##VIDEO ID:T4hiuQ5_bk0## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e to call this meeting to order Marne would you call the role please council member Mark Greg still here here council member Elizabeth jolen here council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney here and mayor buddy Pender here we have a quorum all right so Alysa is going to lead us in the The Pledge thank you Alyssa of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivis with liy and justice for all let's have a quick prayer and we'll get rolling here Lord we thank you for this awesome day that you have made today let us rejoice and be glad in it and uh we just ask your blessing uh over all that are here uh over to council all five of us our staff everybody and uh we just ask your blessing over all the the people that are in the path of this storm we just uh thank you for this beautiful day we ask that you would just keep each and everyone safe and uh we ask all of this in your name amen amen okay do we have any uh emergency deletions or additions anybody have anything tonight something froment agenda you can do whatever you want um the Wade trim issue Wade trim yeah sorry I don't have my thing isn't coming up all right are we all are we in agreement with that sure okay is that tab just so we know is that tab looks like Tab 10 the um work authorization number five between ra way trim and the village for fiscal year 2425 yes please what what tab John 6 10 10 Tab 10 we're going to pull it okay Elizabeth do we are we going to discuss it or what yeah let's discuss [Music] it okay okay anybody else vice mayor no I just had a short kind of a public service announcement I want to make whenever the time is right do you would you like to do that under mayor council communication works for you it works for me all right so Mark okay Henry yes I would like to pull tab five okay tab five I would like to have some discussion on well number 10 has been pulled so I'll pass on that um tab I or tab 11 I would like to have some discussion on a question can't read H I J K L some discussion on what what 11 well it's not it's not a tab it's just u in the consent agenda I like to have some discussion what is it about Henry which one you say it's l John 14 is L tab 14 okay okay uh what's that about Rob uh it's building department inspection services from all aspects Inspection Services well I'm looking at it as tab 13 resolution The Village Council etc etc to provide building permit plans pre review and inspection services to the Building Services Department approving the waiver of competitive building that's my problem approving the waiver of competitive building bidd building or building bidding bidding bidding bidding that is I much so I can't read your writing either so and that uh kind of takes care of me thank you okay so is it tab 13 or 14 Henry That You tab 13 according to the prescription here 13 14 okay no so it's not it's 13 so 14's okay yes okay all right all right so you got five 11 and 13 just so we're clear so tabs five 10 11 and 13 will be pulled from the consent agenda and will be considered during U resolutions yep okay you have you tell us when okay all right thank you John okay so nothing else right Mark you got you you know you're going to say yours under okay who excuse me one minute who pulled tab 11 Elizabeth no Elizabeth pulled Tab 10 Henry you pulled you pulled 11 I meant to so I didn't hear it come up okay that's fine thank you the ones that were 5 10 11 and 13 you got 5 11 and 13 Henry and Elizabeth's Scott 10 okay all right I'll move for adjournment okay okay I'll second there okay so now we are moving on to reports presentations and announcements on uh tab one and uh AJ you're up so you right here according to my agenda dab one AJ mayor that's going to be a presentation from fot and their team is online uh we have Marco inser from fot and they're presenting on the freight plan that was recently presented to Monroe County we've asked them to brief our community and the Village Council and provide opportunity to ask some questions after we understand what the nature of the prior presentation is and what their uh proposal would be on a moving forward basis so we can invite them to get started are we ready to go now okay yeah all right so is fot on board right now Vince do we have fot yes this is Jack schnetler I'm consultant working with fot thank you you got okay very good okay floor we'll start um we appreciate the opportunity to provide an overview of this study along the US one quarter in Monroe County we'll start with the study area context speak briefly to the study approach and focus on recommendations that were developed next next slide this study is the last of eight Freight sub area studies that fot district 6 has conducted across its District in both Miami dat and Monroe counties over the last few years slide so Freight and Logistics are essential to the functioning of our communities and Regional economies the purpose of these Studies by fat was to investigate Freight mobility conditions today and into the future to identify actions to preserve and enhance that Freight mobility Slide the purpose of this Monroe County Freight Improvement plan was to review traffic and transportation conditions along US1 and identify actions that could be considered to enhance Freight mobility as there are no large concentrations of freight oriented zones with special Transportation needs in Monroe County the study Focus was on the mixed traffic flow conditions of cars and trucks moving along the length of US1 the study assessed existing traffic conditions and future traffic scenarios in uh the year 2045 considering it considered 10 of the signalized intersections along the quarter and it broke the roadway into 110 analysis segments based on the Traffic Service results Improvement actions were identified and these were prioritized based on the relative need to improve traffic service for consistency the analysis work was coordinated with the results of Monroe County's 2023 arterial travel time delay study as well as the County's US1 Transportation master plan slide next we'll take a a a look uh a brief profile of the study area and um and uh provide that context Slide the county population of about 83,000 persons is concentrated in Key West and the Lower Keys holding over 60% of the total the marathon iser is marada and kilargo districts account for most of the remainder slide seasonal residents and visitors also can account for as many as 80,000 persons in the peak season trans ating to about 5.2 million annual visitors in total to Monroe County clearly this additional visitation affects traffic and truck volumes as you can see by the graph there next Slide the geographical distribution of the visitors likewise tends to follow the pattern of the permanent population base again with a concentration in the lower Keys in Key West many visitors arrive at the Key West Airport and the rest experience the cic US1 drive down from Miami next slide this traffic graphic shows the relative monthly traffic volumes at Key West in Orange keyo in blue and Big Pine Key in Gray um showing the monthly variations of traffic on US1 there's a 25% difference between the high and low months slide we were also able to uh obtain data from a County origin destination study and it was analyzed to identify how traffic from the mainland declines towards Key West the upper and middle Keys have more much more trip interaction with the mainland because of their proximity about 26% of the mainline Mainland trips um entering the keys continue all the way down to Key West based on the data slide similar origin and destination data uh was available from afot for a truck movements and and that was analyzed um it was found that there are just over 2400 daily truck trips to and from the mainland through kargo about 2,000 these are upper oriented to the Upper Keys and and about five four or 500 travel on down to the middle and Lower Keys there's also o nearly a thousand truck trips between within the keys between the Upper Keys and and the points to the South we estimate that there are 250 daily round truck trips between Key West uh and Miami day County these trucks are delivering a wide range of mostly consumer goods from food Furniture HomeGoods equipment Fuel and business supplies um last year fot prepared a Grant application for the Long Key Bridge Project as at mile marker 64 um an analysis done for that grand application it was it was estimated that every year trucks carry about 1.4 million tons of goods worth2 billion to the lower and middle Keys underscoring the importance of freight transport to the Monroe County economy next Slide the rightand graphic I think we're one slide ahead there we go the right hand graphic shows that traffic crashes on US1 are greatest where the traffic volumes are highest obviously in kilargo Marathon Big Pine Key and the Key West area the origin destination da data and traffic counts um that were assembled enable a graphic depiction of the various daily traffic patterns along us one looking at the figure on the left the trips between the mainland and Key West clearly used entire length of US1 while there are several other smaller travel sheds of trip movements that only use parts of the corridor the lowest daily volume of 15,000 Vehicles occurs between marathon and is marada next now we turn our attention to the network analysis of existing and future conditions it was part of the study next slide a lot of information on this slide but let me uh um summarize it for you for consisteny consistency this study used the same traffic grow scen areal uh that were in the US1 Transportation master plan namely no growth historic growth Trend and 1% growth the historic Trend was selected for analysis of recommendations the daily segment capacities used used the F quality level of service handbook and were to the specific conditions of each segment Improvement actions were investigated at the 10 intersections that were analyzed and recommendations proposed for um improved signal timing and turning lane and potential turning lane modifications to some of the side streets um existing traffic service at the traffic signals was found to be in very acceptable condition for the segments in line with County policy no through Lane additions were considered um as an improvement option instead opportunities to improve through traffic operations were sought by reducing traffic friction from turning Vehicles these options included isolated new or new left or right turn Lanes new left turn lanes and extended right turn Lanes all of these types of features already exist at various locations along the corter slide this slide summarizes the traffic level service speed thresholds for monitoring traffic andren concurrency in Monroe County where level service C or 45 miles per an hour is the standard our study uh has investigated potential um Traffic Service improvements where the level service SE level is not met next slide on this slide are the 10 intersections were included in the study nine of those were are currently signalized while the location at kargo school is presently unsignalized next slide based on a study analysis recommendations that these intersections included adjustments to traffic signal timing and those improvements have been coordinated with the fot traffic engineering office for implementation four of those um locations have already been implemented and um the the others are anticipated to be done later this year uh Traffic Service as I mentioned that these signals was found to be acceptable for existing conditions the analysis also identified um um some minor side street turning lane improvements at five of the intersections which could be implemented in the future um these improvements would be the responsibility of the affected local jurisdictions next Slide the uh findings of this study as I mentioned were CR cross checked with those from the 2023 arterial travel time delay study which showed three segments operating below uh the target levels are a c and these locations were in upper manmi windley and Plantation Keys um between mile markers 79.5 to 91.5 and covering about 12 miles next slide that segment is shown graphically here in the dashed blue bubble the other two segments shown to the south and north of that segment are also at currently at level service C but were noted in the report as having a reserve speed of Less Than 3 miles per hour next slide so more about the level service analysis for the roadway segments the Traffic Service um uh analysis identified um these portions of US1 that are listed on this slide that would function at level Services D or worse in the year 2045 under the trend growth uh these segments comprise about 50% of the US one quarter next slide those segments are depicted on this on this map um shown on this slide um again under the 2045 future conditions under with with Trend growth um um scenario uh these segments again covered parts of the Lower Keys middle Keys is marada and kargo next slide so we we um this graphic um shows a comparison of those three studies this Freight study the arterial travel time delay study in blue dash and the US1 master plan in green Dash and we looked at these to see you know what were similarities and differences in terms of where deficiencies were identified and obviously the travel time delay study is for existing conditions the other two studies did look out to the year 2040 or 2045 for future conditions so they're not exactly comparable um but we do see some areas of similar ity um in the lower Keys and in the um Island marada area where the results overlap next Slide the results of this study were also compared to those in the US1 Transportation master plan um this slide summarized the detail comparative review um I would ask you just please bear bear with me as I walk you through this a lot of uh lot of the script there um the basically the bottom line is that there were 186 multimodal recommendations in the US1 Transportation master plan and 36 of those were PRI prioritized based on balloting across the um the um the quarter agencies of the 12 primary priority recommendations we found five that were related to the kind of work we're doing in this study namely um roadway or safety or traffic operations um two of those were recommendations that we hadn't considered and three were very similar between our two studies and of the 24 secondary P priority recommendations we found eight that were relevant to the work in this study uh five were recommendations that um that we uh did not not address in some cases they you they suggested um you know some alternate alignments or some possibly some Lane additions which was outside of our assumption and three of three of the three of the actions were similar between the two studies so in general where the two studies overlap we found that our recommendations were consistent next slide so let's turn our attention to the types of proposed um recommendations these types of geometric um improvements were investigated across the study segments uh new center left turn Lanes new isolated right Andor left turn lanes and new extended right turn lanes and again these types of treatments uh appear elsewhere in the corter already next slide for the future year condition in 2045 we found a total of 26 segments um uh where project were proposed to address uh future traffic conditions um and you see on the left the uh Lower Keys on the right the Upper Keys uh the segment improvements are the um the ovals and the um Square improvements were the intersections um you'll see a concentration a cluster of of um segment improvements in the Upper Keys in the right there and we'll be discussing those in more detail in a moment the reason they're color coded green is because we um graded those as Priority One with yellow is um priority two and white as priority three not being needed for quite some time so the priority One improvements um are those in green and they're all concentrated in the um Upper Keys north of marathon these priorities were were establish Lish based on consideration of traffic volume the percent trucks uh whether or not there was a deficient level service um and that that analysis showing a level of service improvement and consistency with those other two traffic studies next slide this table summarizes the capital cost recommendations by priority and Improvement type for both intersections and segments the cost of the phase one SE M of segment improvements that were identified is about 13 million next slide uh you're not intended to read this but this is a list of the uh Priority One projects um as they presented in our our report final report just to give you an example of of the detail that's in there and you see they're all listed as Priority One in the right column next slide those of phase one segment improvements are are summarized here um by by type for each of the project numbers there were 10 projects identified in Phase One and this shows the mix of the geometric improvements were identified as as I mentioned before different combination of turning lane types next slide this slide Zooms in on the location of the phase one segment improvements U north of marathon to um uh towards kargo and what we'd like to do now is just briefly profile four these Pro four the 10 projects is examples of the proposed Improvement actions next Slide the the first um example project is number 14 which consists of adding Northbound and southbound right turn Lanes at con Avenue on con key uh this action would reduce through traffic delays in both directions that travel complimenting uh the existing left turn lane that exists there today so you see a a photo of the the intersection vicinity and then uh typical sections at the bottom showing existing on the left and proposed on the right highlighting the two added turning Lanes um in that typical section next Slide the next example project is 15a which involves adding Northbound and southbound left turn Lanes on Long Key these left turn Lanes would eliminate through traffic delays um obviously caused by Vehicles stopped to make a left turn off of US1 and again you see the um uh image of the location and the typical sections uh for existing and future conditions showing the the proposed left turn lane um at that location next slide project 15b uh would install a Northbound left turn lane at Gulfshore Boulevard on fiesta Key again eliminating delays for through traffic and the same illustrations here are present U photos looking Northbound at Gore Boulevard where the left turn lane is proposed and then finally example project 22 um is consists of adding an extended Northbound right turn lane on Plantation key this treatment would improve the through travel speed for Northbound traffic by um pulling the right turning traffic out of the through Lane the other projects that um in Phase One um as well as in phases two and three are generally similar to these types of improvement with turning Lanes uh focused on reducing delays to through traffic along US1 and by doing by doing that uh we can maintain a a slightly higher through travel speed on US1 which improves the level service next slide just a few words on Project implementation um as I mentioned uh traffic signal timing updates have started to be implemented at the 10 at the excuse me nine of the 10 locations four done and the others are pending um for this fall as far as the roadway segment turning lane improvements um fat is coordinating within it its internal offices design and traffic and others uh as well as the district's project scoping committee that committee is responsible for advancing uh projects into the work program um and so those those groups will be assessing the possible inclusion or addition of these projects um into other planned improvements along US1 and getting those these actions um included into the district's work program so the implementation timelines are dep dependent on Easter determinations and the um and the particular projects that would be the vehicle for uh getting the Turning Lanes implemented next slide select concludes our presentation uh we'd be happy to address any questions um that you may have thank you counc any questions no what's that you go ahead you know I I'm sorry I missed the your name first of all yeah I'm sorry Jack schnetler I'm with um consulting firm Atkins realis we are are a consultant to f. district 6 um I I report to Daniel lch who is the district Freight and Logistics manager okay and um also in the call is Marco inser who works with Daniel okay got it thanks thanks so much so yes I have I just have um questions about um about whether you're accepting input from the community on this or is it a done deal that that's my first i' I've four questions so that's my first question well um Let me let me reply that you know fot has it through its project development process has a basically kind of continuous interaction with h public and stakeholders um if these if these turning lane projects were attached to let's just say a um U you know resurfacing project um that those resurfacing projects are always Co coordinated with local jurisdictions and depending on the size of the pro project there's a degree of public Outreach that goes along with that so so the Department's always listening to you know those who will benefit and be affected by the projects so so that um that will always be there um it's possible that um the department May determine at some point um to put one or more of these projects into create a new project for implementation but that's that's the analysis that they're going through internally right now to decide how to best um look at implementing these these proposed recommendations the idea of fot um conducting these studies is to identify public needs and and look at ways to get them implemented so the motoring public uh you know benefits by those those project improvements okay that um and then I'm curious about you know a lot of there I mean we don't have a lot of room and a lot of it seems like some of these projects might encroach on areas where businesses you have parking H how does that how do you address that and then also in that same maybe you can also answer just how this affects the bike path all right so uh you we for every Lo candidate location it was identified potential improvements uh we looked at the rideway and um to the to the best determination we can make at this point no rideway would be required for any of these projects based on the available right away at these locations um with with um with um turning lane projects like this geometric turning lane projects um there's always a consideration of how the frontage along the corridor and the vicinity of the projects is utilized and you know that could include you know the pull in parking uh in some cases there's uh you know or just multiple driveways in a short distance those sorts of features and when the dot um you know looks to advance these projects they'll they'll do with it's expected that they'll do another more detailed traffic analysis of the situations to make sure that um the improvements can be inserted without adverse impacts and maybe modify our recommendations to some extent this is a high level planning study to kind of get you know the um the um basic Improvement Concepts identified but they will get you know more detailed analysis and in the end detailed final design plans just like any other fap project so those um lateral considerations along along the projects will certainly be taken into account as the project um advances and in in its um development process okay thanks you finish Elizabeth Rob Cole did you have something you want to say well I'm and I'm sorry I forgot to mention yes that you know our review considered you know the presence of the of the bicycle Lanes Andor sidewalks in you know when we're looking at the the roadway crosssection well could you repeat that I didn't catch what you just said I'm sorry I I had mentioned that um our planning study was you know aware of where there's existing bicycle lanes and uh and in some cases sidewalks um and that was taken into account in our planning hey Mr Cole Jack thank you for taking time from your