we're going to start the meeting welcome everyone Mary R call Mayor Bruner here vice mayor Rich here commissioner Clark here commissioner Collins here commissioner McDonald here thank you and our invocation James brokus of the steart Alliance Church we welcome you again sir everyone stand father thank you your love for us thank you for these ladies and gentlemen that serve us and are willing to do that Lord I pray that you would give them your patience and your understanding of direction as they discuss these various matters and discernment that's going to bring good to our city to our County so again Lord I just pray for physical encouragement and strength for each of them that they make know your peace this day by day thank you again for this beautiful area you allow us to live in help us we pray this in Jesus name amen we going to do the prge of Allegiance stay standing I pledge ofg to the FL of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank Jody I believe we are um have U our presentation Development Department project update thank you ma'am to the board I just wanted to uh before she get started I've asked the development director to start providing a uh monthly update as it relates to uh projects that are pending um in the city and what we've done in the past because I've Heard lots of different numbers and I heard that we approved 5,000 Apartments this year and in light of the fact that it's been zero for two years and that there was only one single family home approved last year or permit pulled last year I think it's important that we disseminate accurate information and this way uh Jody's going to be updating us at these uh and it won't be this meeting it'll be normally the meeting that we do the uh presentations on and proclamations on now thank you manager thank you manager that's the first meeting of the month when we do proclamations the second Monday the second Monday but the first meeting yes yes sir thank you good so thank you mad mayor get it straightened out thank you ma'am uh good evening Madame mayor and Commissioners for the record my name is Jody cougler director of the development department tonight I'll be presenting an overview of the development Department's first quarter project review for 2024 2024 first I would like to introduce my planning staff uh Michelle arzal is our planner one some of you might recognize her she started her career with the city in 2016 in special events since then she obtained her bachelor's degree in public administration and is currently working towards her Master's in public administration while balancing being a mom and a wife when I arrived with the city a year and a half ago I had open Planning positions Michelle applied and was the best candidate for the position and has been a great asset to our department Michelle could you please stand up thank you Michelle [Applause] and second uh Chris mccraine is our principal planner Chris was born and raised in the city of Stewart and has a deep com compassion for honoring his history of the city and being a part of the future endeavors hold on one second apologize uh Chris W Chris went to school at FAU and obtained his Urban Bachelor urban planning degree and I also uh was had the pleasure of working with Chris at St Lucy County and he was one of my colleagues that we worked together when I had a planning position available in the city of Stewart I knew he was the right choice and uh I would like to thank him and uh if you could please stand up thank you CH thank you okay just to give you a little background in the various divisions that make up the development department as well as the duties and responsibilities that we are tasked with the development department plays an administrative role within the city of Stewart and is responsible for the preparation presentation and implementation of the city's comprehensive plan Land Development code building codes and a Community Development programs the visions of the development department include Neighborhood Services business tax receipt building permitting inspections planning and zoning and GIS the development department is tasked with reviewing and approving certain minor development plan applications including non-residential and mixed use development under 50,000 sare ft in an area and single an area and single family multifam and duplex projects under 35 units Additionally the development department is responsible for reviewing site permits building permits administrative variances tree removal permits business tax receipts pre-application meeting requests public records requests inquiries and customer service Oops why is this not I apologize this is not changing there we go I apologize okay okay the development department is also tasked with review and all applications petitions requiring approval from the various City boards including the community redevelopment board local planning agency Board of adjustment and City commission the two planners and myself are respons responsible for reviewing these applications to ensure they comply with the city's code of standards and requirements and also preparing the board staff reports agenda items and presentations between January 1st of 2024 and March 31st of 2024 the development department administr approved two minor development plan applications including Kitty Academy daycare and silverlock Studios at this time there are nine minor development plan applic under review this is a snapshot of what Kitty Academy looks like and if you can recall this is the old construction Journal site uh this is located at 4408 Southwest 7th Street adjacent to the recently approved Creekside Hotel Site this minor development plan Amendment approval allowed for the removal and reduction of parking to construct an outdoor playground area for approximate 12,250 ft daycare the devel vment development approval also provided for the change of use in building occupancy from an office building to a daycare facility for 191 students Associated interior and exterior Renovations and Landscape improvements this is also the snapshot of what the silverlock studios is formerly known as the Burger King and a 7-Eleven convenience store and is located at 2223 Southeast Ocean Boulevard across the street from Fresh Market the minor development plan adjustment approval allowed for the change of use building occupancy from a convenient restaurant to a professional office with recording duties for podcast no satellites antennas or broadcast towers are permitted on site for the proposed use the site plan adjustment also allow for the removal of the drive-thru Lane and window landscape improvements interior and exterior modeling and memorizing and memorializing the uses required parking these two development projects have been issued building permits and site permits and are currently under construction uh these are administrative variances we've uh approved three projects and we have five under review uh right now this is the development and developments under review we have approximately 18 projects under review this is just a snapshot of what the projects are uh developments under construction these are ones that have already received either approval by the board or by by administratively uh we have um quite a few that was approved within the last six months that are under construction uh We've also um prepared 10 pre-application meeting requests and that what that includes is the uh people who are trying to inquire what they can do with the site they submit an application we meet with them uh with the very ious departments and try to provide them guidance we also uh from this year uh there was 265 public records requests out of those 265 the development department completed 131 or equates to 49% we also uh reviewed the business tax receipt to make sure they comply with zoning requirements um this one was a unique year we um had had a new system that was implemented our finance director was very good at at implementing the business tax receipts however we did have quite a few glitches that um always seems to happen when you get a new system so uh we would like to thank the business Community I know it was a very tough year trying to get your business tax renewals and uh hopefully next year we'll go smoother uh zoning permits and Zoning reviews these are uh our planners we'll review the permits that are coming in house making sure they meet all the zoning requirements or if they're required to have um any type of other um escalated uh applications that would need to be reviewed by the administratively or through the City commissioners site development uh we have four site permits issued and what that is is the infrastructure it's the first permit that gets issued for a project and we have six right now that are under review this concludes my presentation and staff is available to answer any questions the commission may have thank you and I I also just wanted to follow up briefly to um what we will be providing as well as the uh information that we normally share with the joint meetings with the counties and currently there's some information going around it's my understanding that um there's this discussion of slow growth versus Fast growth or whatever you want to call it and the purpose of this is to clarify that the comprehensive plan was designed to make growth in theory all could have come on the first day and at the end of the comprehensive plan you would reach the end and it would still be the same outcome as if it was done over a 50-year period or over a two-year period because the comprehensive plan was designed to cap that the city's comprehensive plan has had um growth projections of buildout between 25 and 30,000 people since the early 1990s in 2007 um it was updated for the uh consumptive use permit and it was projected to be 28,000 by TW by the year 2028 and that was after the 1990 annexations where it increased by 40% last February we updated the consumptive use permit had the study done for the city of Stewart and if all of the property that was left vac Tak in the city of Stewart was built to its maximum density we would end up at 23,900 people which would be below the 25 to 30,000 that the comprehensive plan originally projected for the growth at the end of the comprehensive plan at total buildout so when you see like we did maybe seven years ago now some apartments or multif family get approved and people think or get alarmed that there's an enormous amount of growth it's consistent with the comprehensive plan and we're already at 97% buildout and we've had less than 2,000 residential units approved since 2012 and I'll have the exact numbers for you at the next meeting so for the last 12 years it's been about a total of 2,000 units total which gives us about a 1% growth rate thank you sir ad mayor yes commissioner Clark thank you Miss couger for your report I wanted to ask you on that list of pre-applications you did you give a timeline for when is that in the past six months or in the past year this is actually the first quarter from January through March of this