##VIDEO ID:0-OhImJOR4E## [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] morning everybody we're going to call the meeting to order um and we're going to start with our uh Pledge of Allegiance and uh actually I guess a small invocation in Pledge of Allegiance um let us begin this meeting by taking a brief moment of silence and reflect upon the struggle that the community the county and several States face as we the United States of Amica liy and justice for all okay good morning everybody um obviously we've had quite a week here and a lot of people struggling um so we want to continue to think about them and we will have an update a little bit um I don't see this meeting that being that long I don't think anything's going to drag on um but in this meeting we'll do be doing our emergency uh Proclamation that was actually done before but we have to ratify it and at that time the city manager will give a a full update on what's going on with storm activities recovery activities at this point and um so we'll go on with our meeting and then deal with that then so appreciate that okay so we have fire prevention week and I believe uh commissioner Walker is going to read that Proclamation thank you vice mayor first of all I just really want to thank our First Responders for the efforts that um you all have done over the course of the last week um this is absolutely my privilege and honor to read this Proclamation I'm going to fire prevention week uh very timely obviously and uh with that with that said uh I'll I'll get started fire pre mention week October 6 through 12th 2024 whereas the city of denan is committed to ensuring the Safety and Security of all those living in and visiting denan and whereas the National Fire Protection Association announces that smoke alarms make them work for you is the theme for this year's fire prevention week and whereas fire is a serious Public Safety concern both locally and nationally and home are the locations where people are at the greatest risk from fires and whereas Home Fires killed more than 2700 people in the United States in 2022 according to the National Fire Protection Association and fire departments in the United States responded to 360,000 Home Fires whereas roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or with no working smoke alarms and whereas working smoke alarms cut the RIS R of dying in reported Home Fires almost in half and whereas smoke alarms sense smoke well before you can alerting you to danger in the event of fire in which you may have as little as 2 minutes to escape safely and whereas dened and resident should install smoke alarms in every bedroom outside each separate sleeping area like a hallway and on each level of the home test smoke alarms at least once a month by pushing the test [Music] button sound effects man that was that was that was that was good almost yeah this is yeah this is this is becoming very very dramatic um replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or stop responding when tested and whereas residents should make sure their smoke alarms meet the needs of all their family members including those with sensory or physical disabilities and whereas First Responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of Home Fires and home fire inj injuries through prevention and protection education now therefore I Robert Walker by virtue of the authority vested in Me by the mayor of the city of denit in Florida and on behalf of the entire city commission do hereby Proclaim 2024 Fire Prevention Week theme as smoke alarms make them work for you to effectively serve to remind us that we need to take personal steps to increase our safety from fire good morning vice mayor Commissioners city manager uh as we kick off this uh years's PR oh okay I jumped down that one uh as we kick off the fire prevention week this year we're obviously focusing on that critical message of smoke alarms making them work for you smoke alarms are the the simplest yet most important tool in protecting our homes and families but they cannot save lives if they're not profitably installed regularly tested and maintained so this month I want the community to uh to commit to ensuring that the every home has a working smoke alarm especially near the sleeping areas and on every level of the home so this year we have the added threat of the Hurricanes well we have the threats all the time but we actually had the impact this year of the Hurricanes there's an important connection between fire safety and storm preparedness during a hurricane flooding can occur which we've seen and electrical and will cause electrical systems to Short Circuit this increases the risk of fires when we are least expecting it and we're at our most vulnerable that's why it's essential to evacuate when instructed getting out early not only to keep you safe from rising wers Waters but also from the potential of the fire hazards from the electrical issues and the uh electric vehicles by being proactive both in maintaining our smoke alarms and preparedness for national disasters like hurricanes we can help protect ourselves our loved ones and our community thank you for your commitment to safety and and having this Proclamation read here today and let's continue to work together to make our homes and our community safer thank you thank you having pink you anybody want to make any get a picture yeah if I can get the rest if I can get the rest of the uh firefighters up here and staff I we'll do a picture up front okay no short one thank you I'm going to take the Liberty to say when the comments were made about fire um uh fire alarms um it's interesting most of these rules sometimes we complain about them it's a hassle it costs money but they almost always come out of great tragedy so it's important we pay attention to it and I'm glad we've got some very good people you know working on our behalf thank you okay uh the next item is government Finance Officers Association distinguished budget presentation award to denan for fiscal beginning October 1 uh 2023 I'm I'm not sure how we're doing this less than Ashley but at least I can read um we got everybody up here Jean okay and so um the dynamic the threesome I'm just going to read this first paragraph myself and then I'll let you guys take it um I'll give you the award um so a panel of independent reviewers have completed their examination of your of the annual budget for Denon period beginning October 2023 and this is the government Finance Officers Association pleased to inform you that your budget document has been awarded the distinguished budget presentation award from government Finance Officers Association gfoa this award is the highest form of recognition in government budgeting its attainment represents a significant achievement by your organization meaning city of Denon and we know we know how great you guys are and how much you do for us so um if I can read this it's is government Finance Officers Association distinguished budget presentation Award presented to City of denan Florida uh for this year thank you 2023 thank you vice mayor fry I just like to make a a few quick comments thank you for reading that very much uh Les Tyra the finance director for the city I just want to mention that uh that the finance department would like to recognize the mayor and the City commissioners and the city manager for establishing sound financial and budgeting policies that have been affirmed by bomb rating agencies for our city we would also like to thank all the city of dunen departments for contributing in significant ways in in produce and uh and help achieve this budget award thank you thanks for everything you guys do and and I I I'll give my colleagues any comments on this because commissioner Walker thank you vice mayor um yeah I I always you guys do a great job um and greatly appreciate what you do and uh you know I I think that you guys really impart uh a level of exper expertise and and financial responsibility accountability to to allowing us to do what we do thank you m gal thank you vice mayor uh you know it certainly commonly said that the best form of government is the one that's closest to the people and there's a variety of reasons for that transparency uh the ability to reach out to us but there's also a a lot of trust in that and especially when it comes to taxpayer money and physical responsibility and the the reflection that shows in the work that you all do and present to us is just amazing so when they do say that it's a best form of government they're they're talking to you as well so you are part of that so thank you for for what you do it's greatly appreciated Mr Tona thank you excellent job thank you yeah and I'm just going to say it again um been through a lot lot of Finance directors and finance staff and you guys are fantastic and a lot of that goes to when you can trust your Finance staff to give you good numbers not spinning things and not having agendas you know it just makes this job up here for us so much easier to make the big decisions and so I can't thank you guys enough for your competence your integrity and all you do so thank you okay I keep forgetting to do this um for those of you might be wondering where mayor bajowski is oh we got to get a picture first so don't let me forget now you leave wrong at the edge of our seat now what's what's say about so the mayor is ill today and of course we know she's been working very tirelessly through all this time too with the storm so uh we give her her best and uh and uh get well quick uh so I think I need have a motion to excuse her absence so move second all in favor I motion passes unanimously and uh just get well mayor okay so uh does any this is our citizen input time does anyone in the audience wish to speak on a topic that is not on the agenda um okay come forward John is that better thank you John shine 217 aine candidate for mayor and uh I want to be respectful to the fire department and their time because this is really their meeting I don't want to take anything away from them but I I feel compelled to talk today briefly um at the city debate I said one thing that is very feels premonition at at this point I said if dun Eden had a river denial it would be overflowing at its banks and what I'm here to say to you guys is it's hard sometimes when you're out there fighting for every house and every business when you're working as hard as you are to understand the large impactful situation that the city is in today at 2 o'cl on on Thursday night or Friday morning this city was forever changed everything that you've done in the past your budgets your organizations your policies your processes your tools everything needs to be rethought everything needs