schedule to present today this is an important you know conversation for the is Mara community and uh again I I appreciate that you and do uh were amenable to presenting I have a few different questions uh one of them is any is any of this proposed work subject to any kind of environmental review in determination like an EA or anything like that um these like the resurfacing projects and and when fot would do resurfacing projects along the quarter um as part of those there might be other issues that's run that's been brought to their attention such as B possibly turning Lanes or um pedestrian Crossings or a variety of other things that I know that are brought to F out's attention uh when they're starting to develop a project um but these projects generally um you know fall at the low end of the environmental review requirements um at most they might be a categoric categorical exclusion wherein projects that fit a certain definition um you know have a have a a minimal essential environmental review but um nothing like U you know say the um proposed Snake Creek Bridge re replacement right that's yeah that's a that's a major environmental action so is there opportunity for public participation in the determination of whether there's a categorical exclusion and when does that take place well F fot will determine what um level of um environmental review is required in some cases for maintenance projects like I said uh you know and this might fall under under under that category there would be minimum minimum environmental I understand that you're anticipating that there would be a you know no significant impacts and and you'd like to characterize it as a maintenance project in order to facilitate that I I think that adding Lanes is not quite maintenance and there may be people in the Isam community that want to have opportunity to at least review any determination on the environmental under the equation so I'm simply asking uh when does that determination get made and how does one become aware that it's been uh published or that there's an opportunity for uh people to U provide uh feedback ahead of that determination being made is that at your District scoping committee or is it in another setting uh the district scope opening committee um uh looks at there's present oh I'm sorry Daniel you want to jump in yes um if I may hello everybody um Dan lch Freight and Logistics manager at fdot district 6 um in response to your question so yeah like Jack said this is just a high level planning study and we'll be working with the other offices and our scoping committee to see where these improvements fit within the five-year work program once we have a project identified where we see where these improvements or where Maybe a singular Improvement can fit onto a project that is when we'll be going through and working with those PMs and of course those PMS be working with the public um if need be in regards to um public um input and in in regards to environmental um requirements for the project so I think the first step into that process is just figuring out where these improvements can fit and then pretty much depending on where or which project we put these improvements on that's when we'll be making the determination on you know is there an environmental process that's required um is this something that you know um we need to go out to the public and identify if we're going to be making any changes to the sidewalk or anything like that so first it's just figuring out where the projects fit and then everything else kind of Falls after that in regards of timeline on when we'll know that we expect to go back to the scoping Committee in the early part of 2025 so January February time frame that's when we're going to be going to the scoping committee with um not just the Monroe Freight study but the other phas studies that we've done in the sub um sub area freas studies in mate County as well and that's when we're going to be determining where these projects can fit so right now we don't have any particular projects that we feel like these improvements can fit on but hopefully within the next couple months we'll have a few improvements that we feel like can be implemented sooner rather than later and then that's when we'll be able to um get get to really know exactly what needs to be done in in regards to that project and make sure that we let we let the public know as well okay great um does the district scoping committee publish its agendas and is I is there like a email list I can get put on so I can just kind of monitor what's going on yeah so the scoping committee is an internal meeting um in fdot that's basically where we're going to be having those conversations on if these improvements are feasible or not okay now after the scoping committees you can always feel free to reach out to the modal development office or myself specifically on what came out of those um studies or those presentations but that's an internal meeting um between offices to figure out you know where these improvements can fit um But after those meetings when we have a better understanding of you know the timeline here for these improvements you can definitely reach out to me Marco iner or Armando Moscoso and we'll provide our contact information um I I believe Robert Cole has that already but we'll be able to provide an update basically on um where these improvements are at and which projects are being considered for these improvements okay and so someone would let us know when there's a public opportunity to present feedback because of course we'd like to as much as possible and as early in the process consistent with you know environmental review provide some feedback that may help shape the decision at a point where you guys can take into account uh any local concerns that may be expressed uh I don't know that there are any specific ones at this point we'll have conversations with Council but I just want to make sure that you know we're we're involved as early as possible and and provide you with any feedback that may be of value to you um before it gets too far down the pike um I'll add uh there is some sensitivity to uh business parking along US1 and while I did hear Jack's explanation the the question wasn't really answered directly so we'll we'll want to be cognizant of what these plans may or may not have uh to do with uh future parking in those areas because while I'm seeing some pretty you know uh straightforward solutions to Los and and throughput of vehicles and accommodating Freight um I'm not sure that the availability of right away doesn't necessarily mean that parking that is in part of the right away isn't going to have to be relocated and that's a significant question here because again these solutions that we're seeing at present are common place on the mainland um but we're not quite on the mainland here and in the keys we have some very unique um Community uh attributes that you don't really run across in many other places across the state so we would implore your team to pay particular attention to the context within which these projects are contemplated and uh help us to help you uh arrive at solutions that can be supported by the isamara community and still achieve uh some of your outcomes that are are sought um I'll I'll add another note you know when we think about the movement of freight and losos and you know accommodating the motoring public public we have again a very unique area here in that we have businesses that are very close to the US one right away we've got a bike path that sits you know just outside of the right away or in the right away uh we've got multimodal Transportation we've got ebikes we've got freebie electric cars we've got people on foot that are trying to dodge across us one our concern at least in part is one we want to help solve congestion because that's a concern to all of us but at the same time we don't want to be the Daytona 500 of US1 you know I've heard the label bottleneck and is Morana be used by uh some Transportation circles and I've seen uh you know strictly engineered solution to bottlenecks in the past that failed to effectively consider the context within which those Solutions are proposed so I'll caution your team ahead of time let's work together let's make sure that we understand the implications let's provide adequate opportunity for public touchstones and input and I think you know everything I've seen so far from fot suggests your team is is very much interested in that and so I don't want to suggest that is not the case I appreciate the working relationship we have and I just want to help uh make sure that we can move forward in a way that respects our local environment and at the same time uh helps improve conditions on us one yeah Jack of course one second Henry uh whoever wants the answer is I would reiterate that that there's a lot of concerns from the general public the public the Chamber of Commerce here these businesses that are that are right on top of US1 uh so we definitely would I'm I'm going to re reiterate it again what Mr Cole just said uh we before these projects get too far along we we would like to have some input and let the public have some input in this so if they would please keep us a breast of uh you know of what's going on before it gets too far um you know in progress down Road of course of course and and and and that's exactly why we're here today um this is step one of a very long staircase we wanted to make sure that you guys are up to speed with what we're trying to do any input or comments from the chamber um we are are highly welcomed and and um highly sought for so when we go to the scoping committee and we um find potential projects that these improvements can possibly be implemented on we'll be making sure that we reach back out to you guys and making sure that we get your input and that you guys are up to speed with exactly what we're trying to do with these improvements um like I said this is step one um we wanted to make you guys aware we want to have a working relationship with you guys um up until from this point up until the construction uh potentially of these improvements okay thank you Daniel uh councilman Rosenthal has a question as well yes I can Cur what you just heard from these two gentlemen I just have one question what is the nature of the leases that were intact until the end of last month the fills not the fills the least the leases that you provided to the businesses on a monthly basis came to be renewed at the end of last month were they renewed or they are they in limbo do you have a qu that's the question do you have an answer these leases are with f doot sir that you're referring to what do you say yes uh councilman Rosenthal perhaps I can help and Marco uh forgive me if I am stepping on your toes here but uh I'm familiar with this question and the leases that are being referred to are some of the very business parking spaces that we talked about that may be encroaching on uh US1 right of way on on f. right of way uh f. went through a process whereby when they identified those locations they entered into leases with the respective businesses uh allowing the continued use of that space in the right of way uh conditioned on receed of insurance and things like that to uh help alleviate fot liability now there was a recent case involving one of our businesses where fot uh decided not to renew the five-year lease and that's what sparked some of the uh Community concern that I've clued you into a moment ago when I was speaking and I understand that fot officials in the right of way division of the district are continuing to work with the business in question and we're awaiting a resolution to that particular matter but uh it went from not renewing the lease to let's talk to the business owner see if we can find an alternative resolution pathway here they went out and conducted another site visit and I believe that communication is still ongoing and does not at this juncture portend a broader implication for those leases but what we're talking about tonight and what I asked effed out about was to make sure that we're aware of any proposed changes to those parking arrangements as part of of this particular project but more broadly everything that fdot is doing because they have several different things willing in tandem I understand your answer I'll give you a question a short one are the individual businesses liable even though the lease is not and lease is in Jeopardy are they liable and are they paying for the usage at this particular time I can't speak to the specific terms and conditions of their leases what I can say is that my question if we can forward that to this gentleman do you have that answer sir it would be a different part of f do M councilman Rosenthal I can forward a question to the appropriate right of way Division I thought this gentleman might have the answer I I I believe from the confusion that he expressed when we were talking about leases he may not have it but by all means I'm sorry yes just to chime in uh I'm I'm on the same page as Robert I would have to coordinate with our fdot RightWay office on this matter um we are the freight unit from the motor development office um so we're not quite aware of this um problem with the leases but we can coordinate with the fdot RightWay office and do our best to figure out and get an answer for you thank you I'll accept your explanation thank you thank you guys we appreciate it any further questions councel with with with uh none thank you Daniel Jack and team public comment you're welcome thank you all stay safe have a good night your village council meeting procedure specifically State no public comment will be permitted on reports presentations and announcements you know I wonder if we could wave that because I it is a pretty big deal for our community I I'd be happy to hear public comment on this I mean it's affects every single person if anyone has an interest I I would I thought it was just a presentation but you're John you're you're the one that tells us what to do yeah I mean there would need to be a motion to wave the procedure uh or wave the limitation on public comment for this uh this section of the agenda yeah I would move to wave the um let's see wave the exception of to public comment yeah uh wave the limitation on public comment for reports presentations and announcements yes that's what I'd like to do I would concur all right vice mayor it's fine it's fine Mark okay I guess we uh have a a consensus so is there anybody signed up for a public comment yes van Caden head and Don Horton and Sue Miller okay this is only on this presentation from fot so that I understand sir okay thank you van um this presentation that was just given to us was very clever because they uh eliminated they started talking about con key and how the project was going to be done in Marathon but the main coagulation of traffic is in Isam Mara in the bottleneck and instead of having uh a an in-depth examination of what they want to do in Isam Mara especially on upper mumbi key which is the the area in question they talked all around the area in question and did not delve into it now what I'm seeing and what I'm reading and what I heard at the county meeting that I heard this presentation at was essentially uh upper M Comey key is going to be five Lanes of traffic they're going to have extended right turn Lanes cutting through all these leases that we don't know about we have to consult another apartment a department to find out uh the RightWay Department well uh to me uh the the presentation to the community was was done with the with the express uh view of not revealing what fdot's plans are to break the bottleneck which is they want Los to be 45 milph when l or Draw and that's not happening primarily because of Poe planning on the depart on the department of uh uh transportation's part and the the County Commission and also on Isa Mar's due diligence because we've allowed all this to happen and and we've got a problem here uh Mr lamech going uh down the middle of of US1 uh the freight haulers stop in the middle of the turn lane and put on their blinkers and deliver uh their material to both sides of us one across US1 traffic and I've never seen one of them get a ticket I've never seen one of them be arrested and it's just like the cost of doing business that's just what happens and this is an extremely dangerous procedure that it happens every day in Alam marada in this stretch that I'm talking about that we're talking about from from Whale Harbor to uh uh Papa Joe's that happens every day we have a truck stop in the middle of the road to deliver batteries or to deliver West Marine stuff or to deliver uh to a hardware store they stop right in the middle of the road and and what are you going to use the right turn lanes for them to park in so that they don't have to stop in the middle of the road in the turn lane no this is a a you're asking us to solve a problem that you made you're asking us to solve a problem that was performed without due diligence and without any foresight and only with with the idea of commercial Commerce in mind and for us to be let's wrap it up okay I'll I'll be three minutes is over I okay well I appreciate that I appreciate the time and I I appreciate uh M I appreciate Mr Cole's comments and and Mr Rose and th's comments also and I follow them thank you thank you Mr Horton okay Miss Miller Su Miller lower mumbi I agree that I think the the um presentation should have included all of the plans for the alamad area since it is before the Alamar Council that they made the presentation and it does concern me that the plan if you look at the total plan instead of what was presented to you tonight um there is a plan to actually have five Lanes of asphalt through Upper matacumbe and to me if if I understand their plan right they want to have a continuous right turn lane and it sounds like from when you read the details of their plan the purpose of a the right turn lane running the entire length of upper matacumbe is to divert traffic onto the Old Highway with which in most parts of upper maumi is a residential neighborhood and that road is 17 ft wide it it doesn't do any good to divert traffic onto the Old Highway and then make it merge back onto US1 when you get to the bridge what was most surprising to me in the plan is that we're we're trying to find ways to break the bottleneck of traffic coming through um Isa marada and the one thing the freight study didn't do was address the way station which to me is the biggest bottleneck when you make trucks turn across the traffic and then come back onto traffic across the the lanes of traffic it seems to me that we could fix a lot of the traffic congestion by them changing the way station thank you very much thank you Marne anybody else no sir okay public comment is now closed I didn't know a one minute Council I'm not go ahead yes Joe wishm Plantation key I didn't know we were going to be able to speak so that's why I didn't sign up just real quick they're talking about getting information from maybe a council or other or the county with a an item this important I believe that we ought to have workshops they should come down and we should have workshops so they can hear directly from the public exactly what our concerns are and then maybe that way they'll change their mind thank you Mr whar uh that that's exactly what I said and I've talked to Judy at length about this uh you know we just we got to know before things are happening before they get tooo far along and uh I I just want to say for for public comment this thing Mr Quick is everything is not public comment and I believe that we we all pass something the the the five of us sitting right here that when a tab begins I know that this was an exception but when the tab you have to have your public comment in before the tab begins all right that that's what that's what we passed so we made an exception but we have and we have to follow it's it's three minutes I've been to Aqueduct meetings all these other meetings in in the keys and you you get your three minutes even South Florida Water Management your when your time's up it's up they don't you know we're not at three minutes and we have to respect each other okay so I just I wanted to say that because I think that everybody you're bringing this up and we're we're we're making exceptions here and there and I think some people feel like that that we're making exceptions for certain people and not them but it's it's what's good for the goose is good for the gander so thank you uh so before we move on to General Public comment I would like to recognize a couple people that are with us tonight we have uh commissioner from the Wastewater District Sue Heim here tonight and and uh Mr uh muck is also an FKA board member he he's not here on behalf of that tonight he's here with Sue with the kilara Wastewater District so I wanted to point out the two that we had that were here that are guests tonight just to attend our meeting all right so with that being said now we open we're going to open up general public comment Marne do we have anybody signed up yes we do first up we have van catton head good afternoon again I'm van Cadenhead uh what's happening on the highways of Florida now with this evacuation for this hurricane are underscoring perfectly an example of what I've been warning about here for years the overbuilding in South Florida has created a a true Hazard to humanity because what's going to happen if if all those people that are on the highway right now trying to get to Georgia suddenly are uh encompassed with a category 3 hurricane and the people in Georgia are telling them not to come to Georgia because they just had Helen and they don't have any uh hotel rooms for them they don't have any gas and there's trees all over their streets and so where are they going to go are they going to go to Alabama um we have U it to me is is a non nonsensical question to have ask for more building permits for Monroe County it's overbuilt it's been overbuilt there's too many people here for too small of a space and it's been like that for quite a while and I'm really uh sad that the people that are in power the powers that be that uh have the Deep Pockets uh that are funding their campaigns are not cognizant of the fact that they are endangering people's lives by continually to continuing to destroy the environment that we're living in the environment that we're living in is why people want to come here that's why they come from all over the world and all over the United States to vacation in the fabulous Florida Keys because it's a beautiful pristine environment well that's being destroyed by overdeveloping commercial by overdeveloping residential and by having a TDC with a $60 million budget that advertises all over the world for people to come here you think that's why we might have a traffic problem I do I think it has a lot to do with that I think the TDC should be cut way back as far as their ability to uh assemble huge amounts of money and you know maybe go from a 4% tax to a 2% tax or maybe eliminate it all together because they've done their job way too well for way too long and way too many people have had their hand in the cookie jar and you're you're beginning to see some of the problems that that entails by some of the indictments that you've been seeing coming forward so uh I would ask that uh the fdot and uh everybody else involved in building and and improving the infrastructure of Monroe County take cognizant fact that we are in enaging ourselves and the and the residents by the continued pressure to build more and more and more and we should slow down and and look at what we've done and try to uh uh amarate some of the damage that has already been done and not do any more thank you very much very who's next Joe wishme yes Joe wishm Plantation key I attended Mr Mayor and Council I attended the candidate forum and thought it was very informative I wish there would have been more than just one it seemed that all of the candidates agreed on several of the topics one of them being Wastewater all seemed to think that kargo Wastewater could do a much better job of engineering and maintenance for less