what is it your application for the 5K road race you can have mine if you need it yeah bre bring it on up oh I got one here yeah you did I think everybody did mhm I'mma do the one mile walk or can I walk five miles 3.2 you can walk the full course 5K 3.2 Mi you can do that oh yeah well I plan to walk a whole the whole thing why does it say 5K or one mile W they probably have two different ones you know for those people that AR as good as shape I don't see the one where you can ride along in the mule that's the one I want great that was the City attorney is this this is hello I still some Thum from your drawer anytime you want it I know I know you said that before oh I'm so sleepy I don't know week yeah that's the meeting Monday Tuesday I'll be here Monday night and I'm leaving Tuesday to go I'll be not so sure I'm going be [Applause] here and we said okay another 10:00 I guess I could go do this and get back at 10 and go to the other place the walk March for the you got special olymp take somewhere else to go well I was supposed to be in Miami M me America no I didn't want to go to anyway that's what they want lucky I go to Morocco and well we just s minute oh email train what made me think about it they he what he has no problem I think Dustin repli that he did Dustin responded back to you we're working do figure out how best to capture stuff that's coming it's it's to yeah I there's no access for us to all right so I guess we're he has no problem pigeon hoing me and helping I'm say at we're working on it but I can't I get that Lake access okay answer Cano or kayaks good evening I'd like to call to order a regular City commission meeting for the city of w Haven this the 26th day of February at 6: p.m. can we have a roll call please yes sir commissioner meron here commissioner doson here commissioner Daner here may PM Yates here and May s here we will have the invocation tonight by Bishop Joe Holman of Greater Works Ministry and we'll be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Vanessa Castillo would you please stand if able good evening precious God we come now thanking you for life health and strength thank you for these leaders who represent the City of Winter Haven we pray God for their guidiance their leading ship as they lead this great City to be a very prosperous city a city whereby we can play live and raise a family bless us oh God that we may be a prosperous City and we thank you for the business that's going to be taking place here tonight give them the wisdom knowledge and understanding to lead this great City in Jesus name amen amen un United States of America and to the stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all all right we have one presentation so Commissioners will you join me down front please Commissioners while you're making your way to the front of the Das we have representatives from our two monor education programs here in Winter Haven uh representatives from those schools would like to come to the podium and I'll read the proclamation then offer time for comments and nice photo with the commission so as they're coming forward our Proclamation reads as follows whereas through her observational studies of children in the manner in which they learn Dr Maria manasu developed an Innovative philosophy and methodology of Education in the early 1900s that continues to influence approaches to learning today across the city of Winter Haven throughout the state the nation and the world and whereas the monor method of education allows students to learn and grow at their optimal Pace in specially designed environments that nurture the needs and potential of each child and whereas the monor method uses materials techniques and observations that support students natural development encourages their learning Independence and self-confidence and advances the principles of peace through respond responsible citizenship and whereas Dr monor offer the foundation of the modern child- centered curriculum and monor schools have led to a positive change in the ways Educators parents and communities view the children in their care and whereas the monory method includes developmental teaching one-to-one lessons and the promotion of respect among the children and peace to humankind and whereas the City of Winter Haven is home to a public charter monu and a private monory school now therefore Nathaniel J Birdsong Jr mayor of the City of Winter Haven Florida does hereby recognize the week of February 25th 2024 through March 2nd 2024 as montauri education week in the city of Winter Haven and urges all citizens to honor the contributions made by montauri schools to students and our community at large in witness whereof he is here un to set his hand and cause the Seal of the City of Winter Haven Florida to be affixed this 26th day of February 2024 signed Nathaniel J Birdsong junr mayor ATT test Vanessa C city clerk so if anybody from the schools would like to speak certainly feel free I'm going to speak on behalf of everyone we just want to thank you all so much for giving us this Proclamation and recognizing this excellent education that we provide to children and a love for all of humanity thank you very much so if all of you want to come up here we're going to get a picture for you and we've got two copies of the Proclamation one for each of the schools Julie can you grab the two proclamations that are there I'm not sure who's who's getting them Chris Newman would get one and I don't know [Music] all right we're going to get a few photos here on 3 one two three well what you got okay [Music] a bun of H I don't know why that's why is that that's not work is that always all right we have no developments of note Commissioners you have the uh minutes Mr Mayor yes motion to approve all three sets of minutes as presented thank you I I will now close the commission meeting open public hearing anyone wishing to speak to these minutes may do so at this time seeing none close the public hearing reopen City the commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I poses by the same sign hearing n the minutes are adopted okay I have several people that uh would like to address the commission and what we'd like to do is if you want to speak on a particular item that's on the agenda we will call you at that time but since there's no indication as to uh uh what you want to speak on I'll just call you out and let you come there are six people the first one is Eddie Myers would you please come forward state your name and address for the record and you have uh five minutes yes good evening uh honorable uh mayor b s and honorable Pro Temp mayor temp Yates and two Commissioners my name is Eddie Elm Jr and I live at five I reside at 575 Avenue L Southeast here in the City of Winter Haven and I'm coming before you on a matter of uh my property being defaced on the North side uh I have reached out to the Solomon iare and fored than them also written correspondence trying to get them to you know work peacefully between us amicable relationship between ourselves but this did not uh move forward so I tried the manager city manager that is spoke to him