the individual trying to make a an effort to remedy the situation if they are we continue to try to work with them if they're not trying to remedy the situation they're going to go before the code enforcement hearing officer and we're going to start the fines uh so it does allow us that discretion to try to treat you know each individual and each situation differently depending on the circumstances and the individuals involved I I agree with you 100% Corporation that probably have the ability to fix the problem and don't fix the problem we we need to do something with them uh and I think those are the low like I said low hanging fruit that we can do something with um residentials you know individuals fall in hard times they lose a job they do this and certain things happen and and they can't do certain things or certain repairs you know but if they're making an effort and we can work with them to try to resolve that before we take them to the code enforcement hearing and those fine start you know that that's better for our community and better for the individuals well I appreciate that i' i' definitely get that and if we can I still want to work on a just a draft rough policy let's see what it looks like and kind of move forward from there okay I'll work with Mr Shephard perfect thank you I like i' like to have a copy of the list yeah I'm sorry I'd like to have a copy of that list yeah I'll have Lieutenant brick send it to all of youall that'd be valuable thank you so much Chief um all right did that one that one I just want to say uh congratulations to commissioner Becker this would have been his last um meeting but fortunately it was his La uh the last one was the last one we didn't know about it so just congrats to him I mean he's moving on and has some really great Endeavors that um he's working toward so it's exciting to see him grow and change in his family just Prosper I want to thank him for his service to the city um what he's shown us has been absolutely incredible and it will not go unnoticed and and his legacy is going to truly live well on here for a very very long time I mean the uh uh want say could force with the um Economic Development Department I mean we can pretty much call that the Becker Development Department I mean he he truly uh endeavored that for years and years and years and finally accomplished that which I was very happy to see him do that prior to him leaving so um kudos to him I thank him for everything and and uh he he he said a high bar for all of us to uh to get to so I I thank him for that my last one is just we have the oath of office both for commissioner elect Anderson and I on April 30th here in Chambers at noon so uh feel free to stop by and come celebrate with us and see this cool event thank you commissioner Smith All right well I just like to say congratulations also to commissioner Becca for his Services I'm sure he's listening or he will go back and listen later uh and we wish him the best in whatever Endeavor he's going to pursue just like to give a a shout out to Public Works uh for the work they're doing on uh improving the uh embankments along some of our roadways uh especially on Vic road that was one that I was very uh concerned about and so I just wanted say that they do an outstanding job and just want to know that their work is going uh is being noticed also to our Police Department for the work they're doing in our school zones um people are just being ignoring the flashing lights and so it's a hazard for our kids and so our police department has been present and very visible and making a difference in that area and so I just want say thank you for what you're doing in in that area as well that's all I have commissioner Vasquez okay I think he covered a lot um I kind of like your idea about making some time for our constituents here in the city of a uh in city in City Hall um I spend a lot of time here usually going back and forth and getting a lot of information um on that note I I also spend a lot of time with um with our staff and I I really want to thank our staff because um you know I do spend a lot of time with our CFO when I'm unsure about some of the finances and she does give me the time and uh last week I actually spent probably about two hours with public services with Mr doodad and Mr Glen Brooks and it had to do with um you know just getting a lot of clarity about the golden gem uh pond that's out there and understanding some of the issues that are there and where are they going how are they moving forward to try and remedy that that uh problem that we have there and so I really do want to thank um and also a city clerk uh because I spend a lot of time getting public records from her all the time um and it has to do a lot with uh a lot of our constituents do contact us whether it's through uh phone calls or emails so I know I make the effort of always trying to follow up and then trying to educate myself uh with just the information that I need to kind of uh give forward to our constitu so that they can feel like you know we we are listening to them because in reality the the truth is that we serve them and it's it's they shouldn't have to be looking for answers if they can contact us uh good so you know I may take you up on that and making some time for constituents but I mean they they they reach out to me and and I pretty much always get in contact with them so I just want to say that and I I think it's a great idea um you touched on the chamber building and that was something that I uh did speak to our Recreation director uh Mr Radley because um besides our employees being the greatest assets to our City the second most greatest asset that we have is our city buildings and uh and since we are working to um kind of take control of our poka Community Center so that we can give better service to our taxpayers who actually uh pay for that building um the chamber has been out of service for over a year and a half if not much longer and obviously the chamber has had a long distinction of of having the city building for I think what was it a dollar a year and the truth is I I've gone to many of our departments in the city where we're kind of busting at the seams with person now and as our city grows we're hiring more staff to support um our you know day-to-day operations but we don't have the space for them so at some point in time I did I did recommend to uh our director uh