year okay so if somebody had come in last year because I was going to ask you if the tailor property preapplication conference so it's just this quarter since January so if they had come in previously it wouldn't be in this okay we are also going to post this presentation on our website and update this and try to develop a a development web page so people can see all the applications coming in uh what's under review what's under construction uh what's coming up um so this will we will hopefully get this into a format so you can look at the applications look at the plans that are submitted to us so um it will help alleviate some of the concerns by the public in you want to go on the website and it will give you that information thank you I appreciate that I'm sure the public appreciates that thank you so much thank you thank your staff for their work thank you all right do I have uh any comments from any of our commissioners yes two two things U one is uh uh 10 years ago um the city of Stewart entered into a sister city arrangement with hope Bahamas and and it was for those of us I think y was here and um it was it was a really exciting and it was a it would it coincided with our uh Centennial events and during that um during that time uh learned a few things about the Bahamas for example uh the a portion of the abacos is the only portion of Bahamas that has local government so the fact that we were actually able to do something with the local government was rather exciting over there because they have so little local government but from a personal note I ended up becoming very good friends with uh several members of the local government over there um and one of them named Don cash who represented the town of hopetown passed away recently and I was wondering if we could send a letter from the mayor offering condolence to his widow I think that yes I agree so they they were truly TR truly he was a bigger than life individual idual and uh and I'm truly going to miss him um so anyways the second thing I want to say is how exciting it was to see that uh USA Today named the city of Stewart as uh best coastal town in the country um you know we beat out a lot of communities around the country and I just think it just goes to show what a wonderful place that we live how we have our best days ahead of us and and I was very very happy and excited to see that so thank you that's all I have I start down on this thank you thank you thank you commissioner so for the agenda today and I kind of I discussed this a little bit with um the mayor not the mayor the U manager and all I want to do I just want to pull these so that at least um the manager or the city um attorney can read the things so that those who are in the public can hear and know what's on the consent agenda I don't have any particular um uh real big thing about them but I think that a couple of them we'll probably get some discussion so I'm going to go now and ask to pull items number four five 6 7 8 and nine from the consent agenda for discussion purposes and um I want to announce that I am planning to have a town hall at the 10 Street Recreation Center Honor about the 30th of um May Thursday evening around 5:30 p.m. to um kind of roll out some things about the East Stewart um advisory committee as well as some of the information that's going in on the website and just talk about possibly talk about um recreational opportunities in our community so uh we're going to be planning that and it'll be properly advertise because it will involve inviting some members of a um Sunshine committee to come out and meet the public and have the public ask them some things and they have their regular meeting coming up I I think in June they're qu of a meeting but I needed them there with me at at I'm trying to get this town hall together so it's going to be hopefully May 30th at 5:30 p.m. and as soon as we get that done and ready to announce um city manager will take care of it we'll confirm everything third thing is that I've been invited and have accepted to serve on the Indian River Lagoon task force um and they're having a meeting in Sebastian on May 29th um 2024 so it's right before my May 30th meeting it's another busy day um but they're going to be have that inperson having that in person uh on the indan river Lagoon task force which covers a lot of area from uh throughout the Everglades and around the okobi region and along the Indian River and so um it's going to be several people who are involved with that um particular task force which has there's a whole bunch of other Indian River Lagoon um committees and activities but this particular one they're working on I think somebody from FAU called me and they they asked me to participate and I said yes and I wanted to say that I think our city clerk had received a uh some kind of commendation recently but whatever it is I just want to say again how um much I appreciate our city clerk and I appreciate our staff that works in our city manager's office and for all the work that the Treasure Coast Le of cities and all our clerks and others who put these things together for the um sem ethics seminar that we had at IRSC on last Thursday and uh um uh there's a lot of things that had to do with public records and all the other things that we we face at the city of Stewart and it's a really big challenge for our city clerk to keep up with a lot of the statutory um regulations and for us also as elected officials but I just wanted to thank everybody for the work that they've done put into that and I know that we have one of our commissioners who works on the treasure Co League of cities I think that's commissioner rich and I just want to thank them for their um work that they do to to get that together for us so that we can stay um compliant as a board of uh city council board uh that's it you not thank you Madame mayor I just like to follow up on commissioner Clark's comments regarding the ethics which is that e e ethics class which is an annual requirement that commissioner Clark was there and I was there with Mr Camp Penney what struck me was and this perhaps can serve as an admonition to the public um I would think that many of you that take the time out of your day to come here and and listen and participate which is terrific might also be the people who go online the requirement is and let me summarize it social media is a trap they really don't like elected officials to be involved in social media because if they are discussing matters that come before the city all of that is subject to the Sunshine Law they are required to retain it but not only their comments but all of your comments have to be retained and become public record and if requested perhaps if you're not this nice as you might you know if if you're making inappropriate remarks those are going to be kept and will be subject to public record requests so what I I would just I certainly would urge my fellow Commissioners to be extremely cautious you can't alter you can't delete anything that's on social media and all of your comments will be held as as public records so let's all try to be as courteous and sensible as we can when uh engaging with public media thank you Madame mayor any more no we'll hear from our manager you have nothing further mayor no um I don't have any uh specific items to update you on um obviously we had a different meeting planed for tonight and I thought it was going to be long but commissioner Clark has assured us that we will make it worth our time with ping what she did um and I did want to say last meeting we had we were uh celebrating commissioner Clark's birthday and I want to mention that uh commissioner Rich's birthday was over the weekend and he just celebrated a birthday as [Applause] well there's nothing like embarrassing someone about their birthday so I couldn't resist but that's all I've got all right good okay did I get approval of the agenda move approval as published and pull in the items which were they again commissioner we haven't got to the consent okay four through four five six seven eight nine she's just talking about the agenda oh sorry I okay I have a motion for approval of the agenda you have a second second okay motion we have a second any comments from our commissioners I see none any comments from the public I see none all in favor say I I I and I also just I did have one other note here there there was the mayor's birthday was also on Friday so we have a very busy birthday [Applause] week and I do have uh um we're now going to the comments from the public Travis Deckers deckers hi good evening I'm terrible at public speaking so I'm stick to my script so good evening everybody my name is Travis Deckers and I'm a member of city power rescue's local 2411 Union and also part of this for those of you don't know is a13 organization ass 241 resc we help the residents of the city of and time of and also other chair of organizations and different projects across the area some of the things that we've done here uh we recently accomplished repainting the vet building on Boulevard the choke building with um tonight I'm here to spread the word for our new event which is going to be our inaugural pumper pole on May 18th ater pre ining so one of the common questions we get is what is a pumper pole well muscles and join the team of 10 people by taking a long R that's attached to a fire engine over 30 T and drag a little bit over 100t for the fastest time let's go so the main reason we're doing this is aimed at raising awareness and funds for first responder mental health this is something that is very important to us and we see it becoming more and more a common issue amongst those in public safety over the past month alone our fire rescue and police department has had several High AC calls that in some fashion left a permanent Mark in the memory of some of our firefighters and police officers we do our best for our men and women but the science and stigma behind mental health is just not where it needs to be at for background this issue here are some statistics from major studies 28% of First Responders have reported having a lifetime feeling that life is not even worth living 10.4% of First Responders has extreme circumstances suicidal adiation 37% of First Responders are 10 times more likely to contemplate suicide than the average American adult statistics also say that 30% of First Responders will absolutely develop some type of behavioral health condition in their life for those wondering when they look at firefighters who experience cardiac arrest on the job and they are young or look like they maintain a healthy lifestyle due to the stress effects of the job alone these deaths constitute up to 50% of all firefighter line of duty deaths the stigma of mental health is terrifying as well studies show that over 70% of First Responders feel as though that seeking mental health will result in them getting in trouble with their employer or they feel embarrassed and weak due to the decades po outlook on seing health recently a plethora programs have been coming