money than what we are spending now with poor results I'll save these other comments for when Tab 10 comes up this problem the other thing that stood out at the Forum was how most candidates supported more public input and participation yet tonight Here We Go Again out of 19 tabs on tonight's agenda only tabs 16 through 19 are presented for public comment putting important and controversial items on the consent agenia is disrespectful to your constituents what happened to Unity and transparency hopefully after the elections the message will be sent that we're tired of being bullied maybe at the end of the short meetings like we've had lately council members would take the time for the public in the audience to ask one question and then take three minutes to respond this would encourage more public to get involved this would restore public confidence and I know that you listen to us lastly I would like to thank outgoing council members for their time and efforts while sitting on the dis while we don't always agree I do not I I do appreciate all your efforts that you have put towards the community and as far as Mr Pender you know you said we need to sign up for somebody these tabs we didn't even know we were going to be able to speak on that one thank you Mr I'm just saying thank you anybody else Marney let me double check on Zoom but I do not not believe so no sir that's it public comment is now closed okay we next would be uh citizens advisory committee reports and appointments um so Marney are you handling that sure I can introduce it um so we have received a appoint or excuse me an application from Nicholas cross to serve on the Nearshore water citizens advisor committee he submitted that back in July and we were kind of holding off two quarterly um bulk applications but in this quarter only Mr Cross has applied um so the um committee currently does have an opening uh Mr Cross is the general manager of Safe Harbor angler house in Isa marada the square group of Marina as well as an avid boater and fisherman and retired US Coast Guard commissioned officer of 22 years uh apparently the committee had discussed the addition of another member and reviewed the application and agreed that Mr Cross would be a good applic good addition to the committee based on his qualifications and experience okay Council anybody have anything they want to say or do we you got yours it certainly seems well qualified so I I I'm okay with that Elizabeth yeah he's great um I have I I probably I mean yeah I think we should definitely say yes on this but I do have I work at that Marina so maybe I should recuse myself if anybody cares no let's I say let's move to approve then second to approve yeah I'm fine good okay so uh we need to make a motion well motion was made by councilwoman Jolan seconded by council member Greg um but we would have if there's any public comment on it um before um taking action thank you John you're welcome any public comment anybody want to speak on this I don't have anyone signed up for it so uh no public comment then public comments closed uh Marney would you go ahead I think it's I want to ask the manager a couple questions so now or later or what well about this fella no on Nearshore okay well let us vote on this Henry if this doesn't oh actually you're going to vote on it I'm sorry yeah yeah okay Marne would you call the role please council member Elizabeth Jolan council member Greg yes council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes that motion passes five to zero okay all right so Henry you can now ask your questions uh Mr manager where are we as far as Wastewater and key L go uh well the last update I provided is pretty much where we're at currently uh we continue to try to work through the NPK uh Improvement project with Key Largo Wastewater District's professionals I did attend a recent kargo Wastewater District board meeting at the invite of Peter rosasco and we talked a little bit about the potential for a future agreement whereby kyaro Wastewater District would conceivably uh operate our Wastewater system and assume uh r and responsibilities consistent with those duties um that conversation is one that's on hold currently pending resolution of mpk uh the kyaro Wastewater District board uh unanimously indicated that they would like to before they even entertain conversation about any form of of agreement that we might wish to enter into in the future uh to First handle mpk so we have a i i corresponded with their engineer today actually and and uh following that we're going to have another conversation between uh kilargo engineer and one that we have to see if we can finally reach consensus about what needs to be done for the mpk station and and for those of you who may not know what mpk is it's a a facility that we have up at Plantation key and it uh pumps Wastewater from that location all the way up to the kargo wastewater treatment District treatment facility uh a proposal that we had Advanced and have been trying to work on included a combination of inline booster pumps and mcats to make the debris smaller and pump it further faster the problem being uh there's some disagreement between Engineers about whether that's technically going to work uh on the kyaro re receiving end of the equation and we have to come to conclusion that problem's been uh going for quite some time almost 3 years but I think we're nearing the end okay wow um since we have people from kilargo here let me throw something out here why why why are we even messing around with this now why don't we ask if they'll take over our system now they fix a problem and we pay them this is going on and on and on our engineer their engineer I'm sorry I just don't see the point in this if has anybody asked the question will will you charge us to fix what we've done wrong and let's move forward now I mean this is I'm sorry Mr Cole is there is is is there a thirdparty engineer besides our engineer and their engineer that we can have someone as a third-party engineer get involved that can because this is what I understand the day I was there it was there was at loggerheads with both our engineer and their engineer so I guess we need to have an outside somebody that's not biased have another engineer that we that that us and kargo pick and and and look at this and give us do that when they have their engineers and they have they're going to manage the system why do we bring in yet another person they have their Engineers they are going to run the system okay yeah oh sorry I feel like Henry but I just don't see why now we're adding in a third person has anybody asked them this question they've been asked they they have answer that I'd be curious what Rob has to say uh the kargo Wastewater District board is not interested in even having that conversation until the mpk problem is solved and thereafter uh they have not expressed an interest in accepting that kind of relationship but may be uh willing to have a conversation but they won't even get to that point unless and until mpk is solved so to the mayor's to the mayor's point one did the Peter and I discussed after their board meeting how can we solve it and this is exactly what we've come up with uh one of them is we'll try one last time to go the easy path have their engineer talk with a person who may be able to produce the technical analysis that their engineer needs if there's no uh positive outcome from that conversation not further than that conversation just that conversation then at that point we'll uh issue a request for an independent engineer to solve the problem and get get us a recommendation that both kargo Wastewater district and we can agree to and move forward on if it's not our plan it's not our plan if it's what kilargo says that's fine as well um that appeared to be the resolution that Mr rosasco felt was best it seems hopefully that with this next very next phone call uh we might be able to jump over that hurdle um so that's where we're at currently I think we're nearing the end I sense that uh both entities are clearly in the uh same space when it comes to let's get this done because we can't keep letting this drag on and uh so that's what what what we're pro proposing to do and I can update the council following uh conclusion of that conversation but having heard the concerns uh we're we're trying our best to to get past that hurle so we can have the next conversation and I think we're almost there Henry go ahead I want to I don't want to belabor the subject and I don't need an answer but if you recall several years ago it might have been three four years ago we had an independent engineer gave us his answers to fix the problem and two of the board members were not part of that council at that time unless you were later on I don't know we did absolutely nothing we listen we listen I don't I don't think at that time I I don't think we had you and I for but I don't know that there was a consensus then well it didn't pass right if it's if we were in the minority we are in the minority but we did have an independent Council perform his expertise with suggestions and it never happened no so no they were not a part of that Council so anyway just I don't need an answer okay thank you thank you I I just want to thank uh commissioner suim of the Wastewater district and Nick for coming cuz they they came just tonight to because they knew we were going to be talking about this so they were just here uh so I don't know if if y'all would like to say anything or no okay all right thank you for coming though appreciate it and hopefully we can get this worked out soon thank you Mr Cole all right so we actually that was part of the mayor council Communications but Mark you have something you wanted to say yes I said at the outset it's kind of a public service announcement and so this is uh addressed to anyone in the village and the audience in TV Land out there if you have a building permit um there's been a recent change in the law a couple years ago such that whenever we're having a disaster as we are having now and the governor issues an emergency order for a disaster then the time frames within which you have to complete things in your permit and do other things are suspended or told so that if you have to get an inspection every six months or so the clock has stopped ticking on you and that actually occurred a couple of weeks ago for the first time when the governor issued an order for Hurricane Helen and a second series of orders was started I want to say Friday or Saturday with uh hurricane Milton that's out there now so I I don't want to get into the specifics but I might ask Mr Quick to touch on that a little bit but I've taking advantage of it I have a permit to repair my driveway and I don't want to do it until storm season's over and so I was going to apply for an extension and all of a sudden wh oh here comes this order but the law is very favorable to property owners and and folks who have permits and when the order expires which is usually in 60 days if it's not extended then you can ask for an extension for up to two years and even more if there's successive orders up to four years but uh you need to check on the details of that with the building and sometimes it actually affects a planning department uh approval as well so um I wanted to make sure everybody's aware of that if you're affected by this storm or any prior one um there's a number of these orders that are out there uh there's some that go back to the year 2022 that are still in effect so John if you have anything to add to that please do but I'm just saying that if you're building something you got a little breather here that's the that's the gist of it thank you yeah Councilman Greg is is correct um it applies to to various things building permits development orders um it was it used to be a much shorter time period in 2023 they amended the statute and now it's a much longer time period as as council member Greg alluded to um if anybody is interested I would I would encourage them to look at the statute it's uh it's as he was speaking I pulled it up so I had the site it's section 22. 363 uh so I would recommend that anybody take a look at that because it does set forth the time periods y section 252 363 and it sets forth there's time periods by which as council member Greg mentioned to request a further extension um so that's set forth in there there's also some exclusions to it um uh that are set forth so you know I would encourage anybody to take a look at it the most most common exclusion would be if you're in if you're in violation so so if you have a a building permit but you there's a notice of violation or something like that that this under the statute doesn't apply to that um but I would I would encourage anybody to if they're curious uh to take a look um and uh certainly you know staff is always here to to work with them as well and and I think Mark I know when this happened once before they when they took it out a year they they also waved all the fees there wasn't you didn't have to pay yeah there there is no fee for this that I'm aware of and uh I recently before hurricane Helen came through I had a permit that was set to expire and the building department notified me of that they have a form that you can fill out to do that I did that they sent me back a letter they calculated the outside date which was March or something of 2026 I was you know completely surprised by that but uh I think the logic behind it is that after a disaster building supplies and labor tend to be in high demand and and high cost so some people may want to pause and let the folks that need it most have it take advantage of that while we uh clean up and get ready and and start later on when conditions have returned to normal so but I there is a form for that but I think the the form that I had if I'm not mistaken was for either hurricane Nicole or idalia or one of the ones from a year or two ago the law goes retroactive to 2022 it's it's amazing and no matter when your permit was issued uh I I would encourage you to look at that if you're looking for a little breather on that the IRS does something very oh so that so that's also if there's been at the federal level I'll I'll throw this in I do not give tax advice uh but I've done this myself if you when there's been a presidential Declaration of disaster and it affects your county or where you have a home or business uh there's certain circumstances where the there there's a pause in your requirement to file a tax return or to make a payment um that's not legal advice that's just piece of information to encourage you to look into that further if that's something that can help you talk to your tax adviser don't listen to me get get to Mark I the only reason I know because of just I was on the phone with somebody today in that around the Tampa area and they they said it had already been extended because of Helen till 25 that doesn't exclude if you haven't paid in you still you're still going to be penalized but well you still may have to pay a penalty but I think the interest is is waved or vice versa I forget which it is but there's a little um Grace from Uncle Sam in the tax world so get that get the right answer from your accountant not me that's right Elizabeth thanks so are we going to be putting out some sort of information to the community about this rather than having them go and look for the statute is it some public information that could be disseminated it's actually on the website on the building Department's website it's been up since uh 2023 so um it's there it's available and I believe I'll let Rob speak more um but yes we can add some additional emphasis with a public information campaign that makees sure people are aware that that information is there and and what the potential benefits might be that would be great and I I really appreciate that we don't have anything on the IRS you're on your own yeah no don't don't bring the IRS into no tax advice not tonight oh my goodness money we'll talk after the meeting so is there anything else for anybody for mayor council Communications anybody else okay all right so we will move on then to Village uh attorney and Village manager communication is there anything rob you just gave us the report on the Wastewater so I'd like to read our uh public information that was distributed this evening about 5:00 pm concerning hurricane Milton if the council would entertain me on that thank you I'm just going to read it um basically there's a tropical storm warning in effect for all of the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to Key West and the hurricane watch is in effect for dry tort additionally there's a coastal flood warning in effect for the Florida Keys there remains some uncertainty in the level of potential impacts to the Keys and Isam marada as hurricane Milton continues its approach towards the peninsula however these impacts are forecasted to include storm surge flooding with potential saltwater flooding of 1 to 3 feet above ground level at the shore lowest elevation starting late Wednesday into midday Thursday for those of you un familiar with the the 1 to 3 fet above ground level think of king tide your normal experience is about 1 foot so at 2 feet and 3 feet you'd be 1 foot and twoot respectively above what you see during a normal uh king tide event there will also be frequent Thunder squalls with tropical storm strength wind gusts and potential for sustained tropical storm Forest winds over the keys these winds may arrive as early as tomorrow morning morning 1:00 a.m. but most likely will arrive later in the morning on Wednesday heavy rainfall is also potential with a few locations receiving as much as 2 to 4 Ines through Friday I'll note that it is a contractor's responsibility to keep their job site secure they're required to store all construction related debris and materials securely to prevent them from becoming hazards that may spread and cause damage during severe weather conditions The Village again is currently under a tropical storm warning and contractors must remove or secure all construction materials such as roof tiles Lumber and Scaffolding to prevent them from becoming projectiles there's a section on Village closures and suspension of services all Village facilities including parks and Village Hall will be closed October 9th tomorrow essential person will continue to report to work with non-essential Personnel working remotely Founders Park facilities and Marina offices will be closed on October 9th tomorrow however all boat ramps including the one at the marina will remain open for emergency purposes there on for tomorrow there's no plan change to solid waste collection those collections should occur as scheduled Thursday will be determined based upon information that we received through the Westchester excuse me through the monell county uh Emergency Operating coordination calls that are planned for tomorrow freebie has also suspended services for Wednesday October 9th I'll note that the county provided additional information on suspension of services the MCSO administrative excuse me administrative offices will be closed Wednesday October 9th the FWC will be available for Emergen response only Monroe County Schools will be closed on Wednesday October 9th the Florida Department of Health offices also closed Wednesday October 9th Florida state parks same there closed Wednesday October 9th and the Snake Creek Bridge is maintaining lockdown position until further notice for those of you unfamiliar with lockdown that's basically the L the bridge is locked in its position and taller boats would not be able to pass from one side to the other and then finally fkaa operations on windley key are suspended during the event as well thank you for the time to relate this to the public and I hope uh everyone and their families both near and far uh remained safe throughout this weather event all right thank you rob Mr Mayor I just wanted to say something kind of off off to the side a little bit um you're lifetime con vice mayor is we've lived here a while this storm is a little different in the sense that it's angle of attack is coming from the south and the west and so almost always we have a storm that affects the ocean side first we had the one in Wilma in 2005 that reminds this one reminds me of Wilma I'm not a weatherman I'm not a Tax Advisor I'm not a Indian chief or anything else I am a lawyer but I would say to be careful with this one if you live on the Bayside because we're not used to that and uh hopefully at my my warning is useless and meaningless but I don't think so so if you if you have you know you know this better than I do but I I agree with you because people didn't Wilma you know even in uh big copit people that had Ford pickups water was over the top of their at the bottom of the door you know where the window comes up they were that was there m Bob bade ry's dad 175 Indian Mountain Trail had a 40ft sailboat in his backyard after that there was a lot of people in the colony had flooding people in Indian Mound tra uh uh Indian waterways had flooding in their house so yes especially if it comes on a high tide I I saw the wind in Hurricane George below the water out of the bay and you could walk out behind Founders Park here about 300 ft without getting water above your ankles and then two hours later it was 50 F feet up below the high tide line so this thing is these are crazy all the bay was was yeah yeah it was it sucks the water out of the canals I mean it's this is going to be crazy go ahead I'll add one related Insight uh to build upon councilman Greg's comments uh we were told by the National Weather Service that uncharacteristically or perhaps not what people are accustomed to the maximum stor storm surge is actually expected on Thursday because it will first hit uh places like he West Wednesday but it really is almost what they labeled as a day behind by the time it gets to the Upper Keys and really begins to build to its maximum height um they anticipated earlier that that would recede by Thursday afternoon but they have caution that if you're not seeing it on Wednesday don't think it's not coming because they actually Envision the maximum storm surge to occur in our area and further up the keys uh on Thursday they already have like St John's river is already at its peak it's already right now it's up and if this stuff com coming from from Orlando and and all that coming through Lake George all that could go for another they're saying another week up there that that could you know this is going to be a weird one it's it's not a normal hurricane none of them are normal but this one's really weird so that's all I have to say thank you all right thank you all right so nothing else and we will move on from uh to consent agenda Mr Quick we're into the consent portion of the agenda these items are routine nature and council members have reviewed these items in advance and sought the advice of Staff as they felt necessary there'll be one vote on consent items um which today and and there have been a few that have been pulled before we got here today are items tabs 3- 4 6-9 12 and tabs 14 and 15 if anyone would like to pull an item from an additional item from consent he or she should state so now okay John just so we make sure what we have Elizabeth pulled Tab 10 and uh Henry pulled Tab 5 11 and 13 am I correct uh correct I didn't write down who pulled them but those are the ones that were pulled correct okay all right Council we have any well we can go ahead and have public comment public comment is now open for the tabs that Mr Quick just uh discussed for for uh I'm sorry just gen for public comment for the consent agenda Marne do we have anybody signed up uh the couple that I had are for the specific tabs that have been pulled so let me just double check there is a tab for 11 so I'll speak to it then okay yeah yeah they they can speak if we pulled it out they can we'll have public comment in each one of them but I'm saying the tabs right now that we're talking about there's no nothing for those okay thank you public comment is now closed then um okay Council any discussion on any of these or do I hear a motion I would move for approval for