to be reorganized every dollar you spend every capital Improvement project you spend is completely in motion Dynamic it is we are looking at the most dramatic change to the city that has ever happened and what we need to do is take this disaster and turn it into an opportunity for the city I understand with 35 days left for this commission you are limited in what you can do and I understand that completely all I ask is that you focus your efforts on on the next 35 days on helping people and making sure that the next commission is ready to take true action and really make significant change when I say everything's going to change let's use Clear Water ferry that I'm glad that's off the agenda we don't know whether there's a ferry we don't know whether anyone wants to go to Clear Water Beach or can we don't know if anyone goes to Clear Water we don't even have the ability to house host them here something that simple is just one example of how complex this is going to impact our city the fire department knows it well but the parks department is going to be in that situation the building department is going to be in that situation everything's going to change please change your thinking understand that the Paradigm has shifted make no assumptions that what you did in the past will work in the future and everything that needs to be examined is examined thank you thank you John anyone else wish to come forward Eric hi my name is uh Eric Graves 1413 Bayshore Boulevard and Duneden I'm a resident um I know you have a lot going on and I really wanted to also will just thank you for the efforts related to the storm the communication I think it's been excellent um also just a 60 second thank you on approving the Weaver Park Living Shoreline and the kayak paddling small boat or small sailboat launch uh assessment in the 25 budget thank you for listening thank you for your support and encouragement just through the whole process also thanks to Vince uh Gizzy and his whole um Parks and Rec team that were part of that as well um I know a launch is going to be a long process uh especially with the challenges the storm um provides but even with the storm I think it's a good reminder of the importance of shorelines and amenities that uh like the launch that are sustainable and resilient so again thank you very much uh for the support and encouragement and approving that uh budget item thank you thank you Eric anyone else wish to come forward board okay seeing none we'll move forward and close citizen input uh so our next item is the consent agenda and we have approval of the minutes for the August 1st 2024 special meeting the September 3rd 2024 work session September 3rd 2024 special meeting uh so and then we also have board committee appointments for Board of finance and for Library advisory committee um and do I have anything that needs to be pulled from the consent agenda so we're good so can I get a oh I'm sorry I have a like to just pull for just a comment from the board of uh Finance okay so we'll pull that one so excluding that one for right now if we could have a motion to approve the rest of the consent agenda move second all in favor I I and that motion passes um unanimously uh so uh commissioner TKA you had something about Board of Finance city clerk can you can you give me an update of of the board of Finance who's heading that up yeah I don't have it in front of me I can look it up real quick on the website I went through the list and and there's a name missing so uh yeah the the chair of the board of Finance Mel or uh he he just resigned about uh 10 days ago uh he's not able to serve anymore the vice president uh Chris kampert will be serving serving uh as uh for the next couple of months and then they'll be having their their new Board elections in early January uh moving forward there's about six applications for the board of Finance right now that they'll be going through for for Replacements thank you for the update yeah thank you thank you anything else John that's it okay great no it was actually good comment um with the with that resignation um so can I have a motion to approve the uh Board of Finance appointees so moved second all in favor I wait mayor I'm sorry vice mayor if you please call for public comment oh I'm sorry yeah any any public comment on any of the um any of the items on the consent agenda okay seeing none I we move forward um so again so all in favor with the finance appointees i i i and that motion passes unanimously okay thank you Chen okay okay our next item is uh resolution 24-27 proposed 3-year collective bargaining agreement between city of denen and the International Association of firefighters local 2327 affected October 1st 2024 through September 30th 2027 Jen could you please read resolution 24-27 by title only resolution 24-27 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of denan Florida providing for ratification of the 2024 through 2027 collective bargaining agreement between the city and the International Association of firefighters denen firefighters local number 2327 for the bargaining unit consisting of the city's firefighters and lieutenants authorizing the city manager to sign the collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the city providing for implementation and providing for an effective date that was resolution 2427 read by title only okay um can I have a motion so move second okay okay and uh okay and could we have staff presentation by Teresa Smalling good morning uh vice mayor commission Teresa Smalling director of HR and risk management for the city I am pleased to bring before you the uh new uh bargaining collective bargaining agreement between the city and the uh fire Union Local 2327 uh in your packet is is a um a summary of the changes that were made I want to point out that this negotiation process took two sessions uh and I I uh commend the the fire Union uh because this was a very collaborative and professional negotiation process uh we believe that this is probably one of the best uh contracts that we've had since uh at least since I've been director here and uh before I go any further I want to go ahead and acknowledge the members of the city's bargaining team that would be uh Brett Schneider our City's labor Council Les Tyler our Director of Finance Deputy Chief and Fire Marshal Michael hoga EMS division Chief Mark zedo and me and then the bargain in team for a local 2320 27 is Union president uh fire Lieutenant Chad Dennison vice president uh fire Lieutenant Philip Gandolfo and secretary treasurer firefighter paramedic Alex Miller thanks also to city manager Jennifer Bramley uh Deputy city manager Jorge kinas fire chief Jeff parks and accounting manager Tanya Duffy who made uh this whole uh contributed to making this seamless event uh in your packet is a summary of all the the changes that were made to the 2124 um collective bargaining agreement and at this time I can take any questions that you may have okay um any questions for Teresa commissioner TGA thank you tresa can you just give us an an overview of this uh Broad broad base for it may be listening as well definitely so uh the articles that were changed um include the residency requirement uh we find that uh quite a number of our members live in other areas besides the Tri County Area so um the distance it's now by distance rather than by County exchange of Duty time uh firefighters are allowed to swap their time with each other and so that has been changed from to a unlimited swapping up shifts that is something that they coordinate within their unit uh the retirement plan uh we took out uh one sentence that limits the amount of uh time that can be acur at a certain percentage the overtime and work schedule just basically adds the um ability of the the administration to have members come in uh for training and the pay plan was of course one of the most significant was changed uh the step plan went from uh 15 Steps to 12 for the firefighters and then 10 for the lieutenants and then the um the uniforms and equipment the way that that is administered has been changed uh from being almost a Quarter Master System to being able to go the firefighters being able to go online uh with a certain dollar amount each year for their uniforms and then working out of classification they've added a field training officer component to allow for training of new par firefighters paramedics professional development is uh the just some changes were made just language changes and then the experience and incentive pay which is article 36 was uh just a memo of understanding that was now codified into the new contract finally uh a non-scheduled day which will take effect next year October 1st 2025 was also added uh to give uh firefighters uh eight more non-scheduled days for the year excellent thank you you you're welcome any other questions John no good okay uh commissioner gal no questions okay commissioner Walker um yeah so I I just um and I I would agree with the the assessment having sat through uh couple of sessions um that this was very collaborative um my question is one of the biggest concerns at least I had that I mean it it there there are aspects of this in the collective business or Collective nego you know what I'm talking CBA thing um there are aspects of this that that do impact the amount of overtime that uh the Our First Responders were incurring um in your opinion what are the uh what are the the things that will help mitigate that going forward uh well what's not what's not in a contractor is something that will help because uh I believe the safer Grant is Now official uh there will be uh six additional positions added which would mean that the Staffing will increase to uh right now I think they have a minimum of three people um that will be four so that will help with um when someone's out whether it's for leave or illness or workers comp then you will have less people being called in for overtime uh as you know we signed a memo of understanding it's still in its pilot uh stages of changing shifts to uh 48 on uh 96 hours and that helps with the overall work life balance of the firefighters uh and I think that in some regards does help with the you know less people being out sick um so less overtime needed okay yeah thank you for that and then this uh the other part um looking at the the election results um do we have any feedback from the from the six that voted no to the collective bargaining agreement uh I did not get any feedback from them uh the the Union as um allowed under perk um runs their Union with uh assistant from the city clerk so we sort of uh step back from it if you will okay yeah I I can I can understand that I yeah obviously the results were overwhelmingly in favor