that's last year and he indeed he in turn put me in um in loop with um The Code Enforcement uh personnel and uh end up talking to a Joe I guess the last name SE whatever how you pronounce it but that was last year 2023 and uh still nothing's moved forward I like I said I have car Spenders I do have a written estimate and I did try to reach out with them so that's why I'm standing before you all today trying to get my property somewhat back up to uh po because of the patrons they back out this this eye clinic they all the people and they back into it just run it down and then they take off and keep going that's across the alleyway it's Alleyway between myself and the property and the business I should say 15t Alleyway uh City manag I I really don't understand what the problem is so this if I'm not mistaken um I do I do remember speaking with Mr Meers sometime in 2023 this is a property that backs up to the eye clinic or the doctor's office I'm not sure who's all in there now at the corner of Avenue K and Sixth Street I think is where thatc is located and they have an exit alley that comes out or an exit way that comes out via what I believe is an alley in the uh behind your property yes and and it struck the fence line there yes yeah so we had turned that on to to code enforcement I would need to follow up with uh Tanya SS to see what the outcomes of that was um we'll have a someone get Mr Meers uh contact information and follow back up all right all right thank you thank you mayor B thank you for Mr Myers Lan Harris in the back of the room we'll get your contact information from you so we can follow back up with you thank you very much C rain vager Catherine vager probably with the school oh okay and another beger so and they're both at the same address okay so these are probably the the people from the school uh books Melissa Davis she was with one of the monory programs sir okay so all of these were with may have signed in okay they signed in all right is there anyone else that may want to address the commission that didn't have an opportunity to sign up all right ordinance is second reading public hearing ordinance 024 05 would you by to only C attorney yes thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number get this down a bit ordinance number 0- 24-5 an ordinance amending ordinance 2325 the 2035 Winter Haven comprehensive plan 235 future land use map series by revising the future land use map series by assigning neighborhood mixed use Hub future land use to one annx parcel repealing all ordinances in conflict with providing for the administrative correction of scor's errors providing for severability and providing an effective date the general location is a parcel generally located at the northwest corner of Cypress Gardens Boulevard and Lamplight Lane Southeast the area covered by this request is 2.16 plus or minus Acres thank you thank you city manager I know we've reviewed this three times so um nothing has changed sir staff uh staff's recommendation is for the city commission to approve the ordinance uh 04-05 thank you and Eric Labby is available to stand for any questions Mr Campbell is also here as the petitioner if there's any questions for him specifically MERS Mr Mayor yes motion approve ordinance 0- 24-5 on second reading thank you I will now close the city commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to this particular ordinance may do so at this time by coming forth stating your name and address for the record seeing none close the public hearing reopen City commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I oppos this by the same sign hearing none 02405 is adopted on second reading 0246 would you read by toer City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number 0246 an ordinance amending chapter 21 of the code of ordinances of the city of win Haven Florida by assigning commercial D Highway C3 zoning District to an Annex parcel repealing all ordinances in Conflict herewith providing for the administrative correction of sc's Errors providing for severability and providing an effective date the general location a parcel generally located the northwest corner of Cypress Gardens Boulevard and Lamplight Lane Southeast the area covered by this request is 2.16 plus or minus Acres thank you thank you city manager same applies same applies uh Commissioners this is the companion ordinance that deals with zoning staff recommends approval of ordinance o0 24-6 on second and final reading thank you thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes um a motion to approve the second reading of ordinance 0246 in public hearing thank you I will now close the city commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to 0246 may do so by coming forward stating your name and address for the record and you have five minutes seeing none I close the uh public hearing reopen the city commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I opposes by the same sign hearing none 0 2406 is adopted 02407 would you read by tile owner City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number -247 an ordinance amending the win haven code of ordinances chapter 10 section 10-3 high water marks and chapter 21 article Roman numeral 2 division 3 section 21-7 water from properties for the purpose of clarifying high water setback measurements and elevations providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances providing severability providing for codification providing for the administrative correction of scor's errors and providing an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor Commissioners uh We've also read this one through three times this deals with our setback requirements for waterfront property specifically standards are provided for principal structures access accessory structures and storm water management it also moves the established high water elevations for the city's Lakes uh to this section from chapter 10 of the code of ordinances staff recommends the commission approve ordinance 04-07 on second and final reading thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes I move for approval on the second reading of 02407 and public hearing thank you I will now close the city Commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to 02407 may do so at this time seeing none our closed public hearing reopen City commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I opposes by the same side hearing n the uh ordinance is adopted uh Commissioners you have the consent agenda Mr Mayor approve a consent agenda as a whole thank you I will now close the city commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to any item on the consent agenda may do so at this time seeing none I'll close the consent agenda a public hearing for the consent agenda and reopen the city commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I oppose this by the same time hearing none the consent agend is adopted thank you resolution R2 2411 would you read by Ty owner City attorney thank you Mr Mayor resolution r- 24-11 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of win Haven Florida adopting