all of the items with the exception of the ones we've pulled which I believe were 5 10 11 and 13 correct correct do I hear a second I'll second it all right Marne we have a motion in a second would you call the rooll please council member Mark Greg yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Henry rosenfall yes but I want to speak to 11 okay yeah you got it correct 11 is coming up 11's coming up after I'll call it specifically he he excluded them it's not pulled right okay and mayor buddy Pender yes motion passes 5 to zero okay so we will start with uh tab five John tab Henry it's a resolution of the Village Council Vi Village of violence Florida approving work authorization number one from Rees Florida Consulting LLC for Breakwater artificial re feasibility study at seots Beach and upper mumbi Beach authorized in Village officials to implement the terms and conditions of the project agreement authorizing Village manager to expend budgeted funds authorizing Village manager to execute the work authorization number one and providing for an effective date okay Council we want to discuss it or we want to go ahead and go right into do public comment let's let's open public comment now for tab five do we have anybody signed up Marne I do not let me double check Zoom no there's no one signed up two on and 11 but put five right I have five that's not up to me are we okay sure sure all right go ahead van why don't we before he speaks if anybody would like to speak on the the ones that have been pulled off of consent 5 10 11 or 13 uh please make sure to get your comment cards in now before those items are called I I agree thank you John M Mr Mayor before he speaks and I'm not trying to cut you off man I I believe it was uh Henry that wanted to pull this and I'm just curious why so I I would like if if if that's not intrusive Henry no just what is what is your concern that's what I'm looking for and hopefully van can if would like to know that too so he can comment on that well I don't believe the people really understand what's going on here I don't know maybe maybe you can whatever you're going to say say it okay well let him have public comment what what is the problem why is this getting pulled that's what I want to know because I don't think the people that are pertaining to this tab understood what it's all about well you want to explain it who doesn't understand it you mean the the public oh okay well are you asking for a ala to you want her to kind of give a overview summary of it or something like that yes okay but Mark can we have public comment first let's do public comment then we can let Alysa speak to this well I might be able to kill three birds of one stone on this um we we're fixing to on Thursday hopefully get a a comprehensive plan firm uh under contract to do this exact sort of thing and just wondering why we're trying to hire um somebody to make this assessment when it seems like a redundant uh uh service that we're going to be paying uh able cities east for it seems as though we should just wait until AEL cities east comes on board and then allow them to do this tab five and also allow them to do uh the assessment of what needs to be done in tabs 10 and 11 because this is coming on before they're they're even in the saddle and they should have input into both in all three of these things and also there may be new members on the council that would would like to have input on all three of these things and I don't think they should be passed now I think should they should be it should be kicked down the road I mean Lord knows you're good at that I mean let's kick it down the road until after the election let's kick it down the road until after uh able cities e East is in the saddle and has a chance to assess these three items and then uh you know proceed from there but I think we're trying to put the cart in front of the horse again I just think we should slow down and I don't I don't need to comment on 10 and 11 uh because I think my comments are covered 5 10 and 11 because it's all the same question uh let's you know let's slow down and and allow uh the election to happen and let's let able City East come in and uh get themselves acclimated and acquainted with these problems and then give us their assessment why pay for the same information twice thank you any other public comment Marty yes Sue Miller Su Miller Laura manakum this is an issue that came up as a result of the vulnerability study I believe that Aaron Dei did and and um what was confusing to me is that that that study showed a whole series of issues that we should address eventually and um and I'm I'm confused about who determines what the priority is for these issues this is really a major major thing that you're doing a study for um creating a Breakwater out in front of seot Beach my concern is like Henry why not pull this so that the public knows doesn't mean that you're going to um change anything it just means that the public needs to be aware that seots beach that's like a quarter of a mile of Breakwater or Mangrove Islands this is huge I look how much it costs for that break at the marina can you imagine what a Breakwater the length of seot beach would be I it's just and and that's just one of the breakwaters then there's also the one from Chica the whole way down in front of the Moorings on creating a Breakwater to break up the flow of water coming in during a storm what's it going to do to the neighboring properties that don't have a Breakwater is it going to just divert and flood all the neighbors I think that the community needs to know about it and understand what the priorities are when you're talking about vulnerability our whole Community is vulnerable um we're just grateful that that so far we've been spared this hurricane season so far but things you know with sea level rise and all the other issues there are so many vulnerabilities I just wonder what the priorities are thank you thank you anybody else Marney okay I'll make a comment when you're through no sir that's it okay public comment is now closed I just felt that the people the neighboring people weren't aware of this thing at all I wasn't until it showed up where's that water going to go do they know it's heading their way that this is we're in the process to make this happen maybe it won't happen but right now I guarantee you there's not one person out there that knows this is on the agenda and it could involve their property so that was my main reason they elaborated on my thoughts I'll have to say thank you for doing that that's the reason I did what I did well I I will say on Peter's behalf that Peter called me a long time ago when he was looking into this study and this is actually some modern technology and things where it actually holds the sand and stuff but I'd like to have Peter and Alysa I mean come tell us whoever wants to come on while she's walking to the mic I just want to say that this was also brought up at during budget season when I discussed my budget this was brought up as a project so this is not the first time the council's heard about this project thank you hello um so this is following the vulnerability assessment there's oh hi Alyssa Alyssa Panzer tell tell everybody your position and what you do with the village Alyssa fair enough um my name is Alyssa I am the sustainability and resiliency coordinator uh for the village of alam marada so I work in the planning department it's a newer position for aam marada um so it's started back in in February kind of around the time that the vulnerability assessment was coming to a close um that wrapped up back in uh June uh and Aaron de gave a presentation on that um so and Alyssa just for the public Jennifer you brought her here when you she got hired and introduced us to the whole council at a public council meeting correct okay thank you yes go ahead no go ahead um so this uh this is just a feasibility study uh it's to look at a desktop review it's to look at a physical field review and it's to look at probable uh materials costs configurations uh and then take into consideration all of the anthropogenic uh factors as well um so the reason that this zone is being targeted as well as another Zone in Upper mat um it's just to look at the bottom topographies it's to look at all the different factors that would go into it um there's no sizes that are set there's no uh like is it out of the water is it underwater there's a lot of navigation concerns and a lot of permanent concerns that go into a Breakwater but breakwaters were recommended at several locations these are just two of the um more important Ones based on time frames so the vulnerability assessment had near-term and long-term uh and so CO's Beach is in a zone that is a near-term affected Zone by uh sea level rise and highs side flooding so that's why that is being targeted and it's just for a review and it's going to give us all of this information that will help answer all these questions anybody have any questions for Alissa go ahead Elizabeth um thank you for that explanation and I wonder if you could also speak to how and and we spoke to it uh to to this in the in our meeting review but maybe you could um talk about how you will be implementing the suggestions that came out of that vulnerab vulnerability assessment do do you have some general thoughts on that yeah absolutely um great question so the vulnerability assessment itself gave gave uh several recommendations for several zones uh overall it's over 100 project recommendations a very large portion of those are actually kind to be factored into several plans that are going on um at the same time right now so we have the storm water master plan the roads plan these things kind of get rolled into it um so a lot of things are already kind of being checked off the uh the list for now um to be incorporated a lot of it is also going to get rolled into um with utilities a larger adaptation plan um with Monro County so that's right now we're waiting to see if we receive the planning Grant fund from resilient Florida for that um but so the remainder of the projects uh that left a few different things to assess and so this one had come up before um it come up again so me and Pete decided that it would be a good time to try and look into that whether it would be a feasible option for us since that zone was one of the more near-term affected zones um and we know that area if you drive by on se's beach um it's very vulnerable and it's our evacuation route yeah I mean I have no question that this is a good idea um because this position is new and this conversation in our town is new I wonder if it might be helpful for the town and the councils to have some sort of periodic update from this department this your position on this subject because it would bring it to the Forefront and I don't know if that's something that we might want to give direction on so that it's no surprise that this stuff is ongoing and anybody have any thoughts on that I mean to to me this is alamada leading away in this technology that when when Peter called me and talked to me about it I think we are one of the ones leading the way in in taking the bull by the horn and doing this something to protect our environment but you know it's uh you can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time go ahead can I ask you a question um what they're doing is important but um how do we know and this is somebody who's never dealt with a comp plan before that East Side do they have the ability to do what this group is going to do to give you the information you need for moving forward it because if we do hire we are east side and they can do it that's $50,000 so is it something I don't know if you'd know the answer I guess that's more to you guys I'll defer to Jennifer on that but my gut feeling is that able city as as a planning firm have some environmental expertise but uh the feasibility study is going to require you know some high horsepower in that area both with respect to uh current and emerging Technologies and potential impacts and pluses and minuses so my my feeling is able City would not be able to deliver without subcontracting out and charging for it but Jennifer you if you'd like to confirm no that's correct this is a specific project that was a result of a vulnerability assessment that was done and that's what AR yes specializes in people City East is a planning firm that will be working on our comprehensive plan okay so in other words the the people that got up and spoke and said we're spending money we don't need to they weren't they weren't correct in what they were saying because it is two totally different divisions correct okay and Jennifer just to back you up this firm actually is part of many there's senators and all kind of state people that speak at conservation and mitigation Banks uh conferences that go on all over the state and this Rees that they're talking about I happen to know who they are I didn't know Peter when he called me and asked me about it but you know this is something that I feel and this is a feasibility study everybody this isn't us hiring these people to do the work this is able City East would probably have to hire a firm like this to to do something like this to get the feasibility study so could know what before they put it out for bid to see who can do this so um you know I don't know Henry do you mark I I just like to weigh in just say say a few things um it's important to kind of understand how we got to how she got to the podium there um we started and Elizabeth and I and Jennifer and Peter went to these climate conference uh events up in day County that were put on by the south Florida Planning Commission the four counties in South Florida and part of it is driven by a state law that was passed a couple years ago that requires us to have a resiliency study done in order to take advantage of the state billions and billions of dollars of money that's available to help us handle climate change Federal money state money and so what she's talking about this project is is an offshoot of that it could be done by the planning firm that we're going to hire but this it's it's kind of an overlap but I really feel that you know we we have a resiliency officer and we talked about this at prior meetings all of the coastal counties are considering or hiring them I think Paul Beach was the first one with uh that Aaron lady that came to speak with us and so this is this is the future she is the future she's she's Mark gonna I gotta say Elizabeth I remember you said you wanted resiliency about moving money okay you were very adamant about that about moving money that we need a resiliency officer and so we we need this this is something new that we've not seen before and it's because we have a problem that we haven't had before so this is the response to that federal government the state government the regional governments are all promoting this so that's what this is about and this is a study this is not they're going to put barges out there and start dumping Boulders in the in the ocean this is to kind of get us a feel for this they talked about living shorelines and they've been talking about things like this and the area especially where turtle uh SE oats beaches you know we've talked about this we were young we used to know I used to park my car out there with the uh in the shade of the billboard and go hunting for and things out there all that land is gone and that's and this is going to be something that responds to that and the currents may bring it back we may have Turtle nesting again used to be a nursery out there with the with with Hawk Wing conch okay milk conks all there was it had everything this big starfish it had it all it was beautiful and it's gone and this may give us a chance to get it back I think the question was answered when I asked if these new people could do that and the answer was no they can't so it's sort of a no-brainer that the way they want to go is right I think it's a no-brainer good so that let said Henry okay go just just the last question because I appreciate the conversation and and I and I I did want to just circle back to this question about um she wants a report I I want to I mean because what what shouldn't happen here is that anyone is surprised by the fact that we are um that that we have an actual person working on this and and yet because this is brand new especially you know not everyone is paying full attention understandably um do can we give some direction to ask for I mean a quarterly update because it shouldn't be a surprise it shouldn't be scary it shouldn't be no one should be saying oh my gosh something bad is happening in the village when we're looking at vulnerability I mean that because and not to be critical of you know that this has changed so can is there room here to give direction to say hey Rob can we get a an update can I just can I just speak I'm sorry I don't want to interrupt but if I can just speak to that so Alyssa and I meet regularly we meet weekly on a weekly basis to go over it is a new position you know everybody is sort of what is this position how do we make this work for the village so we meet on a regular basis Alysa is doing an amazing job um creating this position from the ground up so we're really excited to have her one of the things that ala have talked about is starting to have some Community workshops in the area of resiliency and sustainability um getting the community involved and what the priorities for the village should be um as you all know the plane department is short staffed right now so those things have been put a little bit on hold but those still are our goals and objectives and we do want the community to be involved you know that Alysa this summer worked with um the summer camp here at Founders Park got the kids involved in some sustainability and resiliency issues so she is all about educating and reaching out to the community and making sure that this is not a surprise and not you know something that nobody knows is going on here so we're happy to come back on a quarterly basis or whatever basis you feel the council feels is necessary but I want you to understand that that is our goal as well we're not fighting that in any way shape or form I I I think this and and truthfully I think what you're saying is and what what Elizabeth was just saying and I remember when Elizabeth she goes I remember the night she brought it up about us hiring hiring a resiliency officer and this is a wave of the future and if we don't comply and down the roadways things we can be if we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing then we're you know in non-compliant we're not going to qualify for the funding if we don't keep pace and this is the kind of project that those funds are supposed to be used for we are leading into the future not responding in Reverse this is a wonderful thing and we're super lucky to have her here we're it I'm just so excited I saw this and I oh my God it's happening the future is coming right now well and so what's interest sorry no go ahead what's interesting though is that that it it's I mean that it's in the consent agena like let's not discuss it where this is super exciting so I just want to just I just want to ask this question one more time I mean I don't need big old workshops I just want like every quarter put your face on the camera to say this is what I'm working on here's a slide this is how it's going that's all that's all I'm asking I think Rob has been so easy at to B the comment go ahead yeah I I think we could work with our uh planning director and Alysa to make sure that there are routine updates one of the things we'll do following this meeting is incorporate something into the weekly manager update that highlights this project and I think what we'd like to do rather than necessarily have a standing quarterly uh Cadence although that may well be something council's interest that we can do but I've heard Alyssa and Jennifer both say they want to make this much more of a visible public uh conversation so to me that is a a very strong uh statement and approach that they're fleshing out and that would actually result in a lot of things going on even more frequently than quarterly so uh e either way I I think the point is very well taken that people should not be surprised that sustainability and resilience is a a a keystone element of our approach to our uh fiduciary roles and responsibilities and we're going to see increasingly more of that due to the outstanding work of Alysa Jennifer Pete and all the team that supports them Public Works and everybody else so this is something we're going to embrace culturally we're going to talk about we're going to celebrate successes and keep people in the loop so um to councilwoman jolen's Point whether it's quarterly or otherwise I think otherwise to me even more frequently and one last comment thank you mayor is I'd like to just ask Alyssa one question by having this feasibility study completed does that potentially increase the likelihood that we would be able to go to state or federal funding authorities with a plan that's been completed and Shop that for funding for the next step so without that feasibility study our chances are 1% uh with the feasibility study does it increase above and beyond that yeah absolutely yeah so let's it's a building block for Success when it comes to searching for funding is what I'm getting at yes I got a question for you because you were you see I've talked to Jennifer before about you I think you're pretty excited about this right yes okay I mean and and see to me that's what I like somebody that's really you you love what you're doing and I know you've really helped Peter I mean because Peter loves this too but and and I I gota I gotta commend Elizabeth because she pushed for this I remember the night that she did it okay and look what we have now and you're actually we're we're we're seeing progress we're seeing something being done but if we don't do it if we keep you know as van says Kick the Can down the road well we're here we're trying to get here but if we don't go forward we're never going to get there so thank you so much for what you're doing thank you guys does he have anything to okay Henry do you yes I brought it up for one reason so we could discuss it we did that thank you very much thank you Henry thank I don't want I don't want to offer for Alyssa but I I would believe that Alyssa would take anyone's phone call or email if anybody has questions for her or wants to discuss anything sustainable or resilient in the village I know that she's had phone calls from other people and she's very open and willing to speak with people about this topic we we take a lot of heat for not doing anything this is the exact opposite we are we're lighting the torch in the darkness and moving forward on this and this is going to benefit people long after after we're gone up here so future Generations I I this is a beautiful wonderful thing finally going forward thank you Elizabeth I mean this is a council effort I I mean really I this is one one uh definitely a a feather all right with that with I want to approve this move to approve second all right uh Marne we have a motion and second call the rooll please council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Mark Greg yes council member Henry rosenthall yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes that motion passes 5 to zero okay so we are going on to Tab 10 correct John that's correct uh Tab 10 is a resolution of the Village Council of alam Village of violence Florida ratifying and approving work authorization number five between Wade trim Inc and Isam Mara Village of Island to provide General Engineering Services and Wastewater utility related uh Engineering Services authorizing Village officials to implement the terms and conditions of the work authorization number fiveth The Village manager to expend budgeted funds authorizing Village manager to execute the work authorization and providing for an effective date so so I had pulled that okay go ahead L go ahead I had pulled that because someone called me today and said I you know it seems like the sentiment is to move toward Outsourcing