out for mental health here at Stuart fire rescue we applaud our Chiefs for taking an active role in our mental health by allowing our members to become peer counsil certified and for understanding the mental health of their personnel however these Dreadful statistics Across the Nation have assuredly not changed as last year there were more first responder suicides in the year prior we have to continue to work to do better together The Cloud of our mental health should not exist and that's why we're hosting this event to do our part in bettering statistics and the statement on a brighter note let's talk about the main event like I said teams of a 30 fire rescue truck or fire engine across 100 ft for the pastest time don't worry we'll have plenty of ice coil Fraser Creek brewing dising beverages to help you cool off and celebrate afterwards you so gather your friends family co-workers inform the team to participate in this event or if you'd rather cheer from the sidelines come out and thank you Travis awesome Lori McKenna is Miss McKenna still here she just went outside okay Robin Bender welcome Miss bender and I'm here on of50 Indian Street to address 500an Street in the adjoining Plaza um and I just have to express on of my office the administrator is in our opion I have direct that have direct involement with the fall of these fac and as well as they and comp Parks schools high school middle school over50 um thank you ma'am M McKenna good evening Miss McKinna this is my first time ion I also to re that's loc I drove by the location last anywhere so obviously it's not operating as a facility for anybody at this time so I would assume that in the last years and including lot of the housing going it's uspr many changing all the traffic on the road's many concerns CRI tra whatever people faigh it's a big concern for all of us I don't people that come from all over thank you very much very nice to meet you thank you ma'am Stacy Lardo state your name for me okay good in a place small and manageable and that is not what I'm this and I think Size Matters a lot in this particular instance and knowing what I know about the dayto I would be really concerned for all the things people have talked about here efforts just to confirm it's and people and people into they that's people facilities a lot of them will not have transportation so they won't be going to their car and leaving County leing by foot they'll be desperate and they'll go to whatever closest to them and unfortunately here we're talking abouts they'll going going to try to get some money and I'm not saying that these people don't help I'm in the business I want to help but the plac and and really very con not because I have Fai all what being to I'm not alarm thank you thank you very much Wendy Rivers welcome M Rivers can you speak directly in the mic I can't hear is it the best mic it's not working issues okay we try another okay I think you can hear me okay hi I'm Wendy Rivers um I'm a CFO at Coastal detox which is on Indian Street um I would just like to tell you a little about the detox rehab industry when our patients come into our door again we're not a lock facility but when they come in our door for help they are usually highly intoxicated or on high amount of drugs there has been times that myself and other members of management have walked sorry about that have walked after intoxicated individuals that are at our facility to admit as the urge of drinking or drug use overpowers them and they walk out of the out onto Indian Street trying to get the last High all staff members that are available to assist walk with them trying to get them to come back for their own safety and prevent from wandering the local community because it will cause a disturbance we also have patients that try to get their last hi before coming in and half the time they're overdosing at our front door and have to be Nar canned and also called the em mess I personally had to chase an intoxicated female down Indian Street that was falling into traffic and causing endangerment not only to herself but also to other traffic drivers several drivers stopped traffic as well as called 911 because the truck did almost hit her it took myself and two other staff members to basically carry her arm in- arm to get her back to Coastal safely without an accident our 35 bed facility has a 15% AMA rate and that is with us taking all precautions we can to help them get the treatment they need to get healthy based on my experience the amas will be very difficult to control with 140 bed facility and limited staff it is just too large for a facility for our local community that's all thank thank you very much Jim havin hello thank you for having me um I also work at Coastal detox I'm a driver for the facility but I want to share a little bit of experience I've had working in other treatment facilities I've lived in Fort Lauderdale West Palm in the delr lake Lake Worth area working in large facilities multiple facilities and I seen um firstand and the chaos and how difficult it is to manage these places um like at as I heard earlier I left those are areas and came to Stewart um about nine years ago I too um work at Coastal I drive for Coastal and I I pick up these clients that that are intoxicated doing drugs using drugs and I have to manage my way back to St I've seen uh I've had DET uh overdose in the van where we had a n can I've had clients that wanted to get out of the van on the Florida Turnpike and try to run out into traffic so it's it's it's um like having these large facilities and multiple facilities in the same area just actually um creates chaos it it'll bring a a different element into the Community um it is a it's a it's a diff it's a excuse me I'm nervous I just and I didn't come well prepared but uh I just wanted to sh share my experience with this um um industry you know it's um and Coastal is uh where I work it is a lot smaller facility and I never seen a facility that operate the way they do the way they actually do care about the these clients and how they really do understand the the drug and alcohol industry the the addiction industry and how they um go above and beyond where my experience in other places it was more a business it was more an insurance policy you were more a number than you are a client that was seeking help um and that's all I got I'm sorry thank you thank you sir thank you very much Christopher Goan Asar you seven are intimidating I'm going to stick to the script good evening my name is Chris gagas and I'm very proud to say that I've been in recovery for over 10 years now recovering from a severe 15-year drug addiction that almost took my life on multiple occasions as the Director of emmissions at Coastal detox I am equally as proud and very grateful to God that I am able to effectively use my life story to help others with their own addiction issues Joe and Christina the owners of coastal detox asked me to publicly share my story here today to help provide some insight into the life of an addict Beyond just the statistics born and raised in Palm Beach County I got addicted to drugs when I was 18 years old and stayed in active addiction until I was 33 years old growing up with an absent father my mom was very concerned about me at least for a while so much so that she added me to her insurance policy and begged me to see treatment for my addiction and abandonment issues over the course of the next several years I was in and out of treatment centers and sober living homes but was unable to commit to the treatment process because of my severe withdrawal symptoms were simply greater than my desire to be clean and sober plus I knew that there would always be another treatment facility that would eagerly admit me thanks to the great out of network insurance policy that my M my mom had me on I could go anywhere through it all I did absolutely whatever I needed to fuel my addiction most of the times criminal activity and theft I used to steal from big box stores like Home Depot and Walmart would also be on the lookout for my next fix by stealing from homes cars and boats I even stole from my family at times anything I could get my hands on to sell for drugs after many years on this drug fuel Carousel in and out of jails in probation periods my mom ultimately had enough and cut me off completely with no insurance or financial support of any kind I still did what I always did begged and stole beg and begged and stole to feed my drug ad when the law started closing in on me in Palm Beach County I moved up north to Stewart but not long after arriving in Stewart I was caught stealing again from a local pawn shop and was taken to the Martin County jail for another grand theft charge one of many as a three-time convicted felon I spent 10 months in the Martin County Jail where I detoxed in a Cell I'll never forget it I was 33 years old and really wanted to get my life back so I voluntarily joined the dunan jail program and after completing was sent to prison in the Panhandle for 5 months which also I will never forget after being released from prison I moved into a sober living home and set my sights on getting my life on track I am extremely grateful and blessed to use my story and life experiences as a means to help others break free from the same chains of addiction Coastal detox is an in network facility that specializes in substance use and Behavioral Health disorders and I'm very grateful to be part of a team that helps people recover it's very rewarding accountability continuity and after care is what's needed for a struggling addict and alcoholic to fully recover and Steward as a special place in my heart it's where I finally got sober and started a healthy life that I still have today I'm very concerned about Stuart turning into a delr beach type situation with rampant crime and active addiction roaming the streets because this is where I live and I choose to raise my three-year-old daughter thank you for taking the time to hear my story God bless thank you it's not easy to come up here and spill out your guts in front of everyone their whole life Walter lloy good to see you Mr L thank you good to see you all too so I came tonight mostly to listen and learn a little bit more about it and I'm I appreciate you thank you and everyone else that's contributed but I also uh don't live far from that area and it's not uh in my not in my backyard kind of thing for me it's more about the reason I moved here to Stewart which was to enjoy a small coastal town with a small town environment and I've had to watch uh while couple of y'all up there had made some I think radical abuses to the comprehensive plan and to land use uh codes to put a Costco in there and quite a few apartments that are pretty much right on the roadway and no cover no you know no Ambiance that fits our city as a as it comes to this it sounds to me like you're going to have to do another radical change in the land use codes and I'm asking you please don't I mean our comprehensive plan is in place for a reason there is a legacy and a lot of us moved