a municipal Securities po issuance disclosure policy that promotes compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC rule 15c 2-12 two providing for repeal of all conflicting resolutions severability and the administrative correction of scers errors and providing for an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor Commissioners the SEC rule 15c 2-12 requires dealers when underwriting certain types of Municipal Securities to ensure that the state or local government issuing the bonds enters into an agreement to provide certain information to the municipal Securities rulemaking board or the msrb about the Securities on an ongoing basis bis these disclosures are made available to investors and the public on the msrb's electronic Municipal Market access or Emma website the city is required to provide post Insurance reporting on bonds to comply with these requirements post Insurance disclosure documents and related information include annual financial statements operating data and event notices to ensure reporting compliance timely filings and proof of transmission of filings the city contracted with digital Assurance certification LLC also known as Dak to submit the appropriate documents both Dak and the gfoa are government Finance Officers Association recommend that issuers of bonds or other debt obligations such as the city develop a formal written post insuance compliance policy to assist in meeting compliance requirements the attached or which is within your fact sheet the municipal Security's post Insurance disclosure policy has been developed to affirm City of Winter Haven's commitment to provide timely and accurate information in accordance with SEC rule 15c 2-12 staff recommends City commission approve resolution R 24-11 thank you thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes motion to approve resolution r- 24-11 thank you I will now close the commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to resolution R 24-11 may do so at this time see now I'll close the public hearing reopen the city Commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I oppos this by the same sign hearing none the resolution is adopted resolution r- 24-16 would you read by Tyle Oni City attorney thank you Mr Mayor resolution r-2 24-16 a resolution of the city Commission of the city of w Florida appointing a member to the affordable housing advisory committee affirming the term of the me of the member of the affordable housing advisory committee nun prunk to January 1st 2024 and providing for severability repeal of conflicting resolutions for the administrative correction of scrier errors and providing for an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor commissioner section 3- section Roman numeral 3-32 of the Winter Haven affordable housing advisory committee bylaw States members of the ah Haack shall be chosen by the Winter Haven City commission from a list of applicants compiled from Citywide solicitation for members including recommendations from the aack itself the affordable housing advisory committee convened a quorum of its members on February 13 2024 and unanimously recommended Mr dwe win to serve on the affordable housing advisory committee in the category of a citizen who is actively engaged as a for-profit provider of affordable housing again they have a number of categories that must be filled as seats or or what are to be filled as seats on the ah Haack and this is one of those currently vacant seats staff recommends City commission approve resolution r246 appointing D we win to the affordable housing advisory committee for a term commencing January 1st of 2024 and expiring December 31st 2025 and authorize the city manager or designate to take further actions related there too thank you thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes motion to approve resolution R 2416 thank you I will now close the city Commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to resolution R 2416 may do so at this time seeing none I'll close the uh public hearing reopen the city commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I I sorry any opposes hear none the motion is carried Mr Mayor I just add that we are are still actively soliciting for additional seats on the ahck and that uh solicitation closes in early March so there may be uh future resolution coming for you coming before you after the March 18th meeting of the ahac with potentially additional appointees okay thank you all right the next item on the agenda are ordinance's uh first reading and the the second reading of these ordinances will be on March the 11th ordinance 0241 which you read by tyone the City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number - 24-11 an ordinance relating to finance implementing sections 39 and 40 of chapter 73- 660 laws of Florida as amended making findings a fact and articulating intent enacting section 17-150 of the code of ordinances of the city of where from Florida authorizing the city manager or designed to approve budget transfers of revenues and any parts are all of the unencumbered balances of Appropriations within a fund subject to City commission ratification providing for conflict severability codification and the administrative correction of sceners Errors providing for an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor Commissioners typically each year a budget amendment and a budget transfer presented the commission to reflect unanticipated changes that occurred throughout the year both amendments are budget or appropriation requests that either increase or decrease the budgeted level of revenues and or EXP expenditures of a budgeted fund pursuant to statutes budget amendments must be adopted in the same manner as the original budget such as such budget amendments are approved by the commission via ordinance budget transfers are reallocated Appropriations within a fund and do not change the original budget currently budget transfers are presented as a consent agenda item within 60 days following the end of each fiscal year on June 29th 2017 the charter Review Committee completed its review of the charter and the city commission later adopted Charter review committee's recommendations with a series of amendments section 39 of the charter establishes the transfer of funds allowing the commission at any time to authorize or ratify the transfer between departments or funds of the city any amount of Revenue or any part of an unencumbered balance and appropriation per the charter per the city Charter the city manager May approve expenditure of appropriated funds on any budgeted item in the same officer Department if the total Appropriations to the office or Department fund does not change to better manage budgetary controls improve transparency and enhance the budget process staff is requesting budget transfers within a fund be approved at the administrative level in a timely manner and ratified by City commission at year end there's no Financial impact with this it does not change the overall budget in any way it simply allows for funds that have been appropriated Within cost centers within