our Wastewater and we're hiring this group and what happens if we Outsource are they still under contract I'm like I I don't even know I have no idea so that's why I pulled it I just want to get that answer it might that's a good question yeah and yeah so maybe you Mr coer you want AJ to AJ's up at the mic go ahead sir thank you yeah no problem uh so both this one and the next one are both uh work authorizations so this is just uh expected workflow for this uh fiscal year that we're in now and it is in no or no way set that that is the price that they're getting paid no matter what this is just for their work that they would be performing throughout the year um go ahead well so my understanding on Tab 10 is that we're we're engaging in a contract for a year this one isn't I I don't even know what the price is actually but so this is really about it's a not to exceed amount so would authorize them to perform work up to the Limit that we have uh if we should uh transition to some other model of Service delivery for Waste Water uh then at that point those costs would be curtailed and we would transition to whatever type of of arrangement uh kilargo might uh negotiate with us if if in fact there's interest even on their part so basically at a point it we have author um leeway to exit this contract with Wade with Wade trim yeah there are there's termination Provisions into the contract for both for cause and for convenience um so we for convenience meaning with if we just decide we don't want to or without a bunch of penalty yeah yeah there's a termination we just it's 14 days notice and and then we're out I think that answers the question for the the public and thank you thank you since Buddy's not here does anybody else have anything to say no public com public comment oh yeah should we do public comment Marne is there anyone yes there is how good I'll be um we have van Cadenhead and Joe wishm signed up for this item B who's speaking I spoke I spoke to the oh you said that okay he said he spoke on that when he spoke first okay thank you yes Joe wishm Plantation key um I'm quoting a lot from the Free Press of September 12th so if anything has changed since then I apologize but just to get some of the the facts out I'm quoting from the general manager Peter Rosco he stated in the Free Press of September 12th that the 8 braks in the sewer line basically in the same spot is due to problems that we have with our system in a meeting with Rob Cole and AJ engelm they indicated they could fix the problems but their plan to add new pumps will create more problems this problem goes back five or six years and when the manager then man manager Seth Lawless told that they were aware of the problems including the hammer brakes he also stated that the village has been withholding important information for years including hydrology reports which are very important The Village has not taken the appropriate steps to solve the problem we offer to give them our expertise for free and they don't do it this problem has been going on since we hired Wade Trim in 220 20 2020 with no progress now in the last of the meetings with the present Council you want to renew the contract with them on the consent Tab 10 on the consent agenda with no public comment well we appreciate that you're doing that now with all new Council candidates agreeing to let kilargo handle our Wastewater you should not agree to renew that contract you should let the new Council decide and we'll see where we go from there Wade trim has had more than enough opportunities and I don't know why in all the years we just keep kicking this down the road more and more and now we still have the same problems if we still have the same problems with the same people I think we ought to Chang the people thank you yes sir Marne anybody else let me double check on [Music] Zoom no sir that's it okay AJ would you like to comment sure yeah I can clarifying uh a lot of that uh so Wade trim is our Wastewater engineering consultant they they help us uh make those decisions uh by no means do they have anything to do with the design that was uh presented that is another engineering firm um but both engineering firms are in agreeance on our side with our our progress forward and and the way we want to move forward okay so AJ Wade trim was the V vill's engineering firm when all the waste water was put in am I right or wrong correct that they've been here they were our consultant from the very get-go from through the design and they were our representatives and continue to be our Representatives that that's who Lane had to answer to reyolds water Alam marada they were our representatives and our CI during construction and have continued to stay on as our Representatives uh post construction yeah and they approved all pay apps and everything that before Reynolds could be paid was what's the name uh they had their engineer go check everything that was done before it could be paid just like the aqueduct uses like Aaron Cutler is whatever the name of his firm is on the pipeline correct he's a project manager correct so all right um anybody have you have some questions Henry what do what do you anticipate their usage for us right now why do we need them uh we do not have an uh an in-house waste water engineer on staff just as kyaro does not have a in-house Wastewater engineer they hire wirer engineering um which was their consultant from the very get-go and has been there from the design all the way through construction and continues um it's the the the same concept can I ask a question go ahead is is W trim responsible for the designing the pipe where we have the problem up in year with the hammering or whatever that's called the braking no they were not the design engineer so they were our representative and reviewed the design um that was um I'm trying to remember who actually it was Reynolds um was the it was a design build contract so they were the designer and the contractor um but it Wade trim was just our CI so they U monitored the installation and the construction of it to make sure things were were installed correctly so in in your opinion you know this is you work on this all the time you know it better than anybody um does Wade trim have any responsibility for the problem that we have up there m marker 92 or they were they just approving what was already designed overseeing something they didn't they didn't really I I don't know if the problem is in the design or in the construction or materials or both or nature or whatever but I I just want to make sure we're not hiring the same firm that caused a problem up the road no I don't believe they they have a responsibility all right thank you I believe it's design AJ so help me understand mark because what you're saying is basically when the village hired Reynolds water Alam marata to do this job they had a 20e that they could manage it they were they managed the pump stations all right but when Seth Lawless took over he convinced the council that to bring it in house Well Lane would have more than likely been responsible okay they were on the hook but the minute that they let Lane off the hook anything that happen we have nothing to go back on okay am I right or wrong AJ that is correct okay um The Village would have been on the hook for any major um repairs and stuff which a lot of that falls into right once they let Lane they they ended their maintenance agreement it it it all they weren't they couldn't be responsible anymore so and this was done before yeah I was on Council in 2020 or you know Elizabeth Sharon Henry Olivas this was done before then go ahead so the we're having this conversation in response to an article in the Free Press and I I wonder if Rob's comments from earlier um I wonder if we should go back to that because what I'm I heard Rob say was that that you are handling or managing that relationship with the waste with kilargo and that's probably the what we should be responding to right I I think I heard you right but yes I am engaging with kilargo Wastewater District primarily my point of contact is Mr rosasco I spoke with their board I believe that we have a productive path forward to address the mkk problem and reach a common resolution and get that moving forward in short order once that is done we can move on to the next step and I think some of the conversation that's going on now uh is is best held in abeyance pending uh completion of that next conversation we're having with kargo which is eminent uh So within the week or so so I would say um Wade trim provides the service that we currently need we don't have an alternative uh at present to not having them other than you know issuing an RFP and trying to find another but nothing I've heard at this juncture is suggesting that is in our best interest so I would recommend uh Council consider authorizing this agreement it has a termination clause in it if we should decide in the future to be able to exercise that or need to exercise it and in the meantime uh let's focus on uh collaborating with Key Largo Wastewater District to get this key uh issue out of the way so that we can determine then if there is further interest in conversation more broadly um and that would be my recommendation at this point so so with that I would just move to approve this okay all right all right so Marne thank you AJ Marne we have a motion and we have a second would you call the role please council member Elizabeth jolen yes council member Mark Greg yes council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes that motion passes 5- Z okay so John now we will move on to tab 11 that's correct tab 11 is a resolution of the Village Council Village of Island Florida ratifying and approving work authorization number two between page Excavating Inc and is Mara Village of Island to provide Wastewater Support Services as needed authorizing Village officials to implement the terms and conditions of work authorization number two authorizing Village manager to expend budgeted funds authorize The Village manager to execute the work authorization and providing for an effective date okay AJ would you like to we'll go to public comment in a minute but we could you tell us what this is go ahead sure uh yes this is a authorization number two with page Excavating uh to perform all repair and maintenance services um that we subcontract out um for this fiscal year and again this is a a not to exceed it's not a guaranteed contract amount um it is being paid on actual work performed and um I think that's all I got to say about it let me question is there an opt out on this contract too so it' be under it' be the same thing as last thing we just discussed in correct correct yeah that's a standard with all of our work authorization there's nothing different outside of that on any of these contracts we okay just checking because you know how I feel about Wastewater okay U Marne do we have anybody uh let's open public comment up F this tab tab 11 yes familiar okay anybody else Marney or sue the Su Miller lower matacumbe um I think I just heard that we are authorizing paage to do up to $700,000 which means that it won't have to come back to you as long as they keep the maintenance and repair costs to 7 $100,000 or less but in the budget you just passed September 17th you allocated $150,000 for page Excavating for repair and maintenance and a total of $645,000 but it's line items for other organizations so if you're giving them $550,000 more than what was in the budget um I don't know where it's going to come from so then you say well maybe it'll come from infrastructure but if it's infrastructure it should be put out for bid you shouldn't be approving $700,000 of infrastructure it just seems like you really need to have a plan for Wastewater and it seems clear that there's not a real plan and um I hope we can figure this all out thank you thank you Mar anybody else no sir that's it okay uh public comment is now closed Council anybody have any other questions for AJ or Mr Cole or Henry go ahead yes I have one um who would you like to address it to AJ or Mr Cole or anybody who wants to take a bite it's not it's not that difficult we approved 150 ,000 to page then we have the opportunity to spend 795,000 and my question is that should be put out for bid that's it the 795 and actually as far as page goes you can add another 120 to it it's really 915 but the 795 in particular should be put out for bid you put it out for bid you'll satisfy me and I won't bring it up thank you yep so yeah the big chunk of that is infrastructure uh infrastructure can be the installation of a vacuum pit uh grinder pumps St things like of that nature that are routine um construction that we do um we do have a line item that was put out to bid and part of this continuing service agreement um that's that was presented and this is the second work authorization for this any large projects um we do have a couple um that are in the budget um a big extensions of a low pressure Force main um we're finishing one up there on Lake Drive and gardinia where it was an extension of our 6in vacuum M um those were all projects that go out to r that go out to bid and are put at RFP and uh selected a contractor but this is more on the smaller scale of of some of those items they're not large projects what $790,000 is they they do add up over time but it's multiple small projects and and again a lot of these infrastructure cost putting in a vacuum pit things of that nature that money comes back to us they are charged to the homeowner um so if there's an extension a new connection point or whatever may be and they're building a new home and that infrastructure is not underground that money is charged to the permit uh applicant and that money comes back in but this has been bid correct 100% okay AJ if you would kindly uh just speak very briefly about the continuing Services agreement when it was bid out and how long it is until the next time it's bit out I think that would be instructive for uh councilman Rosenthal and help answer his question rather directly absolutely so um it was just recently bid um more than a year ago we are on authorization number two it is a five-year contract um at every five years we will adjust um the contents of what's going out to Bid And reput it out to bid uh the last time we did receive one bid and it was only page Excavating um and the committee reviewed it and they provided um the the appropriate uh material and prices and it was brought to you guys and approved as a continuing service agreement and each year we bring back um a work authorization to work on that continuing Services agreement so it is a bid project or bid contact list and is brought back to you annually uh for the budget and when was it brought back to us this is number two this is this is this is work authorization number two and and the RFP was last year so when you four more years into the future this continuing Services agreement continues uh each year you get a work authorization that comes back with an amount uh at the end of that 5year cycle we'll go out to RFP again for the continuing Services agreement and solicit additional bids so AJ I guess what what they're saying is is they don't understand when you only have one person bidding a job what do you got to do those people are going to get the job I mean is I mean I I I person I mean I wish I had more more of a a list of a pool to pull from um because you know luckily page Excavating is very responsive and they they want to do the job but if if they pulled out we would be uh I call contractors myself in the lower Keys that do this type of work and they didn't want to come up here actually I I asked them for some prices what they were actually higher than than Mark paage but they didn't want to come here correct so I I mean I'm just I want Council to understand if if you only have one bidder it's going to do it what what would we do if we didn't have Mark page AJ we we would be in U some big trouble uh a lot of contractors would be able to take advantage of us in the heat of a moment on an emergency that's why we do these Blue Sky prices okay all right all right thank you AJ all right Council any further you want to talk about this anymore move for approval do I hear a second I'll second it all right Marne we have a motion in a second would you call the role please council member Mark Greg yes council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes that motion passes 5 to zero okay that was tab 11 now John we're moving on to tab 13 tab 13 is a resolution of the Village Council VI Mar Village of violence Florida approving a First Amendment to Professional Services agreement between all aspects Inspection Services LLC in alamada village of Island provide building permit plans review and inspection services to the Building Services Department approving the waiver of competitive bidding authorizing Village manager to expend budgeted funds and providing an effective date okay since we have Sheila's name on here who Mr caller I believe Sheila is on Sheila on Zoom I'm on I'm on Zoom okay Sheila you got the floor okay so this is an agreement for our inspection services for the building department this is the second year we've um had a contract with all aspects uh as stated in the resolution this agreement is piggybacked off of Key West so Key West did the competitive bidding process two years ago and then we piggybacked off of their contract so this is our this is our second year with all assets okay uh Council anybody have any questions for Sheila nope okay no all right so Sheila TI a minute we're going to open public comment see if there's any public comment uh Marty we have anybody signed up for public comment on this no sir no okay public comment is uh now closed Council I'm wondering why this was pulled you have a reason who pulled it you yeah Henry pulled it can you tell us why no I can't the only thing that concerned me was I don't think the question was just answered is improving the waiver of competitive bid but I think I got the answer a minute ago okay all right that's the reason I pulled it okay okay all right thank you uh Council move for approval I hear a second I'll second it Marne we have a motion in a second would you call the role please council member Mark Greg yes council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes that motion passes 5 to zero okay okay John we are on the tab 14 uh no 16 uh 14 and 15 oh that's right I'm sorry I'm sorry John I got okay 16 I'm sorry 16 is a resolution of the Village Council of Al Mara Village of violence Florida amending the Village's adopted budget for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 and providing for an effective date okay Lisa all right first of all I'd like to apologize that I've it's been this is kind of late but um as as you know I came in June so what what the normal uh chain of events will be for Budget amendments is we'll do these quarterly um the first budget amendment is done uh it was done by Maria when she was here I believe back in January well it went through in March it went for October through December so this budget amendment that I'm doing is going to cover two quarters it's going to cover uh January through March and then April May and June so the next one will be the final Amendment we should have around December after we get the the year in Clos done that should be coming up around Thanksgiving so um so this did Cover you know 6 months worth of uh budget amendment so just to let you know what the overall um analysis of this was uh in the general fund we had most overages were covered by transfers from other accounts in the same Department um we have a lot of those line items during the year and it's my understanding that those are brought to the budget amendment although um it doesn't increase or decrease the particular department or funds budget at that time all it's merely doing is taking from one line item to another so that we can balance their budget within their department so that's really all it's doing a lot of those overage was were there um and then we did receive additional funds for our ADV valorum taxes as you know most of the taxes are received uh at the beginning of the year November December January but they trickle in as the year goes on so um we do receive them all the way up until I believe in the summertime so uh we we did receive 10 14,917 of funds from uh ADV valorum and then we got uh both hurricane Irma we actually got our last payment for Hurricane Irma and that's been what seven years ago so those do go on forever um and then also for the safer Grant which is for the um fire um firemen that we had for 200 5,969 and then also our interest as you know interest rates were pretty good this year so uh between our Centennial Bank in Florida Class Investments we received 486,000 for that period uh next we have uh the next big item was the impact fee fund um that reflects Revenue received that was not budgeted so yeah most of that you know when you budget your revenue for the year it's it's some of the things are predictable some are not um so this is is just going to show uh that we received more um than what we were anticipating um from additional impact fees for fire rescue transportation and interest totaling 82844 and then the next one was affordable housing uh that was also for Revenue received and that was totaling $50,0 and20 um next is the building fund um that's also Revenue received that was not budgeted for $31,000 472 and then on to the capital project fund that was the same thing Revenue received for $16,917 and the next one is on the Wastewater Enterprise fund uh the village has received additional revenues not included in the fiscal year budget that was $288,400 um most of those other budget overages can be covered by transfers from other accounts in the same Department uh then then we had the storm water fund uh let's see they there's worth additional revenues as well for $326 183 uh so those um and if you will look at your little exhibit a that does give you um if you'll see the middle column that's highlighted in yellow that does show the line items that it did affect uh so as you'll see like for instance on page well the pages aren't number but the first page on under the general fund it shows you all of those um items and where the which line items that they did come from so are there any questions on that Council any questions uh for Lisa okay all right thank you Lisa okay you're welcome uh we're going to open public comment right now Marne we have any takers for public comment no one has signed up for this item okay public comment is now closed Council move for approval unless there's discussion I'll second it all right uh all right so Marty we have a motion in a second would you please call the role council member Mark Greg yes VI mayor Sharon Mahoney yes council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Henry rosenal no and mayor buddy Pender yes the motion passes 4 to one all right John 17 17 is a resolution of the Village Council of alam Village of violence Florida approving the recommendation of the RFP 24-15 evaluation committee for selection of a contractor for the general storage buildings construction project authorize a village manager and Village attorney to negotiate an agreement for the requested Services authoriz The Village manager to execute the agreement providing a a budget amendment authorizing The Village manager to expend budgeted funds and providing an effective date Chief good evening Council Terry AEL Plantation key in case somebody doesn't know me um what you have before you is a resolution approving the RFP as John just said 2514 um it does include a waiver of competitive bidding because we did an RFP it was on the street for a month um we had one respondent that was falling within the parameters of the RFP we had two people that responded unfortunately it was after the deadline for submitt so we considered the one that was there background on what's going on so 2017 obviously you guys all remember we got hit by Irma what FEMA does is when they get hit by Irma and an area experiences uh uh catastrophic event and then they refund and they help with the providing of the response what they do is they set aside 