here and invested in this community for that reason so please respect it and stop doing what you're doing with the land use codes and the abuse of the comprehensive plan thank you Jill Brotherton welcome Miss Brotherton hi I'm Jill Brotherton I have had a business in the city of Stewart and have lived in Martin County for 40 years um in 2013 I was going to move I actually live in Palm City now and I was going to move to downtown Stewart so after work I would take my dog and walk around um see where I wanted to be and I walked numerous times past the rehab center that was that's in what was Dr Cooper's office um harassed often at was asked for money was asked to use my phone they would loiter outside and smoke and vape um it made my decision not to move to the city of Stewart I actually feared for my life and so my concern is to have a facility three times as big in an area that I frequent often because I dine in that Plaza my dermatologist is in that Plaza um it concerns me very much thank you thank you Valerie fer Val I'm Valerie Ferrera um I've been in this community for 24 years working as a nurse past N9 10 years I've been working in detox and Rehab in Psychiatry um also Family Medicine as well um I am the owner of a local business new day Psychiatry and um I very much support treating addiction um but I feel like it's something that should be done in a small environment um just like everyone one else has said when these people leave against medical advice that means they don't have an ID they don't have money they don't have a car they have their feet and they may or may not have shoes on them and they're walking up the streets and they're going to go wherever they can go to get their fix they're going to go try and steal and Rob they're not going to have anywhere to stay they don't have their things and so I am very much for treating these people in small environments but definitely not in the big environment that this place is wanting to offer so thank you very much thank you very much Joseph o Grady welcome Mr Grady good evening my name is Joseph O'Grady together with my wife Christina Tucker and our two adult children Ross and Judy who are also here our family owns operates Coastal detox a 35 bed impatient medical detox and substance abuse treatment facility that we built from scratch here in the great city of Stewart Florida as experts in substance abuse treatment our entire family is here today to publicly implore the steuart city commission to reject this P this petition needed for this proposed 140 bed treatment facility to open its doors in Stuart Florida why because I mean despite despite what has been said in the media it's certainly not because this proposed facility is going to be a competitor of coastal as the applicant himself agreed at the LPA meeting in March coal is not a competitor of the proposed facilities in that our Coastal facility is an Allin Network Medicare and Medicaid approved facility that for the past eight years has been focused on treating the medical detox and substance abuse treatment uh needs of this local community of people that are in and around Stuart Florida the proposed facility on the other hand will be in a very exclusive all outof Network and cash pay only facility that by the applicant's own admission at the LPA meeting intends to serve the mental health and substance abuse treatment needs of the entire United States of America by spending Untold millions of dollars in Internet advertising as the means to acquire patients from all over the United States without a network policies and with cash in need of mental health and substance abuse treatment services and then flying them into our town for treatment effectively turning the city of Stewart into something similar to Del re Beach if the proposed facility is not then a threat to our Coastal business why would our entire family come out so strongly against this proposed facility well first and foremost because we love the city of Steward we love living and working in what is widely considered to be the best Coastal Community in the United States thanks in large part to this very City commission but more importantly though as true experts in the in this field of substance abuse and medical detox we know that the logistics and the unintended consequences of this proposed facility are tragically flawed as is its location here in Stewart and my wife who's the CEO in the brains of our company she's going to come up and talk in more detail about that thank you very much thank you sir Christina Tucker Miss Tucker welcome tonight good evening my name is Christina Tucker I'm the CEO of coastal detox obviously I'm not a politician but it is my understanding I would imagine that in order to approve a change like this it should be a benefit to the public well I'm here to share at least three very important reasons why I do not believe that it is that it would actually be a detriment to the public as evidenced by this plan this comprehensive list of treatment centers published by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration website the proposed facility would be of the largest in its in the State of Florida why am I so concerned of this because as we know firsthand of run running one 35 Beds which were actually was zoned for 80 but we decided to keep it at 35 after we were in business for a while and not fill our other two buildings with additional beds it's so hard to operate and manage as you're hearing from some of the our colleagues in the industry the second reason there will be a significant increase in Need for emergency services as evidenced by again we had a detailed report of the emergency calls for the applicants facility which is substantially smaller in Port St Lucy in one year there were 100 calls in just last month of March there were 17 calls considering this facility would be four to five times as large this would be magnified by four to five times the third is and most grave concern by far resolves around the unintended consequences of the proposed facility in the vast number of patients that would freely choose to walk off the property against medical advice AMA as again you've heard from some of our other colleagues the overwhelming need to use drugs and alcohol caused by their withdrawal symptoms is just too hard for them to bear and they are not in a lockdown facility even though we do 15minute checks you take your eyes off of them for five minutes they're out there the driveway often times before you even realize it it's critical to note that the a the national average in the in our industry is around 23% meaning that upwards of 40 patients per month will be walking off property now out of network you would say to yourself okay Mo most of these people are going to have means and they have good insurance policies but what what it comes down to is that now that your your young adults are allowed to stay on their parents' policies up to 26 years old what happens a lot of times is finish your sentence okay they failed at the local level their parents say we're going to give it one more shot we're going to fly you down to Florida but if you fail this time we're not supporting you financially anymore and lose our number so thank you all for listening to our concerns and I I trust it's all in your hands thank you thank you [Applause] Gail goie M goie good evening good evening Commissioners it's nice to see you all again um I wanted to just talk about this uh new facility that's there where um used to be the assisted living facility your life I was very familiar with u the internal layout and everything of your life I understand that this new facility would be putting in 135 beds I think that's what the number was 135 and um I have a great concern about putting something like that on Indian Street when um we have all of the schools the water park everything that everyone's talking about but years ago I did spend quite a bit of time down in Del Rey when uh a lot of the drug rehab centers were opening up and I can tell you that when I was down there I visited many of the drug and alcohol rehab centers and I will tell you that one of their biggest problems that they had were people leaving their facilities to go out and seek more drugs or alcohol and it was a huge problem that has come down quite a bit in Del re many of those places were put out of business um because they did not meet the uh standard for the for their licensing they broke a lot of the rules or they didn't meet the rules many of the owners of those uh facilities down there were put in jail because of the abuse to the insurance and a lot of other issues but also this facility where are they going to get the Staffing for 135 beds the Staffing is enormous that they will need and where are they going to pull those people from to staff this facility so um I would just like to say that um you know I want you to seriously seriously consider putting another facility in in uh that size on Indian Street it's something we really don't need what about Baker acts what about the Baker Act you know how many uh Baker acts are they going to accept are they accepting Baker acts I did not see uh information on that but I'm sure that's probably something to be considered so that's all I'd like to say and I appreciate each one of you Commissioners that have these hard decisions in front of you but I hope that you will stick to the comprehensive plan and certainly keep Stewart the beautiful little city that we live in thank you thank [Applause] you that is the last of the green cards anyone else one more we have two yes three come and speak give me your name and phone number your address and then get the then fill the green card out what's that and then fill the Green Card okay all right well uh Bob Shan I live in Stewart been here about eight years uh Florida resident for about 45 years uh thanks for all the comments tonight especially what's your name again Craig Craig sounds like good uh I got the rest of the story I I got the rest of the story tonight I've been listening to this debate going on uh about this uh drug rehab facility going into to uh Stuart I'm against it totally uh the only reason why I'm against it is when I first moved here eight years ago I had had a conversation with a police officer this by happy stance one afternoon and I asked him what's the biggest problem in Stuart that we have for for uh for Citizens and for the overall City he goes to drug rehab houses that was eight years ago because that's our biggest problem because what happens like I I found out insurance runs out at 26 where do they go they stay here and what do they do when they stay here thanks for everybody here they commit crimes and other things so anyway that's why I'm against it uh thanks to the stories from everybody thank you sir don't forget to fill it out okay hi how are you my name is Joseph uh again I didn't write anything down down I appreciate what everybody is saying I'm working in a facility right now almost 12 years I run the kitchen so I am definitely face to face with these clients