a specific fund to be reallocated to cover shortfalls and document such in accordance with best management practices um and also in accordance with the uh internal controls expected of our Auditors staff recommends City commission approve ordinance 0241 for moving to second reading there's no voting required this evening thank you Commissioners are there any questions all right second reading will be on March the 11th yes sir ordinance 02412 read by tyon City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number 0- 24-12 an ordinance amending chapter 21 article Roman numeral 2 Division 3 section 2168 and chapter 21 article Roman numeral 9 section 21- 531 of the code of ordinances of the city Winter Haven Florida for the purpose of amending standards and definitions related to fenses and walls providing for administrative correction of sc's errors repealing all ordinances in Conflict here with providing severability providing for codification and providing uneffective date thank you thank you city manager May commissioner section 2168 of the code of ordinances provides standards for fences walls BMS and hedges since the adoption of this section in 2000 there have been six minor amendments to update language and adjust some requirements the proposed change will reorder and condense standards to allow the section to be more user friendly in addition there have been questions recently of whether all standards apply to walls as the code references only fences in certain areas this update will clearly State what applies defenses and walls additionally maintenance requirements a setback standard and a definition for retaining walls is also being added Planning Commission approved this at their February 6 2024 meeting no members of the public offered comment staff recommends C commission move ordinance 04-12 to Second reading for March 11th thank you Commissioners are there any questions could they explain it just a little bit so we on the walls and the fences what's your question Eric you want to offer some comments on that explanation for the change on the walls and the yeah so offenses yep so so the amendment really is to clarify language and and make it more user friendly um if you look at the redline strikeout version that is that is in your pack ET um I'll give you a couple of examples um if you look at item f it says uh the added languages uh the following shall apply to any fence or wall including those identified in section 2168 that language wasn't in there before and you can see we add the words wall and retaining wall in the next sentence because it only refers to fences believe it or not we would have people who would read that and and um and make the point that it do doesn't specifically say wall therefore it doesn't apply to me um even though the definition of a fence included wall so it really is a clarification of what exactly applies to a wall or fence it does not change any of the height restrictions or um or requirements for any yard setbacks in that regard um the standards really aren't changing it's clarifying language as to what applies to a wall and what applies to offense thank you any other questions all right we will have uh the second reading again on March the 11th ordinance 02 2414 would you read by tyone the City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number 0-2 24-14 an ordinance of the City of Winter Haven amending chapter 13 pensions and retirement employee benefit programs article Roman numeral 2 firefighters retirement system of the code of ordinances of the city of wner Haven by amending section 13-34 vesting to permit commencement of benefit payments to vested terminated members when they're otherwise qualified for early or normal retirement providing for severability of Provisions repealing all ordinances in conflict with providing for the administrative correction of scooters errors and providing an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor and Commissioners the pension Board of Trustees is requesting to amend the vesting provisions of the plan document section 13-34 to permit commencement of benefit payments to vested terminated members when they are otherwise qualified for early or normal retirement this is specific to the Winter Haven firefighters Pension Plan uh the change that is recommended states that effective for members to separate service on or after March 11th 2024 which would be the date of the second reading of this ordinance if the member the firefighter has 10 or more years of credited service upon termination the member shall be entitled to a monthly retirement benefit determined in the same manner as for normal or early retirement commencing at the member's otherwise normal early retirement date as determined as if he had remained employed the for members who separate service before March 11th So within the next two weeks if someone were to leave if that member has 10 or more years of credited service upon termination the member shall be entitled to a monthly retirement benefit which shall commence at the member's age a member's attainment of age 55 years unreduced or as early as attainment of age 45 years reduced by 3% for each year by which commencement of benefits precedes the date which would have been the member's normal retirement date had he continued employment As A Firefighter to age 50 um in summary what this does is it aligns our police pension and our fire pension similarly present time if a firefighter who is vested leaves service before the age of 45 which is the normal early retirement age within the fire pension if they were to leave before attaining age 45 they cannot begin collecting their benefit until age 50 this would allow them to begin collecting the benefit at the early normal retirement age that is consistent with how we administer the benefit in the police department the only difference being the police pension has a 50-year of age early uh retirement so we're not doing anything changing with the ages it's just when they can commence receiving their benefit is now proper will now be properly aligned or consistently aligned with what the early normal retirement age would be for each of the pensions um staff is recommending that this be uh Advanced forward to Second and final reading on March 11th thank you thank you are any questions yes so T help me understand the math again between I I just want to understand the understand the uh con cep to what we're trying to do but how it relates to the police and the fire are they are they identical now or the police still can't get it till they're 50 but we're allowing firemen to get it at 45 they're they're identical in the process but the pensions have separate um uh early retirement ages so in the in the fire pension their early retirement age is age 45 in police the early retirement age is 50 and that's set by the the original ordinances that established those pensions but it allows for when a firefighter leaves if they are less than 45 years old um keep in mind they also have a 25 an out you know fully uh uh claim full benefit at 25 years of service so if they were to begin working at age 18 As A