so uh thank you great thank you um and at this time and open it to any public input is there anybody in the audience that wishes to come forward and speak to this item okay seeing none I will close Derek were you coming up okay morning president oh sorry screw up your name uh so again just to Echo Dr smalling's comments this is one of the greatest contracts I've been here almost 17 years one of the greatest ones we had for us how about now all right uh so again the process was seamless we got it done in two sessions we kind of thought outside of the box as the e board working along with the city to get this done and some time crunch so again just thank you to all of you guys who had a hand in this you guys are ultimately the ones who approve it and give the marching Direction so uh I think this paves the way for moving forward it kind of reinforces the relationship they were able to build with both the commission the city fire Administration so on behalf of the firefighters thank you we really appreciate it and uh we couldn't have done it without youall thank you Chad okay um um I'm going to go to commission comments and I'll start with the maker of the motion commissioner gal thank you vice mayor uh it it was collaborative as we'd all heard and if you've ever been on a church Committee just trying to choose color paint you know that nobody ever agrees across the board um and so you have an 85% um approval rate on this contract I think speaks volumes and uh I think throughing the entire negotiations the entire time it was collaborative and good good spirit on on both sides from the very beginning and I think that speaks volumes to the union that we have the firefighters that we have and the administration of the city and so it's wonderful that groups can get together and and make decisions at this level so well done so thank you okay and the second the motion commissioner Tonga thank you thank you um I'll just uh bow to the comment made by Lieutenant Dennison and uh and by our uh our staff here as it relates to the contract it was a very good contract I it's very supportive of the of our firefighters uh they had a tough couple years um from the standpoint of overtime Etc and I was really pleased with the with the content of of the agreement and how that was worked out I'm very pleased to hear um there's really strong support of it um and as well as a almost unanimous uh approval of of the agreement so I'm very very happy about this for the firefighters thank you commissioner walker uh thank you vice mayor uh yeah Echo collaborative uh and productive dialogue and um you know I one of the most important things we do here in dened is to make sure that our First Responders are taken care of and uh I think I think we achieve that so thank you okay and I'll just say that um you know I've had this question around the community about you know the you know just our our budget and how we're spending our money and of course 60% of our general fund budget is labor and and certainly a significant part of that is um all of our employees but our fire department and and I've shared too you know it's a very competitive area um we've had you know many times over the last years where 5 years of training and all of a sudden they go to somewhere else and they're making just as much money if not more um you know so first and foremost a lot of this has to do with the market and if we want to be an excellent City and we want to have um the best and the brightest you know we we need to be competitive and we need to treat our people right and uh and we have a great fire department and great staff I have been the recipient twice in the last uh 6 months uh we can stop that now uh but uh but we do we have a great one we've we've had a great one over the years and we certainly want to continue our excellence and we have to treat our people right I feel very good about this agreement and um feel very good about the relationship and uh and everyone in this community especially right now knows just how important it is to have an excellent fire department and excellent people that care about our community so feel really good about this so on that note um if we I could have a roll call vote commissioner Walker hi commissioner TGA I commissioner gal I vice mayor frainy I and that motion passes unanimously and Teresa we're going to what are we going to do now yes at this time I would like to invite vice mayor in uh for the mayor uh Deputy uh city manager Jennifer oh no I'm going to suffer for that Jennifer Brown and our Union well today our witnesses will be deputy chief hoga uh and uh someone else right on this Ro C theion to sign first good [Music] guess that's my 1 very much maybe the long forming to take couple things keep that oh picture chairs are flying back all right we're going to have to squeeze in everybody okay all right [Music] that's I like sh they look incredibly comfortable and again thanks to Chad and Phil and Alex uh from that side of the negotiating team appreciate everything okay got everybody back up here okay the next item is Clear Water Ferry agreement and staff is recommending that that item be tabled could I have a motion so move second okay motion and second and just a uh so all in favor all right Ryan any opposed motion passes unanimously they do that right Rebecca okay good thanks okay we that to a certain date you know or are we inbody table is is table a DAT uncertain okay I think that's a really good idea right now yeah so okay uh so we have a start item resolution 24-29 ratify executive order 24-1 of the city manager of city of Denon Florida declaring a state of local emergency for Denon due to Tropical Storm Helen and its Potential Threat well obviously not potential anymore of harm to the residents and property of the city of Denon and I uh I do have to this is for the start item right because start item so if I can have a motion to put it on the agenda so move hi second okay and all in favor I I any oppos opposed and motion passes unanimously and uh then Jen if you could read resolution 24-29 by title only yes I go Vice may just so you know there was one change to the title and I'll explain it after I've read the title as far as what the changes to the resolution resolution 24-29 a resolution of the city of denan Florida ratifying the executive order 241 of the city manager declaring a state of local emergency for the city of denen due to Tropical Storm Helen and it's you have your microphone on because I don't know why you seem so low I'll come closer am I dreaming that yeah seem low yeah thank you no problem and its potential threat of harm to Residents and property of the city providing for a waiver of procedures and formalities required by law pursuant to section 22. 38 Florida Statutes providing for extension of the state of local emergency and providing for an effective date so the difference between the resolution before you right now um and the one in your packet is there was an additional section specifically section three that was added to this resolution that just provides and authorizes the city manager to extend the state of local emergency um until it has concluded and then to report to you all okay that great that sounds good so can I have a a motion so moved second okay does that motion have to include the addition does it automatically include the addition that motion yes the resolution that's before you right now is the one that I read okay great okay sounds good okay uh so staff presentation by Jennifer uh thank you and um good morning uh vice mayor and Commissioners uh the uh state of local emergency the executive order was executed on September 24th um 2024 as Helen was approaching and it followed suit we followed the county they uh at 10:00 that morning they had declared their state of local emergency as well and it the the the local mergency declaration really allows us to suspend purchasing some purchasing guidelines um and and put in place other uh rules and requirements to make sure that we uh keep peace within the city uh when a storm is on the way um I did talk to each one of you individually and let you know that I was going to sign the executive order it's very important that we sign it as soon as as the the county uh executes their local state of emergency because we need to make sure that our expenditures are covered under Fe FEMA and that I am able to authorize expenditures that are beyond my delegated authority so that we can get things done very quickly um which I have done those items will all come back to you as after the fact uh approval so um uh and we'll probably be doing that in the next couple of months we're not through this yet I intend to execute this this uh uh the 7-Day extension and maybe for the next couple weeks even um we still have employees working on storm related uh matters and they're covered they should be re ured um under under FEMA guidelines and others are just working on normal operations throughout the city um so um um thank you for the resolution supporting the local state of emergency uh it's necessary that that you ratify what I did so I'm grateful that you did um and then as I said I will be extending it for another another seven days at a minimum so Jennifer do you want us to finish this item and maybe then you can kind of give us an update on what's going on in general okay so uh so questions in regarding to the resolution from any any anyone commissioner T I have no nothing for further on this yeah commissioner gal no questions commission Walker no questions okay uh and uh so uh is let me open it up to public comment anyone in the public that wishes to make a comment come forward John there we go sorry okay and and I apologize for these two minor things but and I know how busy you are uh one is you keep referring to it as uh tropical storm and I think from a historic point of view perhaps it should be changed to H hurricane uh I don't want people to go back and look at it and misunderstand the severity of the situation the second is um based on the idea that we're in a transition state for the city Commission um that things are changing and and moving forward from a November 5th point of view um there's a great deal that needs to be done for by Jennifer Bramley and a great deal that's going to have to get done over the next few weeks uh I don't know whether it makes sense but if if if I was to make a recommendation it would be to to extend it into November because during the city commission your ability to actually do things and vote on things in a way that will make an impact and a short-term resolution is going to be fairly limited so U however the election comes out on November 5th there won't be a new commission until November 18th 18th 18th