that we have that ama Baker Act ASA um it's really a lot more in depth than what everybody has said over here it really is I moved here 30 years from New York and I was like wow this is wow the awesome moved down to Palm Beach Gardens because more jobs were down there met a beautiful woman moved up here I said this is going to be awesome because Palm Beach Gardens is going to be like bokeh now I'm looking at Sebastian ver my wife doesn't want to hear it but that's where I'm at because what's happening now is way more than I I don't see how we got that award for the best community because like it's not there to me it's not there anymore I'm a old school anyhow there's a lot to it you know you have a baker ax they're going to get at my place that get picked up brought over to uh Coral Shores in about a week they come back that's great uh many times they hop the fence they go around hit the liquor store find somebody that again they don't have any ID they don't have anything what if um think about the ambulances that are going to be coming in and out of there I mean we're going to have that beautiful Costco gift right here with we already have a a jail facility a high school I wasn't a big lover of coastal when it came in because of where I live um I understand that it was really small so I was happy and where I live is just behind where this facility is where the um a do facility was and my son and all his friends used to play in the that Creek and if he was five six seven years old he wouldn't be able to play in that Creek I don't want to be overprotective for my son because to me that's like a Florida kid fishing playing in the water doing all that to me that would be gone I I just um again I didn't really write everything down but in my heart this kind of hurts because I'm not against places that we need that kind of help okay it's just not right there I mean you got to they're going to hop the fence they're going to do whatever they can to get out they're not going to have any means to get around just like other people said the families cut them off and that's it we're going to how many times out my place where they're sleeping right in the street and I'm a little bit south of here and it's a really nice area and I can't believe they even allow like we don't get in trouble for things like that it's just you know and I get to see uh the reports of where these people come from and I'm like wow they're only like five miles from where I live I can't believe I have to share this area with a person that's been here six times court ordered so thank you sir I'm sorry that's it was there one more hi your name yes it's Jeanie Jones I filled out a green flag fire if I can do another one um I am a licensed mental health counselor um here in Florida I have practiced for 15 years um 10 years here in the Treasure Coast I have specialized in working with severe psychiatric and addictions um here in Stewart I also had a private practice for some time I currently am a mother of three and work for the school district of Port St Lucy as a mental health counselor for our schools um my main concern with this type of facility is in my role as a clinician there is not enough outpatient services to provide follow-up care for these individuals that would be traveling across country to get rehab um because we don't have enough for our own individuals our own residents in our community here in the Treasure Coast um it's also very alarming um The Proposal of such a large facility with the amount of staff being proposed also it's not realistic um it requires two to three staff members per resid or per client in a inpatient facility I worked in residential um detox um and outpatient setting and it's just not realistic the amount of individuals that leave against medical advice in that state of early recovery going through detox um care is typically for facil facility around 50% like I said I worked as a compliance officer I ran the numbers for Coastal detox them saying 15% that's outstanding that's not heard of in our industry um the other concern I have is how they expect to staff that large of a facility if they decide to increase their number of Staff I'm a licensed clinician there's not many of us out there and in order to work at a facility that is accepting in network insurance companies you are required to have licensed clinicians um it it's a requirement in order to get paid um and the person proposing this facility does not have a good reputation amongst us therapists in the Treasure Coast Community due to massive layoffs due to bad business decisions so I urge you guys to really think about this um the type of individuals it's going to bring um from out of state like others said um young adults that are using their parents insurance that are given that chance we've seen it I worked in Palm Beach five years saw it happen they get cut off and they're on the streets um I've worked with the steart police many many times to assist um in helping individuals and to get this um treatment whether it's Coastal detox or Coral Shores and there's just not enough services for this type of facility here thank you for your time that's all I do want to say and I maybe uh my uh Commissioners here agree we've listened to you all we're happy that you came and told us your stories and we appreciate that very much now we will go on Madame mayor yes can I ask city manager again if when we took item number 11 and 12 was it reset for a date certain we haven't gotten to it yet yeah okay so when we get there we'll put the reset I just because these people might leave if they want to come back again when it's heard I wanted to make sure that they know that all right thank you I need a approval on the consent calendar we pulled I think all of them but two and three but right she didn't actually the the commissioner didn't pull any she announced that she was going to that would actually happen right now when you do okay so i' I'd like to pull items number four five six what was it again 7 eight n all of them I think yeah have I written down here so no I didn't have two and three four five 6 7 8 nine you're right second we have a motion to approve two and three is that how I did that no just go down each I think we need to yeah either way is fine right I thought do I have a um a motion for approval and a consent calendar two and three move to approve a second it two and three second okay we have a motion and can you guys step outside if you're going to be talking they're still trying to have the meeting and do we have any comments um I have a motion and approval I mean I have approval on a second do we have any comments from the Commissioners here we don't have any any comments from the public I see none we will um uh roll call on two and three commissioner McDonald yes commissioner Collins yes vice mayor Rich yes commissioner Clark yes mayor Bruner yes okay the selfish P final uh plat we can have um attorney read it of course m mayor resolution number 39-22 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of Stewart Florida to approve a plat titled replat number one of town park being a replat of town park according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 11 page 85 public records of Martin County Florida all lying and being in section 9 Township 38 South Range 41 East city of Stewart Martin County Florida containing 4.88 Acres more or less prepared by Michael T Owen of engineering design and construction Inc and mapper number 5556 for sailfish kpud providing an effective date and for other purposes thank you madam mayor yes so um Miss cougler um you just made a presentation and I probably didn't see the um on the board where would the sailfish plant because that's not in this quarter you only reported the things that were in this quarter and that was something that was previously approved so it wasn't included in those numbers well if you if you actually take it in its entirety this is a replat of the Town Park plat yes that was done in the early 90s yes okay so the that plat would have been in the probably 1992 I know we went from the commercial so I just wanted to make to to to check with you on that uh yes ma'am this is the selfish K that you approved last year the only residential project that required 60 Town Homes they're going to be individually owned so they are required to do a replot okay that's on Central Park when over there the reason for this is because they're individually owned that is correct yes so may I make a a motion to approve resolution number number 39 2024 sailfish K final plot second we have a motion and we have a second any more comments from our commissioners I see none any comments from the public there not any roll call please mayor Bruner yes vice mayor Rich yes commissioner Collins no commissioner Clark yes commissioner McDonald yes four yes and one no thank you okay Madame mayor I also pulled um item number five in the consent The Old City Landfill extension and again for the public who's not here and to make sure that it's read into the record whatever action we take today um by the City attorney resolution number 46-22 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of steart Florida extending the due diligence period at the old city of Stewart landfill from April 30th 2024 to September 30th 2024 providing an effective date and for other purposes thank you I know that this is self explanator but is there anything that you'd like to add to that city manager it's six month change I mean exension we talked about it last meeting um they've requested an extension to continue doing the investigation you guys are free to vote no move to approve second have a yes I'm sorry Mike I assume they're optimistic otherwise they would not be asking for the extension which is I mean I don't think that they'd be spending the money if they thought that it was going to be a failure they finished the initial um testing and they're moving on to phase two which obviously becomes much more expensive so I don't think they would be doing if it was worth it and I did have a discussion with them as it related to the tax credits and things like that and honestly that's not even that lucrative for them at all because of the way the tax the amount of the the amount of the cleanup versus the way you get the tax credits and the capped amount they would have to extend the cleanup over a 10-year period to obtain the the full tax credits for it because you're only allowed a certain amount per year so it's their intention to finish this phase and if they determine that they can move forward to move forward and try to make the land productive as fast as they can because quite frankly they they don't see the tax credit as as great a benefit as some others do and and because this was a brown field this is not going to be they want to residential this is going to be a commercial it'll be light industrial and there the they're uh Ashley capital is the largest industrial landholder I believe in the country yeah they are wow and uh mam mayor if I may I spoke with uh with with uh Mr uh