Firefighter certainly they would hit 45 hit 25 years of service before 45 um right now if they have 10 years is what it takes to get vested and if they began working with us at age 25 worked 10 years and retired they're they can't begin getting their benefit until age 50 even though the early retirement age is 45 so it's it's kind confused so back to the fireman so Guy starts working here 25 and they worked age 35 M so they worked their 10 years they get vested and they want to take it early they can take it at 45 or 50 they can under what's being proposed they can begin receiving their benefit at age 45 our police in that same scenario can't get it till there's 50 because they're early retirement age is designated as 50 within the police pension those are two different pensions okay yeah it's just the process the um the administration of of when you can begin receiving your benefit uh in in the police department if you leave before you're 50 you can still begin collecting that benefit at age 50 you can still get it at your early retirement age in fire it didn't allow for that who's driving this is this the who's bringing this before us the uh fire Board of fire pension board Board of Trustees I'm just concerned this might create a riff with the cops with the police I mean I mean you're thinking all of a sudden it seems as if we're giving the fireman a little bit more of an advantage than the policeman but am I wrong in that assumption or I don't I don't feel that's the case I think that actually what we're doing is we are aligning the conditions other than that normal early retirement age they are they are the same then okay all right anyone else all right we will have the second reading on March 11 new business item 13A city manager thank you mayor um Commissioners the Department of Housing and Urban Development administers and distributes the Community Development block grant funding program Nationwide locally P County administers the city's cdbg funds program and those funds must be utilized in an eligible area or population staff and Grant Consultants have completed an assessment of the Neighborhood Services Center which is a city-owned building um several areas of upgrades were identified with an emphasis on modernization Ada upgrades expanded service accessibility in and outside of the building and uh alleviation of of some areas of flooding the fiscal year 2425 cdbg allocation is 28 $3,599 and uh it's what staff is is recommending is that be assigned to improvements at the neighborhood service center the endorsement of the application by the city commission is required to provide an opportunity for public comment this agenda item will will meet those requirements so we will need to have a public hearing on this item the total project including design and construction is estimated to cost uh around $820,000 funding from the city cdbg allocation of approximately $284,000 is being proposed staff intends to present additional funding sources to the commission for their consideration during the fiscal year 2425 budget process uh staff's recommending the commission open this agenda item for public comment endorse utilizing the 2425 Community Development block grant allocation towards the neighborhood service center modernization design build project and authorized city manager to execute the grant request for proposal response and any other matters related to this funding and request um leading up to opening up the public comment portion of this I will say that I think we've all seen the uh the work that's happened at neighborhood service center over the past year they opened up uh a little over a year ago we're able to reopen uh we put a lot of effort into uh just getting that building back up to an operating standard um the the staff there has done an outstanding job they recently held they're they're fundraising Gayla they are serving more and more people every day uh really making a significant impact in the lives of our community so um we recommend the uh the commission move forward with this item okay at this time I will uh allow any public comments Commissioners you all have any comments I just have a question to you sure before we actually vote um okay so we're going to use the cdb cdbg funds of 283 599 all right and but you're projecting that the estimated cost of all of what needs to be done is 820,000 and then you're saying that the remainder of the Mony is between the 283 and the 820 will be allocated in the 2024 25 budget which starts October 1 October one so what are you going to do with the 283 I mean I'm just you know I'm just wondering if when you start a project so it's a design build process um and there's multiple areas of the building to be addressed in the grounds so going through the the design portion of that and then prioritizing the improvements in a fashion that allows us that if we need to take a bite at those at a time based upon available funding so the the cdbg funds will go towards a significant portion of that and then as we budget funds going forward to finish out it may be through the flooding it could be the outdoor screened in porch area they they incremental projects within there it's not all one you know one allinclusive project that you have to do every everything it wants okay so you you're going to have an overall design Bill contract so when will that come you have to have that before you start spending the money right I believe that we would uh we would begin that as soon as uh we receive confirmation on the funding so we'd go through the bid process to procure that you mean to start the design Bill contract yes sir and that has to be awarded through an RF Q process so we solicit design build contractors as we normally do so it won't come back before us the design build contract would come back before you as an RFQ and we would actually once that's ready to hit the streets we would also ask for a liaison from the city commission to serve on that okay I have a question is there plans for expansion of that or I think um that that would be something that we would look at as part of that design build that was one of the reasons uh we thought the design build was a good fit there as we can assess the facility as it exists today look at the improvements that need to be made um and there is I think a little bit of space to do some expansion work if needed so go ahead Brian is is there a potential where and through the design build process to where it's better to knock the building down and start from scratch because I mean $820,000 seems like a big number for for a remodel I would say that that building has very good bones to it and we've done a lot of improvements inside the building in in recent years um to knock that building down and rebuild it would be a a significant amount greater than than what we're talking about reinvesting in Via this um most of you know one of the biggest things that that we want to get reestablished there they had some an outdoor patio area that was significantly damaged following the hurricane and we um we work to address that the some of the grounds and areas that they want to expand some