10% of that funds spent in that Community for mitigation moving forward their thought process depending on which formula you use it's anywhere between a 6 to1 and a 15 to1 cost savings if we can mitigate prior to a storm then responding to a storm once it's broken so that being said we chase some Hazard mitigation grant program funding one of those that we did get uh fire department got one of of those grants and uh Wastewater got another one of those grants it's to put in redundant backup generators manual transfer stations do some flood proofing and uh a fuel generator UPG or fuel tank upgrade at Station 21 with that also became six giant generators these are not small generators these are bigger than my big red truck outside they are 12,800 lb empty they're about 18,000 lb once you fill them full of fuel deaf and put all the cables and everything needed to operate them that being said a condition of the grant with the hmgp that we did receive is that these buildings have to be stored in a critical rated facility which means 220 mph rated facility and it's storm flood proof to 500e storm flood proof elevation so build it high or flood panels all that good stuff and build it so that it withstands the storm this process started back in 17 and 18 with Irma we got awarded the Grant in 18 so then we started the building process on trying to build these two stations or these two structures one is going to be at 103 key Heights which is the middle Plantation key Wastewater facility the other is what we uh term of endearment we call it the mosquito lot behind station 20 since the 70s it was the mosquito lot um it's now the fire department's training lot so it is between us and kind of caribbe adjacent to the library and Library Beach concept is is to build a four stall garage there giant brick Square um it is going to be two-story so it's multi-purpose it's not just going to store those generators but also take some of the Overflow from the fire stations and some of AJ's overflow as well to keep his stuff from being outside in the weather um initially when this process started back in 18 and 19 to build these stations we had an engineer come out we gave him the concept and uh the fee for that at the time to build those buildings were considered right around 6600 $50,000 so that's what we went with when we finished when we uh put out all of our paperwork moving forward um in the process of it taking three years to get these drawings done because no engineer in this town works with any great speed and uh some of the changes that came about once the engineer started doing some of his work he realized initially we had a partial second floor made out of expanded metal a to save time and to save expenses once they started doing the lateral look on the structural engineering to build it to a 220 rated facility 220 mph rated facility it became aware that we had to make the second floor a fully second floor minus where the staircase and the the lift elevator the utility elevator comes through um had to be poured concrete and it couldn't be expanded metal and it had to go full length from side to side to keep it from flexing so it drove up the pricing we did get funding uh in 2022 we chased State Appropriations through uh rep Mooney office and we got $150,000 for my project $150,000 for AJ's project we do have money in the budget to the tune of another $300,000 both through AJ's um budgeting and through my budgeting unfortunately that one single proposal that did come back Henry don't get mad at me please sir um the the single Soul Provider did come back at 1.71 N1 162 um they were compliant with the RFP um Sheila then in court AJ and myself were on the Review Committee along with Mary sweny uh their compliant they put forward a timeline and a materials list Sheila went over it with her and her crew she says it's very doable and uh it's not actually out of the price realm for what we're trying to look at it's about 250 a square foot for the construction and there's she feels there's enough fluff built into the timeline that they provided that even if they hit some hiccups we can still hit the Benchmark so we don't lose the $300,000 funding that is through the state so this project if it's approved tonight we'll get the contract approved we'll get it in motion and we'll start the building process and it has to be signed off and completed by June of next year so it's kind of a short time frame for building a 30X 60 there and a 30X 60 up on key Heights um adoption of this resolution would approve the recommendation of the committee um for rfp2 415 it would also let the manager and John enter into an agreement with CDW for the proposed amount and then uh we would go back and do our filing and Reporting with the state legislature and then collect our funding upon final approval in June of next year and uh that's about it if you look on page three it the bottom of page two and the the top of Page Three it does go over where the funding ources are going to be again some of it is State appropriation some of it it was funded under the budget this year the additional funding is going to come from discretionary sales cers tax to the tune of $300,000 unfortunately we are hitting our hurricane reserves which I really hate to do but this is directly related to us being able to respond if a hurricane or natural disaster were to occur so it's okay uh Wastewater Enterprise fund balance is going to be used because it is going to be used for Wastewater purposes as well and then $400,000 will come out of fire impact fees there's only so many fire hydrants I can buy to help out projects um because the infrastructure has to be there and uh me and fkaa have had a really good working Rapport for about 15 years every time they do a project I buy the hydrant at that time so they come in really cheap so I've got that money in my impact fees that being said the fund balance implications if we move forward with this is discretionary sales Sur tax would have a fund balance remaining of about $2 million the Hurricane fund balance would be about 7.5 Wastewater Enterprise would be just over 1.4 and my fire impact fees would be just under $100,000 so we still have money to be effective if those funds are needed for the other departments we can make this happen and I'm coming to you do you have any questions Council any questions for chief nope all right thank you Chief um Marne let's open public comment any anybody to speak yes Excuse me yes Sue Miller no Sue okay all right public comment is now closed Council any further discussion or do I hear a motion I'll move acceptance all right uh Henry made a motion do I hear a second I'll second it all right Marney we have a motion in a second call the roll please council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes council member Mark Greg yes council member Elizabeth Jolan and mayor buddy Pender yes that motion passes 5 to zero all righty thank you I apologize I get up here I get Talking way too fast thank you you were a little long tonight though but you were explanatory there's a lot okay so we are on to tab tab 18 correct John that's correct tab 18 is a resolution of the Village Council of alar Village of violence Florida adopting an amendment to The Village Personnel policy manual section 20 employee benefits authorizing Village officials to implement the terms and conditions of the Personnel policy manual and providing for an effective date okay Mr Cole mayor members of The Village Council uh this is a a very difficult subject for me as a manager because first and foremost when I think of the well-being of our employees I like to be able to preserve the benefits they have and be able to compensate our employees at a level that uh reflects their scopes of responsibility as well as uh the unique environment that we live in here in the Keys in that the cost of living is uh much higher than other locations with that having been said um what transpired here is as staff began to prepare for the fiscal year 2425 budget and uh the AFF Union negotiations uh we looked at our budget line item by line item and began to see a few instances of benefits that did not appear to be properly authorized by Council so when we have a benefit that appears to not have been properly authorized by Council I have a fiduciary responsibility as a city management professional to close that Loop that is I have to identify that and I have to get a decision from our Village Council at the policy level uh what to do with that particular benefit in hopes uh that we'll be able to perpetuate it on a moving forward basis particularly as our staff have become accustomed to receiving that benefit over time so this is a a cleanup measure in a way uh but at the same time I want you to recognize that the decisions I'm asking you to make uh have very real implications for each of the staff people uh that receive these benefits currently so that's my introduction here and walking into uh each of the topics individ the first one that uh we are seeking Direction on is for the opt out provision for our employee health insurance um currently and it has been in effect since uh 2017 pursuant to a prior Village managers memorandum that established the benefit as a temporary benefit contingent upon uh the benefit not having an adverse impact on our Group Health Insurance Pool um what it amounts to is uh an incentive or a payment a benefit that is uh to employees who opt out of our health insurance program in favor of having their own independent coverage either through a spout or some other source outside of our plan the payment amount that's offered uh currently and has been getting paid since 2017 is $850 more or less per month it's it's some other number on a a per pay period basis but it roughly equates to on average $850 per per month um that amount is roughly equivalent to what the village pays for the premium for a single person's coverage now as one delves into well how do we handle this situation uh we did a few things one of them we reached out to our broker and said okay when you see this benefit in the public sector in Florida what do you typically see in terms of a payment um our broker advised us that it was usually between 150 and let's say 220 or thereabouts uh per month per employee so we began to think about that and said well um perhaps an equitable solution from a a a a market-based uh perspective would be to trim that 850 a month back to 100 per pay period for the employees currently receiving it because as it stands it's not authorized because it's not in the employee manual we are very reticent to Simply remove it outright and wanted to strike a balance that we felt uh one at least maintain some level of compensation for those employees and two would stand the chance of our Village Council being able to feel comfortable enough to authorize that uh level of benefit at this time um in addition to that um and and I'll add there was some staff consternation around this topic and whether you know the 100 to 200 had any validity to it and some other concerns such as that and we've tried to listen to each of those concerns and and and re-evaluate where we're at with the proposition and one of the things we encountered was a a survey that our human resources department participated in on in a actually April and May of this year that survey uh was uh participated or was distributed Statewide and there were 50 County and local governments that responded to the benefit survey now what we found in reviewing the results of that survey done in April and May of this year that our prior HR administrator participated in is that 72% of the local governments that were surveyed counties and municipalities did not offer an opt out benefit but the remainder those that did have it in place uh experienced an average amount of $184 per month and the median was a little lower at 173 per month because there were some on the high end and some On The Low End highest I think was somewhere around the middle 300 range like 350 per month and the lowest was around 98 per month so when we heard from our broker 150 to 200 a month uh the survey results uh seem to clearly validate that again 50 communities n uh Statewide so the question before Council right now is uh really threefold there's three options on the table one maintain that benefit as it presently exists which would equate to a opt out payment of $850 to employees to not participate in the plan second one on the table is to accept what we thought was the Middle Road um and and thought Council would have appetite for approving um and that would be $200 per pay period last one on the table which we do not recommend due to its adverse consequences on our staff would be to Simply eliminate the opt out payment entirely um so we're looking again for some Council Direction um there's a proposed policy amendment that aligns with the $200 per pay period um if it were entirely to me and I didn't have you know a council and a community to be accountable to I would uh most certainly recommend that people who uh are receiving the stien and have been receiving it since uh 2017 uh I I I'm really reticent to to change that because some of them while it was announced as temporary um have Incorporated that into their family budget so it is a hardship to to remove that so um from a policy perspective we're seeking guidance but with a recommendation on the table of $200 a month which is consistent with roughly the average that we see amongst those 50 communities as well as what our broker told us was was about what one would expect recognizing uh the Alternatives that are there as well and with that I'd uh like to hear some Council feedback and and there's two others that we'll go through as well so mayor how would you like to handle me to go through all of them and then you discuss her one at a time so that everything's fresh in Minds as we move through it do we want to do public comment first yes yeah let's do public comment first uh Rob Marty we have anybody signed up yes Joe wishme as Sue Miller and Harold Dalton yes Joe wishm Plantation key when I was reading through this agenda it stated that the village provides medical insurance to full-time employ employees at no cost for employee only this does not seem that unreasonable seems how we want to have our employees be happy with benefits but then it goes on to state that the village that is taxpayers pay 94% for employee and spouse 97.3% for employee and children and 91.5% for employee and family we're all trying to tighten up our budgets tighten up our belt and try to save money wherever we can so as a taxpayer that sounds just a little excessive my wife is a public servant a school teacher she does not receive anything like this she even has to pay for herself the school district has a much bigger budget than the village so how do you justify paying such a large amount when was this instituted about the family and all was Council aware of this and did you all approve it thank you who's next Marney Siller Laura mumbe um I just heard the manager state that they did a survey of other municipalities and I was curious what whether that survey included how much other municipalities pay as far as health insurance is conc concerned for just General Health not for people that opt out but rather for people that are getting health insurance paid by taxpayers it seems a little excessive to me and I'd like to know uh it appears that it began that going back and looking at the budgets for previous years it appears that it happened retroactively and according to the staff report it happened that you approved a budget amendment that in fact started this whole thing it seems kind of odd that a policy is is created retroactively and that it was done with a budget amendment instead and I went back and watched that meeting to see the staff report never mentioned that there was a change in the policy and it never was was discussed at the meeting that you were actually changing policy related to health insurance it just seemed like a very unusual way to change a policy that according to my calculations based on the change in the budget from before this policy change was made retroactively in the budget to today it it sounds like it's c in about a million dollars to taxpayers every year to go from what was took place in 2021 to what's taking place right now that's a lot of money that um has changed and if it was changed without Council approval it just seems like you really need to give a lot of thought to the taxpayers of alam marada thank you Marty who's next Harold zon good evening uh Dr Harold Dalton Upper metacon Bay um I I in hearing this tonight I'm shocked I ran a small business for 30 years was incredibly proud to offer health insurance to all my employees but those that didn't want it don't get paid for it and quite frankly if we we paid for our employees we did not pay for our employees spouse we did not pay for our employees families we really need to look at what the taxpayers are paying for in this this is not a good situation guys it needs to be rectified if we have the opportunity to rectify it now we should thank you thank you Martin anybody else one more check of [Music] Zoom no sir okay public comment is now closed okay Mr Cole would you like to continue or Council have something they want to okay go ahead sure all right mayor so uh back to the question did you want me to cover each one of these individually and have Council conversation or do you want me to work all the way through all that cover all of it okay very well um the next one that we were seeking direction from Counsel on was uh some incentives for professional development uh those incentives are currently offered to a few employees in the fire department um and none of the rest of our non-union department heads have access to professional development incentives so since that uh benefit is not listed as authorized in the employee Personnel manual if we wish to continue it we need to get it into into the employee Personnel manual uh so what what we've suggested here to deal with this because it's been a very longstanding benefit that the three individuals who receive it uh have been getting is we had proposed to council that we convert uh those stiens that they've been getting for many many years to base salary rather than education incentives that you know have been uh getting earned over and over each year for 10 years plus uh much more than 10 years likely um convert those to base salary for each of those individuals so they're kept whole with regard to what they've earned to date um and and the thought was there would be no harm and then on a moving forward basis suspend those benefits that is not allow them to earn additional credits and get additional compensation unless and until we complete our wage and benefits study that wage and benefits study uh which Council approved in the fiscal year 2425 budget would look not only at our benefit it's plan to see how do we stack up against uh other jurisdictions in the area that are in the in the public service realm so that we can be one adequately compensating our people and two um being able to recruit people to the keys for these positions that we have but it also might look at things like um is it appropriate to uh provide professional in uh development incentives to all of our non-union personnel and if so what would be an appropriate level of compensation so when that stud is completed it's going to look both at the wages side and the benefit side it will identify gaps between what we offer and what our peers are offering and then it would provide recommendations on how to proceed with them those recommendations would come back to council they would have the opportunity to say yay or nay uh to the plan and authorize us to continue to move forward and to the extent that uh there are benefits that are not presently authorized in the Personnel manual they would get Incorporated therein so that of future people in my position and in our HR administrator's position would not have the problem of coming across benefits that were not authorized to convey um so so in the case again of the fire department incentives the question on the table is um do we want to continue them in their status quo um and in which case I'd have to understand from the chief what his parameters are how many they can get what the dollar value of them is because as it stands right now I I'm not sure which rules they're operating by to award uh those benefits to the fire department personnel so we'd have to clarify that with them um alternatively the recommendation really is to stop that for the time being until we get to study it through our consultant hear a recommendation and then decide uh so if we did that we would convert the uh benefit to base salary freeze additional stiens pending the study and make a decision at that point uh the next one is fire department supplemental cancer coverage um we have a great deal of empathy for firefighters they Place their lives on the line they are at risk of a variety of things um according to state law we provide all of our firefighters with cancer coverage with insurance cancer coverage at no cost to them that's all firefighters um what transpired in 2019 is the fire department began to purchase additional supplemental cancer coverage um and provide that to fire department employees so they have what we were already providing as the mandatory amount of cancer coverage and then uh within the department they decided to purchase themselves supplemental coverage um what we're recommending in terms of dealing with that problem because supplemental coverage is not provided for either in the collective bargaining agreement or in the Personnel manual for non-union employees we have to resolve that uh if it's a collective barain issue we'll deal with it in that context on the non-union side it's the Personnel manual um every year during open enrollment and that's why we have this in front of us now is open enrollment because we have a window where we have to undertake actions related to these benefits and we needed to get Council Direction in order to know how to handle open enrollment um so during open enrollment all of our employees have the ability to meet with our agent from the broker that offers a variety of supplemental insurance I for instance pay for my own supplemental life insurance above and beyond what the village offers other employees opt for other kinds of supplemental insurance whether it's unemployment to pay bills disability whatever they are there's a suite of of supplemental benefits that employees can opt to uh secure including this type of coverage um so to maintain a Level Playing Field with all of our non-union Personnel we believe it's important to um have employees selected supplemental coverage pay for their own supplemental coverage or if we're going to make supplemental coverage a benefit available to non-un employees then we have to tell the other non-union employees how they can receive some kind of similar benefit uh for them on supplemental coverage the uh take or recommendation that we have here is um that spirals into something that we'd have to give a lot of thought to and figure out how to administer that fairly so rather than continuing to pay for supplemental coverage that our other non-un employees don't have uh we're ad we're suggesting to remove that and let our employees interested in supplemental coverage um make those payments themselves so that really is the end of the items that we're asking for direction on one is the opt out payment for insurance two is the professional development stiens and three is the supplemental uh insurance coverage um AT council's Pleasure again my preference would be to keep employees hold where we can um what you're looking at here is a an approach that says okay our preference as leaders in the organization is not to take benefits or money away from our people um my position as an administrator has to say well I'm going to be presenting on this topic publicly and asking our Council to make a decision and what do I think my Council will actually potentially support uh and and then strike that balance between what I would like to do for my employees and what I think