Morton I think is how he pronounce name anyways uh they've done hundreds of these they don't sell their land they maintain their when they do when they buy property whether it's a they don't they're not just doing flips they're they're doing qu quality projects that they plan to keep in their portfolio for many many years so and I think that's a a very good thing because they want quality they they they'll sacrifice uh time to find quality tenants for their stuff and quality projects to build first so and again it's all commercial industrial um that they do so thank you Madame May if there's no other um discussion from the board I'd like to move resolution number we have a 46 we have we did have we have a motion of commissioner uh mcdonal Second and you I did I second I think so I did y so we have a motion we have a second uh any more comments from the Commissioners I don't see any any comments from the public there's not any roll call please vice mayor Rich yes commissioner Collins yes commissioner Clark yes commissioner McDonald yes mayor Bruner yes okay Madame mayor this is regarding item number six is regarding ref let me read it and then we'll go referendum lease agreement request from the steart Heritage Museum Lee would you finish it of course Madame mayor resolution number 47- 2024 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of Stuart Florida providing for a referendum under City Charter section 9.05 seeking voter approval for the city to lease for more than 10 years the property known as the Stewart Feed Store located at 161 Southwest Flagler Avenue to the Stewart Heritage Museum said lot adjoins city property fronting the St Lucy River providing for conflicts severability providing for an effective date and for other purposes thank you sir thank you Madame mayor this was just to let the city manager announce um with regard to the um referendum whether it was August or November just to let people know and if there's any history with regard to this that was all I pulled it for well the the referendum will be held in August the language as you can see on the agenda item yes is not for a general um normally when we do these properties we authorize the city commission to lease the property to anybody for any purpose the actual referendum language in this particular instance is to lease the steart feed store to the steart uh Heritage Museum board so they can operate it as the Stewart uh Museum and continuation of that um the point of it is though that the uh Charter language prohibits anybody doesn't matter who it is from operating uh in a lease or sale for any period that's more than 10 years and although they were there already the lease they had was 20 years long and it expired and the charter l anguage says that it can't be options continuations additions extensions or anything so we have to have the referendum um or else uh they would have to leave and obviously the sole purpose for restoring the building and for putting them there was for the historic preservation part of it and provide the museum so I limited the language to just keeping it there now we can really jack up the rant I'm just kidding I want to add to that um that U another fine addition to our city is that Museum and if you want to know about the history and and the old-timers are there on Wednesday so if you go want to go downtown learn more about your town if you're new here or if you've been here 10 20 years they are there every Wednesday a great group of men and women and they volunteer too and then run the place but it's fun to be around those guys Madam May can I just um say something with regard to this resolution number uh 47-22 24 in the um section three of the resolution the form of the ballot on August 20th 2024 shall be long-term lease of City owned property front entitled influence Waters and the question for the voters on August 20th will be shall the city enter into a long-term lease of the property known as The steart Heritage Museum also known as the steart feed store this lease would provide that the property would continue to be occupied and maintained by the steuart Heritage Museum board and then there would be either a yes or no of this um ballot question this referendum question on August 20th um I just wanted to make sure that everybody knew and that we I I know that uh mayor you just said we support the steuart Heritage Museum and um they've been in that building for some time and it has really worked well for us at the city do we need approve okay second I have approval we have a second any more comments from our commissioners not any any comments yes sir didn't realize that was you sitting back there welcome thank you taking it all in and look like things are going just fine I think they are it's wonderful to see you uh Madame mayor Commissioners city of Steward staff I'm Gary Maxwell I'm the current president of the steuart Heritage Museum board of directors uh and I do have prepared notes to keep me straight you the referendum that we're requesting uh is to be placed on the ballot so the residents of Stuart can give you the authority to lease this building to us we've got a long history with the city of Stewart we've got a long history with the residents of Stewart and we go back to yeah in the museum I think we go back to the 1990s we've had lease with the city uh you if renewed you extended you did everything you could to keep me in a lease until you finally said I can't go any you can't go any further and you've allowed us to remain there uh pending getting it before the voters and we appreciate that uh the museum is a cultural Touchstone here in the community that's a repository of artifacts photographs memorabilia uh from earlier times we're open seven days a week we've had over 10,000 visitors come through us through the doors this past year wow um the museum has no admission fee we're free to the public um we exist solely on donations uh our members ship which is very reasonable if anyone wants to sign up we'll take you uh and a little sales from our gift shop so we're very blessed that this city has saw fit to acquire the building we're very blessed that this city has seen fit to allow us to lease it at less than market value and that's key no you can't up Brent and think we're going to survive yall mentioned earlier the news article regarding best small town and coastal town you know Dart her Museum was specifically noted in that article we are part of your downtown we are part of your community uh our staff the board of directors are all volunteers uh we have very limited part-time staff uh we're very good at watching our budget um so we we appreciate your support you know some some of the things we have in the museum we've got artifacts on seminal Indians eyes Indians we've got uh yearbooks going back from Stewart high school and Martin County High School at yearbooks going back you know probably 40 years uh it's just a great place to come and visit and I encourage you all uh to take the time to visit with us thank you thank you thank you there's where you buy your license plate that says steart selfish Capital amen of the world anyway we'll move on oh we uh we have we have to vote Yes yes we have a motion yeah we have we have a motion to approve commissioner Clark yes commissioner McDonald yes mayor rer yes vice mayor Rich yes commissioner Collins yes okay move on to the next one lease agreement with Marine industry Association for the city owned property located at 401 Southwest Federal Highway Stewart Le would you read that resolution course Madame mayor resolution number 48-22 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of Stewart Florida authorizing the city manager to enter into a lease agreement with an elected official marine industries Association of the Treasure Coast or another nonprofit Agency for the city-owned property located at 401 Southwest Federal Highway Stuart Florida providing an effective date and for other purposes move to approve second we have a motion for to approve a second and that one is trly just to be read into the record right and I just for the record just to let you guys know this property is um in the same parcel as shepher Park so there is no no separation or distinction between property lines it's not like there's two Parcels that make up Shepard's park it is one parcel and as a result when the city accepted the fap grant money to redo Shephard's Park a condition of the fap Grant absolutely prohibits you from using any of the uh property within the fep grant area for commercial purposes or other than the recreational purposes and if you do you have to pay them back the amount of the grant money with interest from the day the grant started but the real kicker is that you also have to give them an equivalent amount of money to replace the entire parcel which is the subject of the grant so I don't know what Shephard's Park would cost but it's got a serious length of waterfront property on it and I wasn't about to be the guy that rented this out to like some T-shirt shop or whatever it was to have it uh only bankrupt the city to pay de back for the shepherd's Park and as a result this opportunity to uh work with the Marine industry Association Andor an elected official will allow us to get permission from the D which I've already spoken to and have tenative permission for the elected official but the Marine industry Association will already qualify as what they call an ancillary use because they'll fix up the docks they will provide information regarding the river for Lake Oobi and they'll do their um annual uh River cleanup from there so uh it really will be a win-win for both sides thank you Mike espe telling the history of that Madam mayor yes commissioner commissioner Collins uh Mike this gives you authorization to negotiate a lease correct or is that going to come back in front of us again it won't come back this is it unless you guys wanted to uh I would just I think for you know general information for everybody the the residents they might want to know what that lease do you guys want to go over the historic the steart history lease because we didn't do that and it's not going to be much I mean I can do it if I'm happy to but I it's a it's a 501c3 lease that's nominal I mean what number do you guys want I don't want a number I was just for public record same thing that Brian mass or somebody is that what if it's yeah it's going to be like elected official representative well no but she saying the same terms yeah yeah do you mind sharing what sorry Congress well the steuart heritage is a dollar I think they paid so far um and then um Brian Mast is a is a rate set by the federal government I think it's right about $1,000 a month and I think um Toby overdorf is right about the same price right now um I don't have the exact number but I think it might be 1100 should be something like that um I know that um the uh Marine industry Association can't pay the entire 1100 they've already said that they said they'd rebuild the docks and I also said that's why I included it as both because