of their programming those are are important pieces but the building itself is in is in relatively good good shape at this point so I I would be very hesitant to say you know move forward with tearing it down and building a new yeah I just didn't know if that would be considered in that in that design build process to where you know this is the number kind kind of like with the cultural center like this was the number to do this and tweak this and move that or this is the number to do the whole thing and so we we'll get that contract and we'll be able to see exactly where this money is being spent long before it's spent right yeah there are a lot of U parking challenges in that area too that's what I was going to say uh that's kind of one the biggest challenges I think is uh trying to just find a place to park you would have to you have to enter the property in order to do that unless they would create uh parking within the property itself beyond that it would be very challenging just on the street and I don't know if there's any other opportunity for expanding that only way I see that they could do it possibly is with within the property itself what is the actual size of that property we know what the uh acreage wise yes it goes I don't know we'll look it up here real quick it goes all the way back to Lake mod Park where the trail cuts through there um I think the uh part of the the only uh you talk about parking the area that's um east of the building used to be uh I think there were basketball courts or something that was there that area is is not utilized and it's not utilized for parking either when they have events uh they've had viness set up out there for that but um that's the only um area that I could see that uh you could have some type of parking it's about a little over an acre is what the the building and and footprint around it are and and commissioner or mayor Birdsong you're right the when they do um some of their big events they put the vendors out there you the fact that they need parking out there that's a your your spot with that observation commissioner Dawson and I think that also improving some of the grounds behind it could allow for uh some of those vendors and and and booths that they set up to be uh utilized in that space and still have improved parking on site so and those are all things that through the design build process we explore and figure out how best you know what's the how do we meet the the expanded programming needs how do we meet the Ada accessibility needs the Ingress the egress the parking all those pieces together okay I was just going to say Mr Mayor the parking is an issue out there and hopefully in parking do you just don't $800,000 doesn't go very far when you're redesigning parking lot so hopefully we can at least redesign and come up with a plan but what about activating that Lakefront too is that going to be too expensive do you think where people could potentially maybe utilize that Lake that's another thing I was going to throw out there but the money the way I understand it you're we're going to we're going to pass this potentially when we vote on it and then the cdbb money is there that would get started first and then by that by the time that money is gone we'll be in the next year's budget and we'll be able to find the rest of the money that's kind of the way you see this going right and I I see this you know plugging this in as a budget request for the 2425 uh budget we use the cdb J money to start yes sir so we don't have to delay the project okay and you you really can't um activate the lake anymore because see the trail the trail now uh dissects what was the lake front when it was the beach oh you can't okay yeah see the trail has has come through that anwers that question then thank you well you could still clear a lot of the brush back there to um you you can't get to the lake is what I was saying you can't get to the lake unless you uh relocate the trail you can't I mean you know what I'm saying the trail comes through what was the beach front why can't you walk across the trail to get to the lake CU it's Wetlands the the rest of it the the the the the property that would be on the south side of the trail is Wetlands it's just sand you can't bring it a bunch of sand it's it's uh growth and that sort of thing okay yeah one of the things we can look at through that area is where you have some undergrowth if there's opportunity to thin that out to create the The View shed and the vistas um the the trail goes right along there and then goes up to a dock uh that we there's a there's a fishing dock that we did on the what's considered the North End of of Lake mod Nature Park right by the neighborhood service center that was what I was thinking some sort of a maybe a canoe canoe launch in a dock something would be there's a fishing dock up there right now okay and a g and we put a park gazebo out there as well and we did those improvements several years ago I'm good I just applaud the effort uh to make improvements to that facility it is perhaps well for that particular area it is the oldest facility uh that's where the original wreck uh we just honored Ruben Williams that's the place where Ruben work worked out of and uh so for many in the community that was their uh source of recreation or place to go so I think to keep it viable uh is is admirable and uh the pro improvements that will be made to it I think will be a blessing to those who are now using the place on a regular basis our seniors um it has become really a vital link for many of them an opportunity for them to come and to socialize so uh I applaud the effort and look forward to whatever improvements will be made okay I entertain a motion to allocate the uh cdbg funding so moved motion to approve what mayor 2024 2025 cdbg allocation of funding okay motion to approve the uh cdbg allocation funding support for public uh 13A on your agenda please okay thank thank you I will close the city Commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to this particular item may do so at this time sign now I'll close the public hearing reopens C the commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I posos this by the same sign hearing none uh new business item 13A is adopted new business item 13B which you city manager mayor Commissioners I'm going to ask Eric Labby our director of uh Economic Opportunity Community investment to present these next few items as they pertain to the disposition of City owned lands okay thank you sir mayor City commissioners um the C the city staff received a uh inquiry by Mr Terry dudney regarding certain city-owned property within the Florence Villa community redevelopment uh area uh pursuant uh to requirements the city published a notice of intent to dispose of real property within a CRA um that notice was published in the Winter Haven sun on January 17th 2024 Mr dudney provided a written proposal on February 12th 2024 for the purchase of a parcel within the Florence Villa CRA the parcel number is noted on your uh in your fact sheet the parcel is approximately 06 Acres uh located northeast corner of First