I can actually potentially uh get approved the recommendations you have here are what we thought we could get approved but we would ask Council if you're so inclined to consider U maintaining uh some of these compensations on a moving forward basis simply because of the impact that it has on our employees and their families which we'd like to avoid but it's an unfortunate circumstance we arrive at today where none of my predecessors um have done the due diligence that our current HR administrator Finance director and myself have done and looking at our benefits our budget and collective bargaining to make sure that these documents that guide the benefits that we provide our employees become the Bible for what we can do and what we can't do we should not you know be creating benefits for employees that are not authorized by Council and it leaves me in the very very uncomfortable and unsavory position of having to uh have this conversation which I would have preferred not to have and to seek resolution Council I'm just going to say something first because I just came from a fire station in St John's County three weeks old with all cancer decontamination equipment the highest Tech okay but I heard a man speak that gave me tears this guy got brain cancer from fighting fires okay and and his family and and and our finance director Jimmy padronis was there he was the guest speaker all right I I don't you guys I have my own opinions um about it but These Guys these First Responders I have two cousins that are in on on New York City fire department and they fought 911 they went into a building not knowing the First Responders go in we don't know but I didn't realize this then I called a mayor friend of mine in Weston and I said are you for amiliar with all this cancer decontamination stuff and and and about firefighters getting cancer well this young man got brain cancer that spoke that I just heard speak and I guarantee you if you really think he had three kids and the guy almost died he's got big scars right here on his head okay and his his job is to go save lives okay that he chose that I've been there myself I ran rescue I I didn't have as many fires but I ran rescue and let me tell you what I this is a very hard thing for me I'm just going to say after just going there and hearing this um I don't know anyways I'm just throwing it out there because I think these guys we have we have a we have a fireman right here he got up to our p pulpin and spoke that has issues with cancer from of the fire department mayor to be clear I share your sentiment entirely when it comes to the plight of First Responders and others that are exposed to things in the workplace the question is is not how I feel about that but the absence of that benefit from our policy manual which I have to administer so so I'm seeking direction from Council uh with the advanced suggestion that if what we've laid out here uh is short of what council is willing to entertain based on a perhaps a misread on our part of where we thought we would be um then um I would encourage and welcome Council to say look uh we're willing to you know provide this benefit in which case The Next Step would be come back at a future date uh with an amended Personnel manual that includes whatever it is that Council has appetite for approving here uh we just laid out some recommendations based on what we thought was a a read of the landscape that would present potentially something that we could get past and and minimize uh the impact to our employes Mr Co I know vice mayor wants to speak but I I want to say something I want to know if our prices our salaries compared to fire departments because I have a I have a an issue here because if if we go cut salaries or take these things away I don't even know if are we to have people that will work here for our at our fire department they're going to go up the road I know right now that the county the I I don't know the chief would probably have to correct me but I think some of those stations up there in Broward County and Dade County offer a lot more okay so we would lose how we going to keep our positions full and I know there's grant money for a lot of this stuff the cancer stuff because pona said they're actually they're trying to get the governor to give more for this for First Responders so I don't anyways uh vice mayor go ahead um first of all I think we need to update our employees Pol manual this is crazy that we have all these loopholes and all these changes and things slide in I think that should be the number one priority and and stop putting a bandage on it I mean but I right now I want to hear what everybody else has to say about things first um I just have I think three things to say I think our village employees union non-union all the staff it's the most valuable asset that we have and we should take the very best care of it that we possibly can and I I respect what Dr Dalton said earlier about running his business I ran a small business I paid insurance for my uh employees and that those that didn't want it didn't get it but this government is a different kind of business and it's hard to say this the right way but folks that work here could possibly go out in the private sector at a similar job and make more money uh governments don't they're not known for paying the best uh and highest but in our particular situation we're in a you know unique Community geographically and and economically and they have other options and they go up the road and if we don't take care of them that's what they're going to do and so if we have already given a benefit and we talk about taking it away they're going to start thinking about going so to me that's off the book that's off the table we can't do that to people that's wrong and it's it's also wrong to treat different people the same people differently depending on departments and unions and procedures we need need to sort all that stuff out too so I'm I'm not going to be here in 30 days or whenever whenever ever the next group takes over so I'm sharing my experience with you you can take it or leave it but you got to take good care of these people and if you want them to stick around and people who are cared for do better work and that in the long run saves a lot of money because the turnover goes down if you think paying them benefits is expensive turnover is a killer and we don't need that and so that's all I have to say thank you Elizabeth you like to comment uh thank you um Rob for bringing this forward I know it puts you in an uncomfortable position as as um as it does our new HR um director and so I appreciate um the transparency of this difficult conversation um one of the things I heard you say was that we want um these benefits to be properly authorized by Council and and it so it speaks to the process that we're that that we use to make these decisions and I I I have to to um point out um that um um and this is not a this is not personal attack on anyone but under our last Administration um there there was no proper authorization given by this Council to um to authorize full benefits for uh employees and their dependence all of them so right now as I understand it we pay 100% of those benefits and and there was not in my opinion having looked back at those meetings any clear Direction um given by the past Council um about that authorization it was presented in a very um vague in vague terms and yet this Council um authorized through a budget amendment the payment of those and and and I think what what um makes me really quite irate actually is that this kind of um that that this group was duped into signing something that we didn't know we were signing this is not about whether everyone deserves full benefits it's about the lack of process that that um that went on here and so so I thank you for bringing this forward and really making an effort Rob to talk about the process I would um I would suggest that we properly authorize the benefits that the staff um receives right now which which then requires some analysis like I have no idea but in order nor do the people who you and Mark I think were sitting on that last Council there was no there were no numbers given there's no you know how do you know what how do we compare there was none of that and that's important and um so so I think in some ways this these questions are um well I'm I'm happy that that they're coming up in this public way um uh I'm a little frustrated by by being asked these questions frankly and so before we get into those details um I I would also just just question the resolution that we're being asked to sign which is which is a change in language that that states this um the the the change is that the village may elect to provide a health insurance optout statement stiped depending on available funding as determined by The Village Council and that's I mean what that is that suggests that this can change at any time it suggests that there is no there's nothing that anyone any any staff person can can um count on there there is no this is just this suggests that on the whim of any Council that comes through here well it can change um and and so I I think that we're we're being asked to make some decisions without actually addressing how the the process here this this resolution which which is um part of uh is section 10 employee benefits 10.1 health and life insurance It also says the village shall seek to provide health coverage at minimal cost to employees but the cost born by the village and cost shared by the employee will likely fluctuate annually based on available funding as determined by The Village Council again I mean I guess I I'm concerned with the way this the way this reads um does it mean we are revisiting it annually does it mean because what happened was that this this process wasn't followed so all of a sudden there was a massive change in healthcare benefits without any real understanding from this Council or Direction so um you know um additionally it sounds like from our under from my understanding and speaking with our last Human Resources Director that that the village has been operating without this open enrollment period for a very long time and so to me I mean I guess that wasn't a problem I wonder if we can fix our employee manual it's something that I know is on her priority list and then bring these questions back to us because it they're they're critical but we've got a lot of other issues in this employee manual apparently that simply aren't being that that need to be addressed immediately go ahead so on the question of the employee Manuel the reason it was a priority with our prior HR administrators because when I came into the office that was one of the things that I asked to be a priority and there was initial work completed by uh um John's firm when it comes to beginning to review those policies and identify gaps and update them what happened in the middle of all of that is these specific issues came up and I don't know and I I would ask Jamie but uh I I suspect we do have open enrollment on a recurring basis so there's a little bit of apples and oranges here because the provisions you're seeing in there let's say for instance the uh contribution that the village can require employees to make on health insurance uh is is pretty standard language in that yes the Village Council at any one point from one fiscal year to another could Endeavor to change uh how much employees pay for their coverage and how much they don't that's why you don't usually see a specific dollar value uh what we're seeing in the items specifically that I've brought for council's consideration are ones that were silent in they weren't even there in the Personnel manual so we're trying to get them into there using the same kind of language that one typically sees that says um this is authorized but the amount really is subject to council's continuing review and consideration the alternative to that would simply let say just for the sake of conversation we wanted to uh preserve uh the benefit that presently exists all we would have to do instead of uh we just modify the language and there would be a motion that says uh we want it to be a fixed amount of $850 per month or whatever the the uh every pay period contribution actually is and we can specify the dollar value U but then if a future Council wants to change that they'd have to go through amending the Personnel manual as part of the budget process process this other way is a more standard approach that avoids that extra step but still properly authorizes the benefit um a recommendation from your professional staff coming from HR having dealt with this is you would have it like you see it rather than have the dollar amount specified but we can we can do that suggesting that we fix a dollar amount into a a manual that that dictates how employees are are employed that that to me doesn't make sense continue but but what I am suggesting is that this be changed to reflect that these changes are made by resolution at a public meeting if we have to because because what we just experienced and what we've apparently been experiencing for the last 10 years just no one knows it's like a big secret what everyone's being paid and any administrator can come in and make a change and no our legal Department's not going to say anything and no one's going to say anything and and we have no idea and then when someone with a close eye comes in and looks then now we're put into this difficult position so so again there there are multiple questions here and one of them which is the foundation of this whole conversation is about this resolution so so Elizabeth am I hearing you say from what I am hearing you say and correct me if I'm wrong that you you want to table this till we do a further analysis to what you're saying about the resolution and about how this is all done well I mean I think that's I don't think that's a bad idea I'm saying that this resolution does not satisfy me um and and nor should it satisfy anyone here because it doesn't say it it it it it says that it's completely vague like as determined by The Village Council well is it by resolution is it by where is this happened because because we just saw that it didn't work at the last time and now you have a bunch of Staff people who were misled into thinking that a manager can come in and just wave a wand and give a bunch of benefits and it's it's so it's so unfortunate because now there's an expectation Rob um seeing perhaps where the conversation may be going I just think it's important to note that if this were to be tabled what would happen is we would continue with the status quo that is not repeal the benefits that we've spoken about here we would continue to administer them and the employees and the systems that are in place that guide their activities would be the same as they always have been so for instance uh as part of open enrollment staff would have to uh distribute a notice to all employees because one of the failures with the opt out in the past was that employees were not made aware that that benefit even existed so we had six people who took advantage of it because um maybe they had an inside line to some information or somehow found out about it but there are other employees including new ones who don't know so if we have no action our open enrollment process is going to have to be send a notice to all employees make them aware of the benefit give them the opportunity to Avail themselves of it and to exercise it accordingly in the meantime we would be working through a a at council's Direction an entire rewrite of the entire policy manual and get these pieces taken care of so I want to be clear what the consequences of one choice or the other are because that's the quandry that we're physically in right now are there rob you just mentioned six six right now and as I think the chart has something in here saying how many people over time uh if you look back to 2020 or actually 2022 the peak was 13 people were in the opt out program um 23 24 is eight um so in the case of the stiens it's three people um in the case of the health insurance it's all the firefighters so it depends on which one we're talking about um but absent guidance from Council uh our plan and and otherwise we don't have a leg to stand on is to continue to do what's always been done which may ex may or may not expand the people who are availing themselves of those opportunities or in the case of stiens uh I'd have to check with the chief to see if he has an sop but whatever that sop is that they authorized uh they would continue to be able to pursue and get more of them um as time moves forward while we're waiting to recirculate a personel Amendment back to council just so everyone understands that's what happens voting sop standard operating yes yeah sorry about that procedures correct I'm assuming that's where the authority is because I haven't seen that yet Rob I want to ask you and I and I have respect for what Elizabeth's talking about but on my way out the door I keep thinking we put you in this seat to run the village and I've run a business we've all run businesses but we've never run a village and that's your job I just want to understand a simple answer to a simple question the resolution that appears in our material is this satisfactory to you that makes you feel that this this would Empower you to do the very best you can in your job for the benefit of our employees and the taxpayers as as drafted first yes that language is satisfactory and and it would enable us to properly administer the benefit but I add the Proviso that language that's in there assumes the $200 rate and that's still a question before council do we want to maintain it at 850 so we don't harm the employees currently getting it or do we change it let finish please and so so that's the only provisa but yes the language that's there fully addresses what needs to be addressed in terms of U providing the proper Authority I don't see where there is a 200 in this in this resolu this in this um page one of one where we're changing the language in in the employee benefit page it doesn't say anything about $200 and it still requires you to get our for some reason which is fine get our get our our direction we we determine this according to this employee benefit page that's why we're having this conversation right now because you said well I don't you said does this language give you appropriate authority to make these decisions independently and what this language says in the in the amendment is as determined by The Village Council well what I'm saying is we hired him to run the village I don't think it's our job to micromanage how he does that let me tell you that the employee handbook that you're being asked to amend says that that that this The Village may elect to provide a health insurance optout ston depending on available funding as determined by The Village Council not the village manager what's so so the say you sir so here's I mean I'm reading it I heard you said here is the ground truth of it the Authority for Council to stipulate how much that benefit is is the conversation we're having live in this moment so upon conclusion of the conversation if Council says one yes amend the policy and two make it $200 per pay period or whatever it equates to and and Jimmy may have the exact number um but the policy itself authorizes the benefit to be there so so typically let me let me let me reframe it here so what would typically happen is we'd have an annual budget during the annual budget we would have a discussion of employee benefits and either a we're continuing them as they are or someone may ask can we reduce or change this one or that one so during the budget process is when council is providing direction to staff because we're past the budget at this point and these numbers have been budgeted based on PRI experience we're now asking Council to say one um let's close the loop and get this benefit properly recorded in the employee manual two while we're here let's set the amount with Council Direction and approval the manager would have no Authority Under This policy nor is it intended for that individual to unilaterally change the amount of the benefit or create a new benefit the purpose of the manual is to establish the Authority for the manager to administer a benefit the budget says how much it's going to be but since we're past the budget this is unique in this circumstance uh we're trying to fix a problem and we're pass the budget um the number of or the value of it is being discussed here today so that we can uh proceed with one the amendment to authorize the benefit and two establish with council's authority the amount of that benefit next budget cycle if another Council wants to change the amount or have that conversation that conversation can be had but the manager would have no authority to unilaterally change it well what based on what Elizabeth said I I I'm I'm glad she brought up some of these points Mark okay and vice mayor you said you wanted to hear and you could chime in I'd like to hear your opinion but I think we need to table this and look at it we need to make sure let's look let's see I'm sorry go ahead I was shaking my finger because if you stall this we've opened up this gigantic mushroom now listen there's six people people who we've have uh under this opt out thing at the amount of money we have if we table this at now tomorrow morning we could have another 40 employees trying to do the same thing I say we don't take away what the people the six people have had and maybe start a policy that this is now you can't no this is now what we are offering and again I'd like to ask Terry when you said there's no incentives anymore um to me every time time a firefighter goes through a class or learns more he becomes more valuable to the community so I have an issue with taking away the incentive thing which you suggested now I also think that if you want extra insurances you should pay for that yourself so there's so many layers here we're trying to cram into one thing and if this now that we've already had this discussion if we don't do something tonight well if we didn't have the conversation it because you're leaving your manager and your HR Director say what are we going to do because we have these benefits that aren't authorized we have an open enrollment period where we're obligated by law to make the benefits available to people who don't know about them and I'm seeking Council Direction before we on the administrative side have to make a call a game time call and and it's unfortunate that we're all in this position together but uh on the question of of professional development uh it is not a case of where we don't believe people should be compensated for learning more that might apply to our building official it might apply to our finance director is it in the manual no and it's not for the firefighters either that's why we're here well so so the the union firefighters have it in their contract they do and and that benefit is not being touched they have a variety of stiens and they can take I Terry is it four or six of them I forget what the number is Terry come to the mic please so so they can do that but the non-union ones are governed by the Personnel man nonunion are highest ranking I I'm I'm not debating whether they should have I'm Notting with you either I'm just saying that this give Mr Quick he he wanted to speak on yeah I just I had a just I want to try to bring it back to the the um the section 10 that's in front of you all is the concern that I'm hearing from I I just want to make sure I'm understanding it before I suggest some some language the I've heard some con concerns is the concern that I'm hearing that the the funding is is where it says as determined by Village Council that you would prefer to say as determined by Village manager so that that gives the authority to the manager or is that not am I am I not hearing that I I have I have a sense of difference for the manager because you know and and I I agree with what Sharon said just a minute ago about you know we want to promote people to work harder so they're more valuable for the village we shouldn't take things away that