that's a long time to have emergency Powers but it's also a extraordinary situation and if for whatever reason we have issues with the city commission getting together need to be able to support Jennifer Bramley in the decisions that she made and I I don't know if that makes sense but I'm just looking at it from a hey things are changing and we're in a fluid environment with a with a somewhat a commission that lacks the traditional Foundation that it would normally have that's all thank you thank you John anyone else wish to come forward to speak to this item okay seeing none close public hearing and uh we will go to commission comments so I'll start with commissioner gal oh thank you um Jennifer thank you I mean it's I I can't imagine what it must be like to be in the middle of of what we went through and having to make decisions that are in the best interest of the residents of the city so so thank you um and just my my own opinion just to speak to the recent comments i' prefer to have short-term to give you short-term executive and you come back to us and and ask for more as opposed to just some long-term way I think it's important that the commission stay engaged to the activities of the situation and and the role that you play in that uh that's just my line of thinking um but thank you thank you okay commissioner Walker oh yeah thanks thank you m vice mayor um yeah I uh I mean this is an extremely important thing we're doing today uh for so many different reasons um one is I do want to say thank you to the city manager the staff during the course of the storm the hurricane during the aftermath of the hurricane even before the hurricane there was the the city presence was everywhere and and that does not come cheap and uh I also know this that uh despite the efforts that we have made um there there was a lot of damage and we've got a lot to do and uh I really I am not one for bureaucracy I am one for responsibility and accountability but in this I I it's important that we have the resources to get this work done and move forward so thank you again city manager Comm TGA thank you um city manager you're going to give us an update correct and we'll as be asking questions then about about what's occurring so I have nothing further and I appreciate how we've handled the resolution thank you yeah and I'll give everybody a chance to make comments after after Jennifer but for now and then I'll make further comments later but I mean I I agree Jennifer you and the staff all you out there and I mean and Sue I mean I just I can't say enough um I told Jennifer the other day like from the very time we hired her I've she had all the pieces the competence and she gets done eat and she cares and you see that in the staff Right Down the Line these are people that care they don't just work hard they care they don't they're not just smart people that know their their business they care and that is the need and it and it you can feel it you feel it right now so on that note we'll we'll we'll wait till the update but um so I'm going to have a roll call vote commissioner gal hi commissioner Walker hi commissioner TGA I vice mayor fry I and the motion passes unanimously okay so we'll have a now an update from the the manager on what's going on thank you vice mayor and Commissioners and and before I get into the update um I do want to say that that a lot of people have have complimented uh me in my handling of the storm it it actually was all staff I just watched it happen uh we follow uh Nims National Incident Management System uh the fire chief is our Incident Commander he runs the event and and this emergency declaration essentially turns over everything related to the storm to him and and I watch it happen and you know obviously things in the Emergency Operations Center got pretty intense uh when the storm surge came in you can see there's a a big screen with all the calls coming in and you could see the calls in the South County um when the storm surge hit there and then it what worked was way up the coast and then all all our calls started coming in um you know fire chief Deputy fire chief um uh Chief zapeto um division Chief zapeto uh Nan Bennett who slept a total of 43 minutes I think and she's sitting right here I did I I about 11:00 I I went and took a little nap and woke up at 3:30 and came out and there's Nan sitting there still and the fire chief so there are all sorts of things going on there too the the lift stations are going down and coming offline as we lose power and um you know worried about the wastewater treatment plant worried about the water treatment plant and um hearing the uh calls come in for evacuation and five fires that we could not roll on as well so um it it it uh everybody in the emergency operation was oper Operation Center was professional dedicated committed awake there was a lot of lot of caffeine that night a lot of caffeine um and you know I say I said during our our our Facebook live that I don't want to call it anybody individually because I'll I'll forget somebody but it really is all of Staff um the hours and hours and hours that they put in prior to the storm during the storm and after the storm as well there are a lot of very tired people walking around right now and we're back to normal operations as well um you know there are several things that that that stand out uh uh namely obviously number one the staff our Communications were were extraordinary I mean Sue did a fantastic job pushing out every message and you know it was real time it was you know we need to push this out now and off she goes and and and she's pushing out the message and communicating and so um I am I exceptional proud of of getting through uh the storm but we do realize and I've been through enough hurricanes and category 4 and five hurricanes uh in South Florida that the hard work is has barely even begun uh as far as supporting our residents who are so damaged um by this storm uh and we're dedicated to doing that so so with that I'll get into um uh the update and the number one question that we're getting is trash and debris trash debris REM right uh so we met yesterday we have pre-approved haulers um uh that that we we uh reach out to before hurricane season and they're are on our list so they're ready to be tapped uh we met with them yesterday uh the haulers and then we have a company that also monitors what we Haul so that we'll be reimbursed uh by FEMA we should be able to start uh by by later on this week um you know there there are issues of lay down sites which is where we put the debris we already have predetermined lay down sites by the Department of Environmental Protection those are pre-approved um and you know once we we determine which lay down sites would be the best the holler is prepared to start um so and we're going to start small so so in terms of some of the harder hit neighborhoods are going to take several passes uh we we'll pass through once we'll pick up everything that we can and then we'll have to pass through again as more stuff comes out to the curb um I'm starting to see those emails and those uh texts and those messages on social media when are we going to start so so uh and my answer is shortly um and we're actively working on it we do have a uh plan in place already uh and it's a matter of sitting down and and deciding on the routes and that that sort of thing uh solid waste so uh they are caught up and they worked all weekend long um they are caught up uh so so your garbage your Solid Waste in your cans you can put out on your regular day unfortunately some people's cans either blew away or floated away in which case they need to put their their their regular garbage uh by the curb in in bags in white bags so um we're looking at three different piles then um at your curb you have your your your CND D or all of that debris from the flood in your home and that you know that would be the drywall the carpets that type of thing that's one pile another pile then would be your vegetation from your yard and then another pile would be your your your garbage your regular garbage and the reason why we separate them that way is that they go to different places so the haulers will pick up all of the all of the you know the debris from the flood from inside your house um and like I said you'll see them coming through the neighborhood shortly then the city picks up the vegetation um and the city picks up the regular garbage as well um so so I had somebody asked me how much that's going to cost it won't cost the residents there's of course no charge um we we will contract with the hollow in a not to exceed number which I will approve because via this resolution at executive order you've allowed me to do that I'll bring that to you after the fact it's going to be a larger number because we don't want to have to keep on coming back so um the the huler has now driven through the city they're going to give us what that number is to haul everything um and then like I said I'll bring that purchase order a PO to all of you after the fact but we're going to execute that quickly and get them moving uh as quickly as we can you know we preach patience and and I I think that that um again preaching patience but understanding and being empathetic to the fact that that stuff is on the curb it's going to start smelling it's going to start attracting all sorts of nasty things so we need we are working actively working to getting getting it removed as quickly as possible so are there any questions that I can answer for the commission on that well you know um the biggest one that I mean we were lucky because all the food that we got out of the refrigerators came just in time for the late coming garbage pickup but I'm sure that's the biggest thing you know with people because you know you just got all this rotting food and what it pulls out but again I mean do you recommend just putting that in regular trash so it's gone and it doesn't wait as long yeah okay good and maybe you said that cuz yeah they're coming through the neighborhoods and they will get there but they're running late I mean you see you know our our Solid Waste trucks before Sun up and after sun down so um uh they will get around they have had um some ISS issues with um with Co in the division as well to add insult to injury but they are managing but they are managing so um and that you know Co is is going around again unfortunately uh so um but we you know they're they're they're they caught up over the weekend uh but people need to just leave your cans out there for as long as possible so Jennifer do you want us all ask general questions or do you have other ones I've got actually a pretty long update if that's okay yeah no that's fine I just so you