Street in Avenue P um Mr dudney has offered $4,000 uh and is requesting City commission consideration to donate the property Mr dudney intends to incorporate this parcel with two adjacent Parcels that are already under his ownership and control to facilitate the development of a mixed use project including retail and apartment uses staff does not anticipate any future utilization of this property the P County property appraiser lists lists the uh current market value of the property at $562 no other offers uh were received pursuant to the public not uh notice there is no direct Financial impact with this request U but in addition to a possible purchase price additional Ador taxes would be generated from the sale and Redevelopment of the property staff recommends that the city Commission accept Mr dunne's proposal provide guidance to staff as a preference for sale or donation and authorize the city manager to negotiate a purchase and sale contract consistent with Mr dunne's offer and the city's local um policy regarding the disposition of surplus city-owned real estate and and authorize the city manager to take any further actions necessary there too thank you Commissioners at our uh Workshop there was a discussion and I think it was um unanimous consent that we would uh donate the property so if that's still the case I'll entertain a motion but and with Mr dudney covering the transition of of cost from right I would I would move for approval of a disposition of the property within the Florence villea CRA as presented with the understanding that the property would be donated to Mr dudney but Mr dudney would cover all closing cost associated with transferring the property from the City of Winter Haven to Mr doy and would your motion also include the right of the property would come back to the city in the event yeah I think that should yeah sorry in the event that the devel should always be any kind of we any time we dispose of the property I think that we so I would add that to the uh to the motion of a clawback provision to where if Mr dudney were to ever sell the property the first right of refusal comes back to the City of Winter Haven to reacquire that property well that's a different but the right of reverter provision is currently in the property that was donated to Mr dudney uh about a year ago and we had a developers agreement that reflected that what that said was that if Mr dudney had to apply for a site plan get an approved site plan within one year of when that agreement was approved and the quick claim deed that was done reflected that and then he has to build within one year after that or the property would revert back to the city uh so we would probably follow the same format that so long as he applies for a site plan and gets approval and then builds that that would then you know within those time periods we may have to extend the time period somewhat on the other Parcels because he apparently was waiting until we acted on this piece so that he has a unified site but it's not quite a right of first refusal it's a right of it's a reverter such that if the development doesn't go go up that it would come back to the city so amend that to be a reverter clause okay to match the previously thank you deed prop all right are we clear as mud are you looking for public comment yet or where are you I'm going to open for public comments Clos the city commission meeting open uh for public comments anyone wishing to speak on this item may do so state your name and address for the record you have 5 minutes my name is Daniel wolf I live at 56 Lake Daisy Boulevard in Winter Haven on subdivision Cypress Gardens and um uh the reason I have approached uh uh because I have an inquiry um if I'm understanding what is uh taking place right now the city there a city owned property and it's being donated to an individual named dudney is that am I correct when I state that anyway so my commentary is I'm don't understand why I I have I struggle to understand why any city-owned land any city-owned asset would be donated to an individual rather than sold for monetary gain to an individual and I'm say I'm stating this because obviously I work from the assumption that every single asset that the city owns is equivalent to saying every asset is owned by the taxpayers who reside within the city of course of course that would go for any level of government there's City obviously County state and federal so I assume it all levels of government any asset owned by the government is in fact owned by the taxpayers of that community and obviously if it's on a federal level taxpayers Nationwide so my so my commentary is actually a question why would the city donate when the option of selling or requiring that the person who wants to take ownership of the property requiring them to transfer a certain amount of money to the city and I don't know how the valuation would be established but obviously appraisers or something like that would be involved at that point and that concludes my question commentary M Mr Mayor yes can I make a comment since I made the motion yes so my thought process and and why we would take this route is because long long time ago First Street North went from two lanes to four lanes and it basically gutted Lots on the east side and the west side all the way up to where Martin Luther King Bard meets now this would be one of those particular lots that essentially has no value unless it is combined with an adjoining lot for future development Mr dudney has shown in um has done outstanding job on the property just to the north of of there in revitalizing that property beautif beautifying it as well as the southern property and the intent here I think is to continue to grow and develop within the taxing authority to provide additional value to that land more so than what it would be on its own so I think ultimately those revenues will come back to the city because of the future development that's going to take place and without that development this this paral of land is is worthless because as I mentioned it was part of that widening of the road which really cut so many Lots in half to make them unusable and I wish there were more adjoining property owners along First Street North that would see what has been done by Mr dudney and take that same lead to say hey I own this property there's nothing on it it's right next to this property that's not usable let's put it together and get some growth going along First Street so that's that was why I went with the suggestion of of donating the property because there really was no value to it other than if it was adjoined with the neighboring property may I make uh a very very quick response to that just I just wanted to say I I I don't see a problem with your logic and I don't question your logic obviously it's Economic Development you're referring to obviously my only inquiry here is um would would Mr dudney be willing to transfer you know $5,000 of his own personal wealth in exchange for the uh granting of that property to his ownership that's the that was my main concern but I understand your your comments regarding the