Radley for us to take over the chamber building because obviously the Apopka chamber has been doing very well without the building I don't know where they're meeting um I don't know how they're working uh since they've been without a building and obviously they're doing very well so I feel like we should have that building and be able to accommodate some of the Departments that we have in the city that are in desperate need of space so that's something that we should consider it would be consistent in the fact that if we want to uh have control of the Apopka Community Center we should also do the same with the chamber building because it is a great asset it um I know that we're building a public safety building but that's something that's going to be 3 to 5 years down the road but in the meantime our city is growing we're hiring more staff um and we just don't have the space for them and I know that because I've gone to many different departments within the city from public services to uh utilities uh to even just here in this building and um we once had an office here um I like to see a space designated for us um we constantly I think we all share the conference room that has been designated for our former uh you know Edward bass but I feel like we we need a space for privacy and just to be kind of professional I know all the other cities do provide a space for their Commissioners so that we can see constituents so I'd like for that to be considered and maybe find a space for us um again the everyone has congratulated uh commission uh our vice mayor commissioner Kyle Becker um just kind of uh say the same words um he's been a big acid here and we all learned something from him he will be missed but we all wish him and his family well um I'm sorry that he didn't come to the last meeting but you know it was his choice he did the right thing he closed on his his home and he was no longer a uh a resident of our city so congratulations to Kyle Becka we wish him the best in his new Endeavors um I also want to uh say thank you to all the residents and all the um texts and telephone calls uh for congratulating me on taking over the uh the position that he held very proudly uh as vice mayor and I want to thank the mayor because he was actually the second person to text me and just say congratulations so um it's an honor and a privilege and I uh really truly appreciate the support and the friendships that I have earned uh in in the many years that I have been here representing our city uh the only thing I just tell people um you know Kyle set the bar High I am not you know I'm not as as as Beck was but I will do my best to continue to represent you to continue to uh be connected to our our city as as I do and to really when you call me and you have some issues and some problems or some concerns I will continue to serve you as best as I can and get as much information for you so uh again thank you um and to my husband I think he's watching for his support he has been the big biggest support um and without him I could not do the job that I do and give up as much time as I do away from my home and from my family um so that I can continue to serve you so thank you to everyone and uh and that's it for me thank you Cliff anything I'm disappointed to report that I have nothing to report yeah it's never a bad thing okay all right items from mayor's office well I'm going let's get the forensic audit out I've got six items I'd like to add blanch and I'll give you a copy of this this list uh first one I want to verify the BTR which is the business tax receipt payments from 2013 to current for Nesta real estate Consultants brpc Consulting and Nelson's Insurance Services okay two I want to get a copy or find out make sure that the qualifying checks for all candidates for the 2022 and 2024 elections were were ER and they uh deposited number three how many late campaign reports for Nesta Smith Velasquez and Becker and Nelson for all the elections and if you'd like you can go through all seven elections I've been a part of number four verify or discredit the excess income of interest income of one Florida Bank over sovis Bank from June of 2021 to June of 2023 when one Florida decided not to take on any city of Apopka deposits five on the promises made Promises Kept reelect nestic postcard at States number two physically responsible spending I successfully advocated and secured a solid investment option earning approximately 1 million more per year in interest for the residents funds meaning lower taxes and the ability to invest back into the community I need that to please help verify that those extra earnings that Nesta secured and continues to generate and then number six I'd like to know the excess spending on attorney fees since our outside our inside Council was forced to resign so those are the six items I'd like and I'll I'll give you this C do you mean when you lied about the attorney so is that what you mean that's good no I'm excited to see those fees as well okay now first up art and Fage Festival you know coming up on April 27th 28th from 9 to 5: on Saturday 10: to 4: on Sunday uh the opening ceremonies will be uh Saturday morning at 9:30 at the Gazebo uh was at the uh Mexican consulate Monday night uh to to receive an award from the alma 2023 International award from the association of municipalities of Mexico hosted by the Mexican consulate we had uh a Supreme Court Justice from Mexico City congresswoman from Colombia and met a lovely lady that's the mayor of eek municipality in Colombia so it was a great event glad to be honored there uh next up the uh according to the wallet Hub a popular rank number 58 the United States among small towns for starting of business the study analyzed 1334 small towns across the country weighing factors such as business environment access to resources and business cost we've got uh the business uh chamber Expo which is tomorrow April 18th from 4: to 8:00 p.m. at the Hilton Garden in and last but not least our own Cody McKinley was up signing his letter of intent we had 13 athletes signed letters of intent at apka high school today and if you add the other 10 that signed early um early signing date uh comes to 23 athletes uh girls and and boys that signed letters of intent to play at the next level so proud of Cody and proud of all the other 22 athletes that will be playing on at the next level so with that call it a day okay