what I can do is give half of it to an elected official half of it to them and then split that 1100 in half basically based upon which portion gets what or however it plays out and the real opportunity for us is to have them maintain it pay the electric bill and keep it in shape because like right now it's empty and the uh Last Tenant the docks have not been rebuilt since the 2015 Hurricane so you can't walk on them the deck outside the nails are coming out of it and boards are missing and you can't walk on that and there was debris and other stuff around it that literally made it like a dangerous condition so my hope is that by having them clean it up and having them present there it will provide uh an element of of a benefit to the people in the park that will be able to interact with the Marine industry Association but also will um allow them to clean it up for us at no cost to us Madame mayor thank you m are you done Mr Mr um city manager isn't a little parcel of that going to be a part of the US1 improvement with a little bit of landscaping so the front side of it is part of the CRA unrelated to this lease they want to use it as the sample for the the Landscaping portion to do the Landscaping project that the CRA is doing all the way down to um pass Publix that you the board passed a couple months ago um I actually hadn't discussed that really with the perspective tenants because that we were going to do anyway as the landlord we'd have the right to do that regardless thank you let me have this make this um up that I'm clear we're we're voting on this as it is correct do I have a motion on resolution we do we do already I did okay I have McDonald and Clark yes all right any more any more comments from the Commissioners there aren't any comments from the public I see that I just I'll make one comment I'm I'm I'm happy that the city can be instrumental in providing easy access to their they're elected officials and it's that's a great spot with good parking and if people want to express their concerns about local government this is a this is a great opportunity for some so I so I do appreciate that we are providing that opportunity I agree with you and I think it also gives us a relationship with those folks as well that we wouldn't otherwise have that's developed with the offices over here that have have gone on so it's really good very good thank you comments all right roll call okay commissioner Clark yes commissioner Collins yes vice mayor Rich yes mayor Bruner yes commissioner McDonald yes okay application of cyber security Grant agreement please so um before we get in we really aren't supposed to be having much public discussion on this so okay it's a grant for us to have Security on our computer systems but let him read well he's got to read it now anyway can we move approval of 492 24 okay let me read read it let me read it into the record May thank you second resolution number 49224 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of Stewart Florida authorizing submission of a Florida Department of Management Services digital service cyber security program Grant to continue enhancing and supporting the city's cyber security framework to mitigate risk and to protect infrastructure and authorizing execution of a grant agreement if awarded and further authorizing any minor amendments to the grant agreement to facilitate the program as appropriate providing an effective date and for other purposes do I have a motion did I I had a motion and Mr Rich commissioner Rich had a second second okay we have a motion we have a second any comments any more comments from our commissioners I hear none any comments from the public okay roll call commissioner Collins yes commissioner McDonald yes vice mayor Rich yes mayor Bruner yes commissioner Clark yes all right we're going to go into site plan approval and future land use Amendment applications for garage facility relocation and Lee did you read that resolution of course uh resolution number 50-22 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of Stewart Florida authorizing the city manager to submit site plan approval in future land use Amendment applications necessary to relocate the city of Stewart garage facility providing an effective date and for other purposes just for background the this is part of the um plan that the commission I think has heard two or three times it's consisting of uh we were either going to update the garage or relocate it and because the garage is an industrial use it really wasn't appropriate in its location so we to put a design together to move it to the uh adjacent to the water treatment plant and make part of the water treatment plan on the corner of Palm Beach Road and uh 10th um this agenda item is not any type of approval it's only authorizing me as the city manager to submit the actual site plan to development as if I'm an applicant and the first thing I need to do is the land that's on Palm Beach road is currently zoned multif family because it was going to be Apartments I guess back in the 80s or 90s like across the street is we're going to change the land use to institutional which is government use which is consistent with the water treatment plant and then the second part of it will be a PUD to have the commission approve the uh office building that's going to be on Palm Beach Road and then the connection to the water treatment plant and the additional buildings and the paving of the parking lots in the road and all the design stuff but the design is not there's it will go through the normal board process and all that will come back to you for your approvals okay and input good this is just authorizing me to to file it and spend the money on the application fee move to approve second we have a motion for approval we have a second any anyone else want to say anything any of the Commissioners none anyone from the public make any comment I see none okay roll call Mayor Bruner yes vice mayor Rich yes commissioner McDonald yes commissioner Clark yes commissioner Collins yes okay that's the end of that uh fiscal year 2024 midyear budget adjustment you read that of course uh resolution number 40-22 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of Stewart Florida author authorizing budget amendment number n to the 2023-2024 budget appropriating and authorizing the expenditure of funds to account for additional revenues and Appropriations identified at the midyear providing an effective date and for other purposes thank you J boss do you have any comments boss no go ahead okay uh Commissioners good evening uh this is as you were informed uh couple coule meetings ago the city of Stewart won the gfoa distinguished budget presentation award again uh we had the highest rating that we've ever gotten previously and as I had noted in an email when we announced that to the commission part of that process is having the um intestinal fortitude to put your business on the street so basically what that entails is taking the city of Stewart's budget and it is submitted for review by multiple some sometimes even International reviewers who come back with their grading of the quality of your budget on multiple factors such as readability uh future you know land uses future Capital Improvement projects the delanation and description of what we do with the tax funds and there's a lot of informational statistic and just straight numbers in that document you submit that for review and these reviewers from around the country come back and state that you have or have not met criteria and there's basically a didn't apply failed to do it did it adequately or exceeded at it and our overall rating was excelled this year and so um we do have some points that we didn't score excellent on and we will work on getting excellent scores on those as well but part of that process also is to allow you and the public an opportunity at the midyear point being the month of March now complete we've had a chance to roll in revenues and expenses through the sixe period uh through the sixth period of the year and to look at where we are versus the adopted budget and it my pleasure tonight to present to you what the status of the budget is at this moment highlight some topics and entertain your questions if you have any uh basically I've disclosed for you where we are on our budget to actual status um just some highlights you'll see it's it's very good when revenues are at six months into the year halfway through the year to have revenues at 52% and the expenses at 50% I can wholeheartedly say that that is because of the staff and uh it always comes from the top down the manager has a photographic memory and he goes through people's PE card receipts now so uh there's a lot of uh watching your step around here right now believe um and then as you'll see that there are you know the CRA property unfortunately the CRA you know they they are front loaded all the revenues come in generally early in the year and then you know the projects happen throughout the year but you know those Tiff dollars from the city and the county have already been deposited into the fund there are there are some cdbg Grant funds that are there that's why the revenue is not 100% those will be determined based on those projects uh our leased properties are doing well uh 59% of what we projected to collect has been paid in and we've only spent 41% on various maintenance expenses Water and Sewer I'll tell you right now that uh the three Enterprise funds all had some sort of um Debt Service financing in them or some kind of in fund loan these numbers are net of that because it would skew it it would look as if you know water sewer had only collected like 30% of their revenue but it spent 42% so I've presented these numbers as net to you without that debt in there so this is basically just really the day-to-day operations you'll see that uh all three of the funds are doing well sanitation had some upfront Capital expenditures which are seasonal that's no indicator that they're headed off the rails it's simply that they bought some large ticket items earlier in the year I feel confident that sanitation as well as storm water and water sewer well on track to finish out the year uh within our guidelines that you adopted for the fiscal year 24 I've presented it graphically here and again I noted that the Enterprise funds are net of that debt and so so this gives you more of a graphical view of where revenues and expenses are chasing each other and how they how they're fairing at this moment uh some of the revenue highlights you know avalor taxes are coming in we only budget 95% by law uh we could budget more but then you know we'd be on the hook if we didn't collect it so as some people wait until the last day to pay you know so they they will come in we'll wait for those additional deposits uh our voted Debt Service millage that we have to fund the go bonds that we had on the public safety complex are still coming in you can see that utility tax for electric and natural gas are fairing quite well now uh the permit inspection reviews