want just questions on the debris removal yeah that's a big subject we've done this yeah we have yeah okay all right um just the status of the infrastructure I'm going to put Nan on the spot here are lift stations are they are they all up and running except station that was permanently damaged seven re okay so that's North Douglas we're going to have a there on that yeah you're probably going to have to come forward sorry I put you on the spot n i I hate to do that to staff but you can yell at me later lift station 8 was inundated with water and sustained pretty significant damage so so we are on a bypass pump there that we had to we we have a lift station and a permanent bypass pump both sustained water damage so we're on a third system another bypass pump that we've rented and so we are trying to figure out how do we move forward and and rehabbing both the lift station and the bypass pump that that station pumps a significant amount of flow through the city probably about a third of the flow it's at the North End of Douglas Avenue and and the water was very deep there and then the lift station 7 which is in Baywood Shores uh was very significantly submerged we think we can rehab that one we can clean that up and get that equipment back and operational that one's still I believe on bypass pumping they were working on it late last night it may have been resolved I don't know I I came here instead of checking on statuses this morning so but everything else is up and running thank you on that yes please um so what what is happening out in the causeway do we have a lift station out there there is a small lift station that Services those bathrooms it has been cleaned up and rehabed and it's ready to go back into service I'm not sure if the doors are unlocked but but the lift station is operational thank you very much Nan so that lift station is was was repaired it was worked on done yesterday early thank you so got it thanks anybody else on that it just we that the north Douglas lift station is lift station 8 correct and seven is over in Baywood Shores correct okay great thank you thanks Nan thank you uh and and the uh water treatment plant is as I said during our our face Facebook live it it's there's no contamination and we are up running up and running on pable water no boil water order that's a common question that we get so um because I think they hear a lot of it in South County so um yeah I was going to say when you look at the lift stations in our water in compared to what we hear out of South County um we we just haven't had that level of problem so we've been lucky is it just the inundation of water difference between the area for their area and ours yes okay thank you and in fact we sent uh a crew down on Sunday to South County to help out and the rest of the week as well yeah so um um and we sent equipment to South County as well from the city of denan so we're helping as as much as we can uh without impacting our own operations great all right um so so just the status of of where we are and we did go through this on the face uh Facebook live um residents are still welcome to come to City Hall as a cooling station we really haven't had many we've had one or two in the last couple of days so but that was it was very useful for those few days that we were open and our residents were were without power I had somebody who came up to me and said that they actually were able to work that day um so it was it was great yeah um so so the causeway bathrooms uh were closed we're going to check and see if there now the lift stations up and running we'll open them up again the Weaver Park pier is closed until further notice uh the playground is also closed Weaver Park playground is also closed um until further notice we had some damage to the equipment at the playground um itself we had National Night Out and I think it was this THS tonight yeah the Sheriff's Office had National Night Out and that is canceled um and we have also canceled Citizens Academy and the reason for that is that today was the fire department and I think that they're um they have other things on their mind so we're going to have to reschedule all of them and Rebecca you you've done that right as far as it canceled it yes it's been canceled okay uh the Marine is also closed until F further notice uh The Vessel owners are allowed back into the marina they have a pre-approved pass that we sent out to them via email and I Harry Matthews is here did you get your pass yeah good um and we know that they want access to their vessels to to you know and throughout the storm prior to the storm to to you know look at the lines and and do the that type of a thing so the boat ramp is also closed until further notice um the driving range uh Sterling Links driving range is closed until further notice that building there was substantial damage um within that building um as well otherwise uh we're up to normal operations in every other part of the city um and you know one thing uh one of the reasons with the executive order um and the local state of emergency is that once we um we the reason why we only extended for 7 days is because it invokes a pay policy um for our employees that um when they're working on the storm damage um there's there's one pay policy when they're not there's another pay policy if so if we continue the state of emergency all the way through to November then we're going to have to pay them according to the that pay policy for for a storm so um that's why we do seven days at a time and you've actually allowed me to do seven days without coming back to the city commission so that's correct yeah um so couple other things actually the city's recycling uh uh sites they're closed as well and the reason for that is that we we've real allocated staff uh to other areas of the city as far as the as the um uh storm cleanup goes make sure I got everything here oh and I want you know we can't say this enough um in the neighborhoods and I know that there are a lot of people are uh looting off the curb uh and we have talked to the sheriff about that um I was talking to the City attorney who in our parents house put something out and 20 minutes later it was gone yeah so um we understand uh that we need to be very careful in the neighborhoods um residents need to be very very careful about what contractor they work with um go to my floral.com if if you have somebody who's you know you want to you want to enter into contract with to to remediate any damage make sure they're licensed make sure that they have insurance our staff is ready to check that for them um uh just call uh the building division or after hours go to my florida.com and you can look up by by the license number by the name of the company by the city by the type of contractor that they are but make sure that you know your contractor's license and insured as well so um yeah and just one last thing um we stood up yesterday a uh something called denan strong and it is what we're trying to do and and we've had some several phone calls this morning already is link um uh uh volunteer organizations with people who need help so I've heard from from from some of you you know neighbors uh you know people who have nobody who are really struggling maybe they're elderly so and I know that there are some organizations like rotary kuas uh the churches who are out in the community um offering help so what we really want to do is match those two up um and so in you know so so the number to call is 727 29831 one and you'll get a voicemail if you need help we need to know your address um if you um or if you're organization who wants to help um you can also um call that number or go to the link yeah there's a form on our website and you can either click that you're an organization willing to help or that you you can click that you're an individual who needs help so we're not really taking individual names although people have called and they have left we're got to figure that out I'm I'm not sure you know if we don't know these folks and we're matching them up with an elderly person you know I'm not sure if we really want to do that I'd rather concentrate on the organizations themselves um the you know a lot of not for-profits are willing to help a lot of our faith-based organizations are willing to help um and so on and so forth so I think I got everything um that's my update um and I'll be able to answer any questions you might have okay so questions commissioner walker uh yeah so um I have been contacted I know FEMA's out and about um is any updates on that they they are here now right yeah okay and we have they are here now um they we have FEMA has declared us as a a a disaster area which is a dubious distinction um but but that actually enables them to come into the community to start pushing out um Aid grants loans to businesses and that type of thing so they are here and you can go to our website and we have all of those numbers and all of those resources on our website um and we we will continue to push out that information as we get it we have on there's a big banner on our website that's hurricane updates and all of that information is in there um as soon as we're able I know that the fire chief is is trying to get FEMA in here I'd like to embed them at City Hall here in one of our conference rooms so that it's it's easy for the residents to come and and visit with them or even the community center which is actually closer to where most of the damage was and a announcement to that effect I think that's a great idea um will that be coming shortly I hope so okay great thank you anything else commissioner Walker Oh No thank you very much commissioner gal thank you vice mayor and the only question I have Jennifer is that D need strong number the 3011 is that already out on social media yes it's been pushed out okay yeah that's actually the commission's line so so we'll be out helping right well that explains a lot call fill out of form okay do you want to come up and just say that too I think it might be helpful right yeah we're g to send it out to DC you'll have to pull that mic way down though I'm just kidding sorry I had I'm sorry it's okay I have thick skin little forgiveness gra short skin thick skin um yes uh we have been putting out a daily update since Wednesday and all of those resources are on that daily update so we encourage all of you to encourage residents who may not be getting information to subscribe to the Denita news and they will get that update um Lindsay and Angelica as they've been getting calls they've been actually automatically subscribing people which is wonderful so all of that information um is in the daily update and on the website so there is a big blue den and strong graphic