they've already been given and treat everybody the same but the manager got to run the day-to-day Affairs of the village with the people that work for him and I don't want to get in the way of how he does that I mean he needs to be that's what we put him in that hot seat to do and let him do it leave him alone if he messes up that's on him you know I had that same thought and I and I said to Rob I'm like I have no idea I mean like I you're not I I have no idea how to answer this except that the last Village manager authorized all kinds of funding that you know that that that that actually we should have known about because all of a sudden I mean I have no idea how much and again I'm not saying that we don't want to offer full coverage to all the employees and all their dependents I'm not saying that but I would like this Council and the whole Community to know what that cost right so so maybe my issue here and I appreciate the dialogue because clearly our village has been operating just kind of like I don't know I I don't even know what the word is willy-nilly um maybe the the language here is that as that we need to be this these conversations are determined by The Village Council as put forth in the budget session or something I don't know I don't actually know what makes sense but it didn't work last time and and and it's not fair to the employees or the STA or the Elizabeth and I think with what you're saying I think we need to have we need to look at and you know me I don't get you want all these reports and different things and I'm saying we need to look at this a little harder and and do some analysis and see what because if we start doing things and we have no firefighters or other employees that want to be here because we've changed things um I think we better look at this and further and bring we it wouldn't hurt to bring this back next month I I don't that's me I I think we we bring it back and so what if if there if there's two more people that take it we what can we do um I I do think that the continue education issue with the fired I mean I have I don't think we have enough information to make a decision about that because I have no idea what the implication of that is on a staff of how many ever people we employ so that one I think we should table I have no idea right we don't we don't know um with um cancer coverage additional I mean what does it even cost I I have no idea I mean do I believe in it yes I I mean but we we don't do we I mean I'm not sure if that was incorporated into this I think that's another one that might be tabled um and go as status quo as far but I as far as the other ones the the um this $859 for opt out for opt out I mean it does seem excessive it seems it seems excessive it's not it's simply not it I just it is I think we could make a decision about that I think and then what was the other one um the opt out provision that was it it was cancer coverage employee devel velopment I'd say we table those well I'd like to grandfather in six people that's only fair but but we're not allowed to as I understand it ridiculous oh Sor by Jamie Terry's explanation no we're not allowed to no you you can and I know that that was brought up yesterday and I I spoke with Allison to get clarification and and she said there's no reason why you couldn't those folks have they've budgeted their lives based on what we're paying them you pull that out from under and they're going to made same suggestion started I so I made the same suggestion and the HR Director said and as did Rob that that's not an option so let's see if they can magically make it an option okay so so what you're saying is we should table the other two though until we get because we don't have an I mean what do we know if they can make this to cover those six that are there grandfather in right I mean they've been getting those benefits for 10 years that's not fa the round your next budget and then you analyze your insurance and then we analyze it come to well and I I hear you and keep it status quo until our next budget and then when we have a full analysis okay on the on the opt out we don't want to make a decision where we're going to have turnover if we you know that's that's but but here's the thing you know what the other thing that we're not again is nowhere figured nowhere in this conversation is that all employees get full coverage for themselves and their entire family that doesn't happen anywhere and so and that was just from last year so like there's the fiscal irresponsibility of that decision made by that past manager is crazy it's let's see what the staff is John please on on the opt out it's a tax issue that was being raised by um uh potential grandfathering so I mean we would need to get a tax professional to advise on that as to whether or not that at least that's fair to the people who have been getting say table there's things no no table it because if we don't make a decision on that can others next thing you know we'll have 50 employees trying to opt out it's a lot of money for I know and that's why do we do a moratorium on opting out yeah can we do that so what I would recommend oh please do is that we have closed the open enrollment period there was six individuals that were opting out two of them based on the new opt out that we put forward in open enrollment came back and enrolled in benefits I will allow them to opt out again so that those six are remain whole and because we're outside of the open enrollment period I won't allow any others to opt out and that's fair I think that's fair and then we need to relook at that what we offer people from now on and also um when it comes to the benefits every year your opt out provision should is an annual thing you must opt out annually and provide proof that you do have other other coverage so if we continue with an opt out program in the future when we update our employee manual um then we need to have all the policies in place the opt out forms will be an annual opt out people will have to provide proof and that amount should should fluctuate based on budget so if our employee benefits go up substantially in the next couple of years that opt out should be looked at in relation to the market it shouldn't remain the same and it shouldn't be a um encouragement for people to opt out of our program it shouldn't be a part of their salary shouldn't be enough to be part of their salary um and people that have other coverage have enjoyed having other coverage plus additional salary that others haven't been offered so that is the concern so go ahead go ahead so so how do you suggest that we address the fact that this Council wasn't asked about policy for health insurance I mean I know like we're we're bringing up lots of insurance issues but why aren't we bringing that one up because there was no there was no substantial conversation about that the I speaking to previous um o budget process um I did put those numbers in front of you guys during this budget so you did see how much we were paying let me just let me just interrupt you yeah previously I'm I'm not comfortable speaking to how that all happened and that wasn't my question the question was how do we fix how what do you propose cuz your last was a good one yeah every year we should look at those numbers and if we decide that the budget doesn't support us paying 97% then we shouldn't no we should oops so but that's up to you we have to put that in front of you so this last year we only experienced an 8. um 9% increase in the benefit cost but be clear on that yeah I mean after the increase of paying 100 % benefits to everyone without anyone really having a conversation about it except the old manager I mean after that increase okay it was 8% and I don't sorry to be so irritated about it but it really makes me insens that yeah no I get it and I think and I I really do believe that every single year it should be evaluated um employees start to expect it employees start to um feel feel like now I want more money plus all these benefits our total compensation packet is very lucrative it is it is very lucrative and it people if they want to go look at Miami data I have data for Miami date so I'm I'm really not trying to be the mean guy here I mean I I really appreciate that you're bringing this forth and and well I I don't really hear a solution to the fact that this group was never was never consulted about the level at which we want to pay employee benefits I mean are we are we asking for that to come back or is that going to be at the next budget I mean I guess sounds like it's it's under control by the council every year once a year but we didn't no it wasn't you were you were not given that option that's water under the bridge right so are we saying that next year we want an we want this language to be amended in the in the um Pol employee manual to say as determined by The Village Council during the budget process does it need to say that so that we don't have like you know smok and mirrors in the fut we need to find a way forward because we don't want to handcuff the manager from doing his very best job for everyone and I feel like that's where this is headed if we delay this that wasn't my question I know it wasn't and I didn't answer it I like the guys in the debate the other night you are yeah so go ahead if during the budget process proc helps clarify what was intended which is during the budget process uh there's nothing wrong with that language being added it remains clear it it it's entirely consistent with how we would handle it in other words the only time during which Council would typically uh be evaluating this is during the budget cycle it's just that right now we're trying to solve a problem so it it seems weird and odd and and uncomfortable and it is for all of the reasons we've all spoken about uh but on a moving forward basis yes it's during the budget process and language could certainly be added to to make that abundantly clear that would be super so could you could you make a motion with that and then sure I make a motion to amend the resolution about the employee benefits saying that this conversation has to be during the budget process something to that effect at the end yes and the opt out provision in that case would be could John word Smith that to a more legally formalized uh uh phrasing there please yeah yeah we can work with you know the intent right yep yep during SE under Section 10 of the uh employee benefits provision with that understanding I'll second the motion what do we second we're going to reord this to make her happy and to make him happy and her happy and the employees happy so that it's it's a the manager has to run the show but the every year at the budget time the council gets to have we everybody else talk I I would like to have Chief Abel come up and and and Terry would you please come or we're not we're not going to table that part do you want me to to read the language I I want to know because well I understand but I want to know what he feel we're we're talking about his fire guys what with everything about all employees not just his fire it's all okay this is the whole shooting match right and all thank you Jenifer clarifying that to me I'm sorry the other items I got fire on the brain the other ones we've pushed forward so in other words the status quo on the two fire items here remains like it is but we're going to do further analysis and come back at a later date to council with a proposed Solution on those but for the time being that benefit would not change from the way that uh Terry and his team have been administering it up until now so in other words the uh supplemental cancer coverage remains in place and the stiens for professional development remain in place we're going to be working on and here's what I would recommend to Council on these things rather than bringing these back separately again would be to complete the wage and benefits study and upon conclusion of that weave this in as part of that conversation and let council at that time hear the whole uh pallet of potential uh things to make decisions on and again it would be maintained in current state all the way up into until that time with them continuing eligibility for those stiens and continuing payment for the supplemental cancer coverage the the question on the table relates to the opt out which is all employees not just fire okay Mr so so the language um would read if if you're looking at section 10 that the proposed um uh amendments after at the end of the second full paragraph where has the the full sentence with an underline instead of ending in a period where it says as determined by Village Council it currently says period it would continue on and so would say as determined by The Village Council during the annual budget approval process yes Mr Cole does that work for you yes but that resolu that what else is that resolution resolution covers that resolution only covers this there were the other issues that were being discussed were talking points that were uh brought to uh to council for Direction by the by Mr Cole and and those will be woven into our wage and benefit study and brought back to council as a as a as a upon completion of the study like I mean is that a six- Monon thing is it oh we're trying to expedite it right now we're in the process of writing the RFP and we anticipate getting getting it out on the streets somewhere November or December we'll allow 30 days for respondents we'll have a you know the group that gets together makes a recommendation back to council award a contract and then you you know 90 days maybe from that point uh we'll we'll have their work completed and come back to council so it's probably I'm going to guesstimate you know march to May before that report is completed and ready for a public conversation yeah what have you want to say something okay I um have listened I did it on purpose I changed my mind several times and uh basically you got to fix the book and then you move forward am I right yes sir that's about it that's about it fix the book and move forward that's my conclusion thank you okay so John can somebody read us the the motion that we're talking about here it was a motion to approve um resolution at tab 18 uh with the amendment that um during that with the amendment to the proposed with the amendment to the proposed employe employee policy to include the phrase at the end of this second full paragraph during the annual uh budget approval process all right Deb's want the speaker you guys we've we are we okay I promise it'll be this long okay are we okay Council as a consensus okay go ahead so during the annual budget process what if something comes up uh mid year and you want to do that I don't think you really need that phrase in there it it is goes without saying that it would be done during the annual process but if you needed to do it some other time of the year because I don't know why I don't I don't know why but I I think it's limiting you as to when you could possibly review it it still says that you would review it and that you would have final say the manager is going to make those recommendations to you so we had unless waved by Council no no look the point the point here is that one would think it would have to go without being said and yet guess what it didn't happen we had we had Rogue Behavior I mean there I guess we have to have it in writing so what she what's what I believe Dev is saying is there may come a time other than during the budget sure and then one would hope that the manager would come and bring the crisis forward and ask the council I mean I guess I guess do we need to say in there you know anyway I'm being snarky now because I I think thank you for the comment Deb and I think we should just move on okay so so uh do I hear I heard a motion already well did are we clear on what the motion is I am very clear with the language that joh could you read it again if you would we move to add yeah so I'll you want me to read the whole sentence might be easier so the whole sentence would read The Village may elect to provide a health insurance optout stien depending on available funding as determined by The Village Council during the annual budget approval process and and and and it go hold on a minute it goes at the end of what what page is it sorry it's um talking about section 10 yeah it's it's the second full uh paragraph that's the paragraph starts with if a full-time employee elects to decline The Village yeah so if you go to the last sentence there which is all underlined the new phrase during the annual budget process um that's being proposed would come at the very end of that sentence I'm sorry for this delay but I having trouble um here here let me give it to yeah thank you here hold on I can give you mine mine has the thank you sir but but this is but actually the issue the the during the budget process should actually go um to the second underneath as as well possibly an addition after that second paragraph The Village shall seek to provide HealthCare coverage blah blah but the cost born by the village and cost shared by the employee will likely fluctuate annually based on available funding as determined by The Village Council during the budget process so it should be repeated twice I guess and and so the motion is that we're going to add that during the budget process or add a sentence that says all of this is going to take place during the budget process and you can't do this behind closed doors and fool the taxpayers and the council into approving something anyway you know what I'm saying I didn't get all that good I know what you're saying you know you know what I'm saying yeah so adding adding the similar language at the end as well of the third paragraph which is what just one sentence that says during the budget approval process so so during the budget approval process is happening twice at the end of both of the paragraphs second oh my God okay so Marne we have a motion and we have a second would you call the rooll please council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Mark Greg finally yes council member Henry rosenal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes the motion passes 5 to zero now don't we have to go to the opt out thing to vote on that about grandfathering in the six so it's staying like it is no it's not we talked about grandfather can you just give the the explanation for how you're handling the she closed it Terry closed it Jamie open enrollment is closed yeah I mean I think that would be best address by but it's my understanding open enrollment is closed so so anybody who has opted out is is opted out but they have anybody else has missed the window because open enrollment has has closed got it okay for this year yes for this year yeah for this but but the six guys firefighters you're talking about they fir whoever they are whoever whoever they are I understand that but I'm saying in particular you just mentioned six yes there's a combination of firefighters and non-f firefighters all of them will be treated the same that are currently getting that benefit all right all right move on so so so Jennifer please don't get upset with me because I know you when you said all employees I mean I was we were on a fire thing man and that's why I was you know let's move on before we break okay tab 19 tab 19 is uh resolution of the Village Council of Isam Mar Village violence Florida approving Second Amendment to contractual Services agreement for solid waste yard waste and recycling collection and Disposal Services with Island Disposal Company authorizing Village manager and Village attorney to enter into the Second Amendment to agreement for the requested Services authorizing The Village manager to implement uh the terms and conditions of the Second Amendment and providing for an effective date okay let me get here Lisa good evening Council it's Lisa Lynch Finance director um before you you should have in your notebooks there um the rate structure that has been given to us by um Island disposal um that this was given to us and we had this at the uh prior meeting back in July where we agreed on the 490 for the assessment that will go on the tax rate so this has nothing to do with what the citizens are going to pay this is just what's going to be build to uh the village as far as what our bill will cost for the services um so uh what What's in their contract already is that uh section 12.4 of the CSA provides for rates to be automatically adjusted annually on October 1 um reflecting either a decrease or increase in the cost of doing business is measured by first of all the CPI Consumer Price Index which was 3 and a half% and based on the current price that Monroe County system charges for the disposal fees the disposal fees are a separate item that um you know has to be charged by them for that uh so those rates are also in your exhibit one if you'll look there uh on to the left it shows your current rates and then uh to the right is the proposed rates and it gives the 3 and a half% increase so the rates are going basically from 4101 per month to 4477 that's the basic increase there uh let's see what else so the basic uh the basic bill will be we'll be paying um going from 15254 180 to 168 35265 a difference of 15,8 a month so just that's what that that will that increase will be and we like I said we already agreed on the 490 that's what's going to go on the tax bill but this is what island disposal uh does Bill us and they also do take off a um they take a a percentage off for the um franchise fee because they do give us that money back and then they also for the commercial they don't bill us they do the billing and then they give us a franchise fee every quarter so that's how that part Works Lisa just to be clear we're not giving um Island disposal a new raise this has already been negotiated in their contract and well right this is just what we're doing is we didn't actually do a resolution on it so John said what we needed to do is bring an amendment before you to show just to show the difference in the rates yeah what I'm saying though is we're not exercising our discretion and just giving them a raise because they deserve it or we feel like it or whatever we've already negotiated this we're following uh the the language of the contract as it's just a formality and right you know exactly it's a it's just a cut you know custodial thing to do here so yes is that right Mr Cole yes that's accurate and the only thing I would add is you know increasingly uh places to put waste are getting scarcer and scarcer and the companies responsible for moving it have to go greater and greater distances so the the tip fees at monrroe County keep going up U not because they want to give people raises but because the vehicles are no longer able to find landfills in the Miami area and they have to go further Upstate those Transportation costs are expensive so those t to trickle back down to us at the local level although we don't use Waste Management anymore the county has them hauling stuff and they have to go further and farther and people in gas are not cheap we we understand that I I'm grateful and I I expect after the storm passes and the one that passed last week the places to put trash are going to become even more difficult so you know buckle up buttercup so thank you okay uh we need to open public comment Marne we do not have anyone signed up okay public comment is now closed then any any other questions we maybe we'll wait for Henry to come back any other questions councel he's not well can I we move to approve this and see if we can get a second and then chitchat while Henry returns I second it second okay all right you made a motion yes please all right Elizabeth second uh can we give Henry here he comes yeah Henry we have a motion to approve with a second on the table what say you yes okay Arney uh we have a motion we have a second would you please call the rooll council member Mark Greg yes council member Elizabeth Jolan yes council member Henry Rosenthal yes vice mayor Sharon Mahoney yes and mayor buddy Pender yes motion passes 5 to zero uh so do I hear an adjournment yes yes so moved so moved thank you Henry thank everybody for this uh this late e