and miscellaneous development fees I want to that's twofold one I think the implementation of the open go software in um Jody nentwick or you're Kubler okay Kubler kubler's Department uh they now are very able to identify some of these fees and inspections and things that were either not being collected or being recorded slightly wrong they were being lumped into the total now we have a a much more zeroed in Target on it with the automated permitting process so the fees are being recorded hyper accurately and also you see that they're beginning to collect some of the other fees that maybe weren't there I expect that to go up as uh as that process matures um I I know that she had referred to some of the glitches in the software but it seems to be working out the staff is getting the swing of it finally uh franchise fees from Electric and natural gas are also tracking very similar to the utility tax section of that uh our fire safety Public Safety assessment has tracked uh as as well the sus Point protection our agreement with them they they are good payers just like these elected officials when they rent those uh properties from us it's an a payment so I don't have to chase them down they're good payers uh ambulance VI are up I I can only attribute that to the Chiefs and their uh rescheduling of some of the new ambulances and Equipment they have they're able to capture more of those runs that possibly were going to the county uh Cemetery unfortunately I I I hope these are pre purchases of people planning to be buried here one day and not an uptick in actual burials um and then of course our our parking fines and other uh service fees that the police department have charged have uh seen an increase again I can only attribute that to the open go software that they're utilizing over there the police adopted it very quickly interest earnings I mean what can I say I do a great job um no we I do actually sit on the State Board of investment review and so the city of Stewart has an active hand in the determination of where government funds are invested uh the Florida class is now over seven billion funds under management and so it's it's a very prosperous fund and we offer multiple things so not only you know it's like the Hair Club for Men not only am I a client but I'm the you know I'm on the board uh contributions from private and public uh you know we I guess more people have stepped up than what we had last year and and that's always encouraging to see and then those miscellaneous revenues come from admin fees and retainage that we got on collecting other fees you know we still collect fees for the county and so we get to keep our little piece of the admin fee on that and other refunds and rebates that we get it really is what it's called miscellaneous revenues and then these are the adjustments that's not such a little piece anymore uh no it's u i mean yes it's not such a little piece it's getting there however that is uh commissioner to your point you if there's no activity then there's no money if there's activity there's money so it's it's kind of kind of causality there the uh revenues uh as you can see the fire department collects What's called the give me Grant and they've been banking that up for a few years and so they finally identified some Capital items so this is really a a some zero gain here that it's a wash we have the revenue we had the cash in hand we just weren't recognizing as Revenue yet so we are recognizing that EMS give me Grant and you'll see in the appropriation section where the fire department is offsetting that for purchasing uh stair chairs and Co DET uh carbon monoxide detectors then also uh I am taking advantage of those increased interest earnings to offset some of these additional requests by the Departments as uh well as those additional rebates that you noticed commissioner that are now not a small Revenue item uh off stating that we've had some you know overtime issues in public safety we're working our way through that uh the technology services department is constantly adding it I can say in my 30 years here we've gone from the Wild Wild West to we're military grade SEC here now and also the planner position in the development department that had that was an FTE in the budget but was unfunded in a sense Frozen uh the director the development director has chosen to activate that position and I believe that we have I always try to match ongoing expenses with ongoing revenues not onetime revenues and I believe that we can sustain that position given our Revenue flow and there in the water sewer fund uh this is simply an add the open go system that we currently utilize for all the other operations in the city the staff was given some demonstrations of their asset management system and have chosen to add that to our family of products and I was able to identify additional interest earnings in the water sewer fund to add that expenditure to their budget as well is that that's a one-time acquisition cost for that yes sir that's capil that is the first year implementation to migrate all the data do the training up the ongoing expense will be $60,000 annually for the open gra cartographic Asset Management yes sir that system would handle every manhole cover park bench meter tree uh curb side you know trash bins uh the pumps at the water plant the trucks all the maintenance this would actually handle everything that un and Public Works does related to the assets of the city M may have one more question jie Jolie isn't it true that you in fact alone can pull a fire truck yes sir I have there's video evidence uh I have pulled the city of Stewart firetruck by myself uh multiple times actually okay can I be on your team yeah I I have a team of ringers coming that day don't worry this is um amazing are there any questions at this at this point I mean it's it's short quick only because I can say that we're in really excellent condition at the moment commissioner Collins wants something you had mentioned that um some amount of that interest bearing accounts Revenue had been used to kind of smooth things over that's uh I I've added these additional onetime request in there the only item in my list that is ongoing is the new position but I believe that that is sustainable given the revenue flow of the city at the moment do you have off the top your head how much that is that's come out of that 2 million or so 2 million in revenue from the interest bearing correct oh that I'm just recognizing additional I'm I expect to collect more before the end of the year I'm only saying at the midyear point I'm willing to up my Revenue budget to reflect what I've collected so far I do expect that to come in even better before 9:30 so it could be an additional Revenue Source towards the end of the year that planner position as noted in the schedule is 200 110,000 all you know tax tag title out the door okay thank you interest rates are high so this this is a resolution resolution number 40- 2024 for the budget amendment number nine I move approval second she said n number 10 okay all right we have a we have a motion we have a second um any comments any more comments see none any comments from the public not any roll call commissioner McDonald yes commissioner Clark yes vice mayor Rich yes commissioner Collins yes mayor Bruner yes yes all right now we 11 go ahead uh Mike explain that informational only um and just before we move on I just want to say that that P that midyear budget that you just saw is the finance department and particularly uh Jolie's doing and those numbers were out of the park I mean when you think about those worth halfway numbers and they all look like an annual number um and and you can really thank him because stays on it and works late every night but those numbers should have been 50% right we're halfway through those numbers should have been looked at as half and everybody was looking at them like they were the full year because they look like the whole year and so it's really a a reflection on him yeah I agree I also do like Scotty on Star Trek I'll tell you to take you know four hours when it's really two anyway um the uh the other thing is that the today at 3:30 we received a request from item number 11 and 12 which we can handle together um to uh continue these to the 13th of May is that correct uh yes May 13th uh yeah till I have a letter now um to May 13th meeting um I think it's in the best interest of the board to move to set it for a Time certain so that the people that were interested in making sure that they uh were coming would um know that it's been said and we can um relay that information rather than having it fall off the only thing that they would have to do is mail to about six people because there's not a lot of properties around it anyway but by setting it for a state St certain staff can actually tell anybody that's inquiring the specific date so I'd be looking for a motion on 11 that that really wouldn't be um necessary anyway because it it wasn't the vote wasn't going to count because of the land use change was only a one person vote but the state law still requires the hearings and and the Public's the public wants to know we have one motion for both hearings I think really we only need it on 12 um because 11 wouldn't matter if it was heard tonight anyway move to uh continue to May 13th and I just want to make sure I might as well include both of them okay I include both agenda items you said a Time certain for the date certain not the the regular meeting and this was supposed to be the first reading of the ordinance for the zoning so it was already scheduled to come back next time anyway right the 13th we started now will be starting instead of being the second just as a reminder on it's not a Time certain it's a date certain right date I know but it's okay we have we we have to have two readings for both of them okay well then then um move second we have a motion for 11 and a second is that what we're doing or just 12 okay both of them I included both at the request of the attorney I request I included both items okay and may I say this again because the 13th we start at 4 pm and this is a land use matter if we could um if it's going to be on the agenda starting at 4 because we have all the other things or would it be on the agenda most likely at 5:30 it must take place after 5:00 by State Statute but that's why I want being short on time has never been a problem for us that's right I understand I just want people to know that because we start at 4 p.m. on that day no the the this will be advertised for after 5:00 P pm and if we were by chance to finish before 5 we would actually wait for the agenda items to to get to take place after five let me by Mary that it's combined motion we have a second who was the second may I ask I did Clark chrisher Clark thank you um May 13th okay got that yes any more comments any comments from the public I see none roll call commissioner McDonald yes mayor Bruner yes vice mayor Rich yes commissioner Clark yes commissioner Collins yes meeting adjourned thank you