on social media please share it the information is on there the phone number is on there and the form link so it takes you to a form if you're a resident needing help or an organization that you want to um support volunteer donate whatnot Fant Fant thank you sue doing a fantastic job um okay I think uh commissioner did you have you you you more okay and commissioner t thank thank you uh Jennifer could you give me a couple specific guesses because we're being asked um on on three questions I'm going to ask them individually sure um and and that is as it relates to the marina this is a broader scale can you give can you just give the uh a general update of of what's actually happening in the marina sure um how is the marina being used um can folks that have pulled the boat their boats out can they bring them back now or and or when um and and the general operation of the of the boats going in and out of in in and out of the marina sure so um I spoke to the Harbor Master yesterday um afternoon and we the first thing that we're doing is actually we're removing Edgewater arms Pier from our Marina um which is uh as you know it's a large large paer um and we have contracted with Curtis Marine uh they have a um big claw out there yeah we're very concerned about what what is under the water as far as as the remnants of the peers so um we're going through very systematically um removing uh that that Pier the boat ramp has been cleared but is not open yet and we don't want anybody to drop their boat in there until we we get you know we're relatively sure that the fairways are clear uh in the marina itself the um the fairways being as as you know but not a lot of people do the the you know the area in between the peers where they they gain access the vessels do um so the the uh the access way back to the point uh where the boat club is and the pram shed is is closed um I know that the boat club folks were there yesterday clearing or Sunday Sunday yeah Sunday clearing um we're going to uh uh obviously that's a city city structure um and under our insurance policy is as is the ramp shed uh We've assessed both of those buildings and there is Remediation in both of those buildings that we're going to have to do you know some repairs in those buildings the obviously our peer is closed until further noticed um it it the it's interesting what happened with where it pulled up in the center part of it you see a lot of photos of that I think that that was as the Edgewater arms Pier came floating over just pulled it up we're going to have to replace that and so um obviously there's nobody back there the um my understanding is um and I'm just talking about the the Marine itself and the way around it um Best Western is going to remain closed for the foreseeable future the entire ground floor was flooded uh and I think that they're going to renovate the hotel and then reopen it um as well so we are of course keeping that access Way open because bonana petite is open um my understanding is so I know that Lori uh Ferguson our Harbor Master is working hard on getting the parking by the commercial dock open Harry have we have we cleared that off yet by the commercial doc I haven't been notified so I'm not going in there okay all right there's no reason for anybody to move any that until C right right we don't know what's under so um yeah that's okay so so Harry Matthews is one of our commercial captains who um we want to repeat what he said just I just if people are watching I don't because you really can't hear it if you're watching it and you don't not on the microphone or do you want to repeat it Harry would you mind yeah come on up Harry see you didn't think you'd sitting you are a certified expert so he's coming up for the staff table now I think this is extra points for Citizens Academy that he's speaking yeah it is so double double today um I have no reason to take my boat out of the slip Eric Curtis is in there with a barge working as hard as he can I don't know if the Fairway is clear um as far as access to my boat that's great we need that City doesn't need more sinking boats we need people to take care of their boats while they're there so far Lori Lori and the staff done a great job I'm kind of like I haven't heard I can go in there I'm not going in I'll go look at my boat make sure the batteries don't die but we need to stay out of there we don't need to be launching boats we don't need to be putting anything in there yet needs to get cleared first yeah thank you har thank you thanks I do know um commissioner that the pedestals which is which are the the conduit for electricity to the boats um 90% of those were were um destroyed so we're going to have to have to reeval pedestals and and um you know that obviously is covered on our insurance policy as well so um as far as when we're going to be able to get those boats that were trailered out back in I don't have a date for you um as soon as we know then then I'll tell the commission obviously we'll put it out there on on uh social media and certainly to all the vessel owners um the question uh has been asked of me you know those those vessels are currently out of the marinaa right and might not be good getting back into the for a period of time what are we going to do about that slip rental fee uh I'm going to say down with the Harbor Master and with our finance department we need to talk about that so um um lots of moving Parts in the marina itself and um and and we'll address them as as as we're able to but the first thing that we need to know is when uh Curtis Marine is going to be out of there and that everything's clear and then we'll take the next step thank you so I I just wanted to have some idea for the people that are are asking the questions there's also just some general comments and obviously um the the fishing pier is closed in definitely and the navigable C capacity within the marina is probably a short time away uh but won't be effective until they until they come through there right and so um and I understand that and you're working towards that to make it that way yeah uh but but even then after then it's we still have issues there thank you for that update um I have the same question for uh for Weaver Park um just just a some kind of an estimate of what you think will be happening uh for the pier there that's long I'll let you say I'll let you say what it is sure sure that's going to have to be replaced as well yeah so it's a longterm uh issue there the opening of the park could happen not in a not too distant future I would I would guess could uh but the pier is is is done and um the um would you would you tell I I'll ask it in for three would you tell me three biggest issues going forward right now for the residents that that that would affect the residents in general yeah absolutely so obviously the the largest issue right now is the one that's that's right before our eyes and that's removal of the trash and debris and getting everything out of of their homes the the ones that are damaged get it to the curb so that we can remove it um the you know the other issue is going to be because of the level of of Destruction uh in penis county is getting those contracts s and getting you know to rebuild uh and and and getting the the contractors and the you know the labor to rebuild and it it's going to be very similar to for example Co when you know as you recall we actually building this building um during Co and South County was hit by Ian and um and all the laborers disappeared and went South County because that's that's where the work was so I think that that's going to be a challenge for our our residents finding alternative housing is going going to be a problem and I'm actually I'm I'm glad you asked because I know that that FEMA right now is working on RVs and our where you actually the state has preempted all local regulations as far as RVs go and you can park an RV in your driveway at your house and live in it and a lot of people prefer to do that that's if you're in the storm affected area yeah right thank you that that's a very good point so um I think that that that that's there I think that was three items but I can I can go on um you know alternative living accommodations obviously that's what I've heard um it's hard to find someplace huge yeah yeah so and and then some follow-up questions um as it relates to people having boats in their yards if they pulled them out of our Marina um we're certainly going to have some flexibility for that and I've already said we would but but like to hear that from you yes um on on anything that's associated with with common sense as it relates as it relates to the storm um and as you know FEMA has been around in these areas and mental health people have been walking around right yes um because it's it's been just devastating for for some of the folks and I want to make I want I and I do want to make a statement I'm going to make it now um I talked to a really really good friend of mine who's really up on all of this um he's an attorney and he said contact FEMA contact FEMA contact FEMA if you are an owner and you've had a problem yeah contact them as fast as you can and as soon as you can so whether that's good advice or not I I did want to make that comment and if you could substantiate that that would be wonderful absolutely so so just a couple things uh uh as far as code uh compliance goes that's that's a very good point I'm actually meeting this afternoon uh with George keny our director of Community Development uh to talk about Code Compliance as far as what items it is um that that I need to bring to you saying boats in the in the yard RV obviously is preempted um and that type of a thing because uh what I don't want to do is as you know during covid uh Code Compliance was just very you know in life safety issues and not the regular issues and we lost ground in the neighborhoods and so I want a more comprehensive approach this time to Code Compliance because there are some areas of the city as you know that weren't affected at all and I mean they had no power but they're okay they're up and running now um and it's funny cuz fire chief said we took a drive around uh before Sun up on on Friday morning and chief said it was like two we're living in two different cities it's like we're in two different cities one is you know near the coast and those that were so damaged and others are up and running and everything's you know business as usual yeah and so um so we need we need a a comprehensive approach to Code Compliance so we don't lose ground on the aesthetic of a lot of our neighborhoods but we are um allowing those who are who are so so severely damaged the the room that they need to recover Common Sense yeah yes and the other thing is I'm sorry um and I mentioned this during our our Facebook uh live that I really want to get somebody here who can navigate FEMA who can navigate State loan programs who can and and get them embedded here at City Hall to help our residents to take appointments and to see you know the various Avenues we did that during covid for our businesses and it was successful uh and I'd like to do that for our residents too so we're looking at Bob iron Smith is looking into something to that end now anything else thank you good questions um so somebody just text me the status of Honeymoon Island did we hit that oh yeah I'm not sure you know what that is I don't know okay maybe we can find out what the status is of Honeymoon Island and kind of put that out there on our social media let people know absolutely um I mean somebody just told me they were going to be closed for a while but I I mean like two months I thought they said but I have no idea if that's true or not could be I I had heard that they they had substantial damage right so so as a Barrier Island yeah right so yeah somebody said two months or something but I I have no idea so I think it'd be good for us Barrier Islands opening today at 4:00 to non-residents yes so I would think that it will be open at 4 today I yeah I don't know but I mean like I said I just got asked a question and I've heard mixed messages on it so probably good to understand that um let's see I I'm just going to reiterate the housing I think is huge you know lot a lot of people looking for places and um let's see um I think we all got this this email about the um 5-year look back under the 50% Rule and how it might impact some of the rebuilds um I know that some communities don't you know don't have they just have a year um you it's you know it seems to have worked fine for us but the email did alert that you know we're in a very different time now and and it's just interesting data that we could probably collect understand that better as to you know real life impact as to for with real life people I obviously know why we have it the way we do and I think it's for good reasons but um now we're going to see like are there some unintended issues that are happening here because of rebuilds and things like that um so that's just something for you guys to look into and maybe track a little bit um um let's see um I don't really have any other questions okay um can I ask one more question yeah sure go ahead um and that's a very good comment about the FEMA 50 um that yeah the I would I would hope there would be some relief on that um and uh I think it can only come from us right well I mean the 50% rule is a is is federal requirement it's the look back though that I think we control like I think my understanding that St Pete has no look back and um we have fiveyear look back and so that impacts how much you can do and how often you can do it so um yeah so I mean obviously some of that is not is very inflexible well you know I mean that's going to be something that I'm going to have to bring to you um I apologize I've got to take this okay I apologize yes all right that's something I'm going to have to bring back to to all of you because that the purpose of that 5year uh look back and that requirement to elevate is so that these homes can survive a surge moving forward so to wave that at this point and I'm not saying one way or another but it we need to really look at that issue yeah yep moving forward yeah no to yeah totally understand I just uh was thinking out loud uh the the other question I had is is that um a lot of the a lot of the power outages have been resolved uh there are a few isolated pockets well um how's that going so my understanding is um we're we're pretty good I I don't know if anybody who in denen who do doesn't have power um and actually if if there is somebody then please give me a call and we'll call Duke um you know Edgewater arms was a little little iffy on Saturday or Sunday Saturday and Sunday uh there are four buildings eight stories over 55 community um they were without power and it was at the switch it was a problem with saltwater intrusion um and and Duke responded um slow at first but then picked it up and and because really the fire department uh just sat there and watched them do it because otherwise we would have to evacuate the buildings so with no elevator an eight story building and over 55 community not not a good combination um but the fire department I mean deputy foga sat there with Duke as they were repairing it and pretty much wouldn't let him leave so and I lot of lot of great feedback on that yeah yeah so I think that we're okay if um like I said if anybody's without power just give me a call and right and if I can ask one follow-up question I guess and this is might be premature but I know that right you're already hearing comments on social media about the flood of people that will be leaving the state now that they can't afford they can't afford and that's going to leave um an interesting situation with our housing market and so are there any levers that we have is there anything that we can do to keep corporations from coming in and just buying up the market which is which has proven to be part of the affordable housing problem that we have throughout the state not necessarily dun Eden but just what what is power to make sure that that our affordable housing we don't lose ground I know that there's much ground to to put a stake in for affordable housing but whatever the the status is that it isn't exacerbated because of this m uh you know I mean I I would say our power is extremely Limited in those terms it's a private sector issue and um espe you know given uh you know in the single family home area most certainly um uh in new construction you could put uh uh regulations in place they did in South Florida inclusion are zoning requiring you know a certain amount be affordable for 30 years you know and that type of thing but uh you know as far as as the hard hit neighborhoods which are predominantly single family there I I believe there's not much we could do in those okay so we can't put those type of of roles in in an already established neighborhood that would be something going in or yeah and I would defer to the attorney in those terms I as a former city planner I've never heard of something like that but um I would defer to the attorney okay thank you um okay and I apologize for that I would never do that in a public meeting but there was an issue with the Restoration company at our house and it was happening at the moment I could tell I got multiple calls that it was an emergency um so um okay um any um there was some other question I just got texed me and it was do we have any idea how many uninhabitable homes we actually have that have been do we have any sense of that number at this point so we do um the day after the storm um the building inspector go house to house taking pictures and there's an app that we use um and it we load it straight up to penel County um and I can't give you that number here because um I I got an email yesterday saying it's in draft form and not completely accurate yet um as soon as I have that number I I will provide to the to the city Commission okay great the number that we got um from them was a lower number and I don't think it's right so um I you know I don't want to answer that question until I'm I don't want you to be wrong so and of course I think some people are some people have upsters air conditioning and they're trying to stay there versus their downstairs isn't so it does get somewhat complicated um okay so has everybody had their questions answered is anybody um you know can I there is one thing that I I wanted to say and I forgot to say sure um and that is that one of the things I've been told um is you know by the the uh debris hauler and the fire department is that it's really hard to get through the neighborhoods in solid waste so because you have you know everybody's got their car at the curb or or and they can't move it then you got your contractor there then you've got the and and we need to you know when when we see that big truck coming down the Road those cars need to move they need to get out of the way the contractors need to move and uh if at all possible try to keep that drive you know aisle open especially for uh fire rescue is the number one reason obviously so um and we're going to start messaging that out as well um as best we can uh because you know once these debris haulers come through we we need them to get through as quickly as possible um so that they can move on to other neighborhoods okay okay thank you and I think if there's any final comments we can make them in our commission comments at the end um so um okay let's move on to the proposed agenda for October 15 2024 work session um any changes that anybody has to this um okay I don't hear any and uh so uh I'm going to ask for a motion for the proposed agenda do we well we do have three here so okay so moved second all in favor I I and that motion passes unanimously okay so we have no Workshop items informational items uh I don't think we got any items for commission discussion I think we have had plenty of things to discuss that we don't need any added things right um and then city clerk's update I'll go to uh Rebeca thank you vice mayor I just had two things actually I'd been asked to um announce about a um performance um by dunen Showcase Theater they will be performing a play gets murdered interesting title which is a comedy mystery as always it will be presented by the community center at 1920 Pinehurst Road and those are October 4th and 5th at 7:30 and October 6th at 300 p.m. so anybody interested in that again that's at the um perform what is it 1920 Community Center at 1920 Pinehurst Road and I think that's the business as usual piece right we do have two communities business as usual and I tell you people going through it if they get a chance for a little relief that's little relief in air condition um and then the other item I put in front of um each of you is the January 2025 calendar um I'm asking that I get consensus direction to approve that January 2025 calendar I will bring before you the entire um calendar for 2025 at that first meeting in December with the rest of the items that you normally approve but um I've been asked by some of the staff and and just even some of the um Commissioners to to be able to put that in Peak and be able to work on the Staffing over the holidays if I could get that done a littlee of time um and it's just there's no changes to it as you can see I you know um with the holidays that first week at the I don't have I gave each of you all my copies but um the first full week is that 7th and 9th and then the 21st and 23rd um and so I just was asking for consensus direction to just approve that so I can get that and Peak okay is I think at least three of us will still be here so uh is any everybody good with that oh I got big problems okay no we good every everybody good with that thank you perfect I'll bring the full calendar back in December perfect okay great okay so um city manager update I think we've heard just about enough from you but do you have anything else okay um a City attorney update there's no update no update no update okay great and so any final City commission comments on you know anything that you want to say in terms of what's going on or otherwise John you want to start yes I am I discussed this a couple weeks ago or several weeks ago I had gone when I went down to Florida League of cities um the uh I met with Chris Holly who's a director of member services and training uh and I was getting ready to go into a presentation he was going to make um the next day and I went to that presentation it was was about he's in charge of member services and training and they have a full contract now uh complete program for Grants and I mentioned that before last week I went to a an FLC Florida Le of cities grants assistance webinar um really good stuff um and uh so for the city manager I just wanted to pass that along again and and and you probably are aware of that um and I did mention it previously after floor Le of City ities but they really help you identify all the grants that are available there's 10,000 grants and they really help you focus on that there's a professional organization that does that they're contracted with the Florida League of cities and so there's really no cost to us to do that um just want to bring that out might save us some Agony and might be some assistance some great assistance and might save us some money thank you okay uh commissioner thank you vice mayor Jennifer in in our 25 budget didn't we have somebody uh that we're going to hire for Grants we are we're actively recruiting thank you very much the sooner the better and uh back to D strong real quickly um and it's it's a wonderful idea of connecting those with need to those that that want to serve and I just going forward if actually this could be something that's part of Hurricane prep MH so if we can reach out to those organizations and have it set day one it's very painful to get calls from people who need and you don't know the other side you don't know who it is that's Gathering items and has them to give I think we're all okay with food because it was ding cares was kind of the go-to but if they needed something other than that you didn't know where to direct them and if we can get a better idea going forward absolutely thank you that that would be wonderful um I cuz I got several calls over the weekend about I've got things to donate where do I donate them to and so it would be great to have that ability to tell them so there if if I yes ma'am um there is a list that's attached on our website of places to donate and I think here in denan First United Methodist Church okay so we're we're denan strong is is matching volunteers with people in need we're not collecting things we we want to do that first you know match people up and then if that's a success then we'll you kind of taking baby steps here no no fantastic any movement forward is is wonderful um uh liaison positions I know that uh San Jose uh has a food pantry for their students and because the schools were closed they actually opened up their Pantry last Saturday um After the Storm uh to allow those students who would typically get food during the week the opportunity to get food but the time they also opened it up to the community so if there was anybody so it's just just one more example of how our education really does connect back to community and the importance of of having that relationship that uh for some reason has gotten lost in our modern society but there actually is a strong connection between uh schools and community and uh the same is true for Garrison Jones who's actually doing food drives which is one of the people that reached out to me on hey we're we're going to get all this stuff what are we going to do with it and so it'll be nice to give them some Direction so thank you on that um you know and it's always a a challenging time um when we live in two different cities right now those that are greatly impacted and and those that it is um uh back to business as usual uh I know that uh Friday of of the storm we were supposed to have a wonderful celebration of our city pipe band that was cancelled uh primarily when we didn't know what the impact of the storm was going to be so we didn't know the availability of the streets and and Pioneer Park and just the optic of you know right after a devastating storm to have this celebration occur in our city and uh but they that that wasn't canceled it was postponed and so I think it's a wonderful opportunity in a moment of of Solace and and um devastating situation that we also have a time of Celebration and I think it's wonderful of that that the first celebration or event we have in deden is the sound of of of drums and and pipes and so the the reschedule for that celebration is October 11th and it is the the intent is to have a pipe band March from pioner Park to Dunning Brewery uh but the pipe band uh the Scot Foundation is still negotiating with the city on whether that parade March will be allowed to occur a lot of that is just the status of the storm situation post storm um but regardless if that the March can't take place the celebration will take place um and that is October 11th and the celebration will be at dun Brew at Dunning Brewery so it's just there or it'll start at pineer Park so I just wanted to put that out there and that the foundation has had their first uh meeting of organization for the Celtic Festival which is the Saturday before Thanksgiving and that was a wonderful first meeting but they've been doing this for a number of years so it's it's almost like clockwork so uh look for these uh Celtic Festival uh in November and that's all that I have for today thank you vice mayor thank you Jeff commissioner Walker thank you vice mayor um you know I I again the the things that that make Den need and great are the volunteer efforts that are currently undergoing and uh I I think that in terms of uh providing a uh a coordination event uh to need strong I think uh really speaks volumes to planning and and getting a lot of the the residents in community that are without uh some some amount of Aid um you I am the lays on for the dening cares and uh will say that the pantries are running low uh for um if if on the website there is a list of items that Den needing carers needs I I also and there's too many organizations to to count that are providing assistance to the needing carers um but uh I just want to let them know that their uh their efforts are are are not being are being noticed and uh with that said uh please please for Den need and cares U check their website for items that are critically needed um and uh that's all I've got for my L on thank you commissioner Walker um so uh you know I do want to reiterate the navigation of FEMA I think is is huge if we had someone located here that people could come to it's that that would be huge because you're you're hit you know everybody's getting hit with so much I I would love if we could make that happen um I um Jeff I want to say I agree with you I think you got to keep you got to keep being denen and that means you you celebrate too you you know because you know I think people out there need that hope you know when they have a minute to to take a breath you need to be able to have some hope and um so um I you know I think the Rotary the churches individual regular citizens out there just just jumping in and helping um bet groups helping I mean it's it is the Eden and I love that we're trying to coordinate to make sure that nobody's Left Behind that's what you worry about right that somebody's out there and they're they're just in their place and and you know we know there's some of that and they just don't know what to do they're paralyzed so I think this will help make sure no one's left behind and we need to we need to do that um um because I think John you even brought up mental health I think again you know that encouragement and you know because I think about Baywood Shores in North Douglas like how do you not want to give up how do you not feel so demoralized after not even being completely recovered from the last one you're hit with this one um so I think it it is huge and I do think that that kind of mental health and just support is so important um I um you know I I think that we be talking about this for a long time is this a 100-year storm or is this a new normal but that's a discussion for another day and right now um I'm proud of our staff I'm proud of our residents I'm proud of everybody that's chipping in to help and uh and support people and that's what we need to keep doing denon's strong it's great uh we love denen and denen knows how to have fun but denen knows how to support each other so um let's do it so um mayor can I make one more absolutely you know and I I certainly don't want to speak for the mayor but I think if she were here she would have some sort of comment about our small businesses oh and how devastated they are too so um please be mindful of them visit them as often as you can uh make sure that we're we're keeping them in business I I think that's great and I know and I I'm glad you said it too because the mayor was out and about doing tours early in the morning right after the storm um talking to small businesses um you know just she's out there she was out there and and you know so we wish her to get well quick um but you know she does a lot for the city she cares deeply and I'm glad you said that because she would be totally like you know that's part of the celebration right we got to keep our small B businesses going they need us in a lot of ways so you know we we got to be the needen and we can still support each other and be Den needen so vice mayor if I may I know that the Chamber of Commerce and our Economic Development uh joined forces and they have gone door too with all the information um um you know a flyer with all the information contact names numbers that type of a thing so they have been out there knocking on doors that's great that's awesome okay um I lost my thing I think we're at the end and so anything else good for the order that we're forgetting am I forgetting anything okay so um anyway so I think this meeting is adjourned thank you [Music]