uh transfer of the property thank you yeah I'm going to just say something real quick um I I I concur with I understand what you're saying and I and your Point's valid I wish on this map it would show you the size of the property that's in play is there any way MJ to actually show how small this piece is AJ has that just one second there it is it's approximately 30t wide it's 30t wide about 10 yards like think of a football field so this property has absolutely zero value to the city we can't put a sign on it I mean it's not a sign location but Mr dudney is one of the few people that is actually trying to assemble these parcels and do development out there and and I was going to ask him with these clawback provisions and all these things he may choose to want to just go ahead and buy it and then be done with us I don't know I'm all for I'm all for doing your supportting your motion I'm not saying that but there are some clawback provisions and some things that that we have to revisit this thing a year from now and he may want to just go ahead and buy from us and be done with the city I don't know I'm just throwing that out there for what it's worth but if you look at the size of this thing compared to everything else it's not very big so it has to be Consolidated with other properties to have anything done with it before we can do anything there so that's my thoughts and I support your motion but if Mr Dy may want to weigh in I don't know I just one final comment is that uh the prop is actually costing the taxpayers money money right now because we have to have it mold and nobody does that for free so it's cul to us so all right anyone else entertain a motion oh I have a motion is there any more discussion all those in favor with the motion let it be known did you close public comment or I actually close public comment I'll close the public comment reopen the city commission meeting any more discussion all those in favor motion let it be known by saying I I opposes by the same sign okay motion carries 13B oh that was 13B 13 C Mr Mayor have Eric Eric lbby present this item Mr Mayor commissioner similarly we received an inquiry from Mr Bob Cameron regarding a small piece of property within the downtown CRA we again issued a notice of intend to dispose of real property within the CRA um Within the Winter Haven sun on January 17th 2024 uh Mr Cameron provided a written proposal on January 12th 2024 for the purchase of two small Parcels located within the downtown CRA the parcel identification numbers are in your fact sheet together they total 018 acres and are located at South uh of the intersection of US 17 and 6th Street Southwest Mr Cameron has offered $25,000 and plans to pursue entitlement and construction of a small retail shop consisting of bicycle sales and rental po County property appraiser lists the combined current uh just market value of the properties at $34,636 staff does not anticipate any future city utilization of this property and no other offers were received um again there is no direct Financial impact to the city with this request um but in addition to the uh purchase price adorm additional adorm taxes would be generated from the sale of the the property and construction of the proposed retail store staff's recommendation to the city commission is to accept Mr Cameron's proposal and authorize the city manager to negotiate a purchase and sale contract consistent with Mr Cameron's offer and the city policy for disposition of surplus city-owned real estate and to allow the city manager to take any further actions necessary there too thank you I entertain a motion Mr Mayor yes motion to approve item 13 see on the agenda disposition to property with the downtown community redevelopment act thank you thank you I will close City commission meeting open public hearing anyone wishing to speak to this item may do so at this time seeing none I'll close the public hearing reopen City commission meeting is there any discussion I can I just ask a question and I because this came up the other night was is there a uh right of first refusal on this property if it does not develop uh somewhat similar to what was on the dudney property but it'd be a right of first refuse usual to uh reacquire the property for the purchase price if there's no development on it yes since I made the motion you're talking about a clawback provision right yes sir the difference between this one is there's monetary consideration exchanging hands so yeah I think once he buys it he buys it and then if we want to claw back if he doesn't develop it in say 10 years or five years let's make it very generous we want him to ultimately I would want him to ultimately develop a property well I think it what what was discussed was that if he were to go and sell the property the first right of refusal comes to the City of Winter Haven gocha right and I I think that would there's no time limit on on him to do anything with it but if he were developed that goes away that goes away right okay my motion's amended to state that like clear on that yes okay any more discussion all those in favor for the motion let it be known by saying I I post by the same sign okay 13 C is adopted 13d Eric you going to take that one as well oh I'll take that uh mayor commissioner City commission established the airport advisory committee via adoption of ordinance 013 03-04 and 2013 uh in May of 2023 the city commission passed ordinance 2314 amending chapter 2 article Roman numeral 2 uh sections 269 through 2-71 as they pertain to the airport advisory committee section 2-71 uh sub paragraph 5 as amended States the following each member of the aaac shall attend in person or virtually a minimum of 2third of the meetings held each calendar year review of the Committee Member attendance shall be cond conducted at the conclusion of each calendar year and members who do not comply with the minimum attendance requirements may have their appointments rescinded at the discretion of the the city commission uh following the 2023 calendar year uh chairman of the airport advisory committee conducted the review of attendance as outlined in section 20 in section 2-71 and uh we had two members that did not meet those attendance requirements uh one of those individuals uh no longer worked in a capacity here locally to serve as the ex officio that was Mr Eric Crump um and so we're looking to uh make an appointment to fill his vacant seat as officio the other was U Mr Jeff Donaldson Mr Jeff Donaldson has resigned from the airport advisory committee uh as of last week and so we need to uh fulfill or fill his his vacant seat as well what's recommended within the fact sheet and what stands before you today is that Mr Allan Anderson is has been an air uh an alternate to the airport advisory committee uh and been very diligent in attending meetings I think he if I'm not mistaken he missed one meeting in in in the past year so we're asking that he be appointed or recommending that he be appointed to fill the seat vacated by Mr Donaldson and that Mr Brian Hughes who is with the Winter Haven High School's uh Aviation program be appointed as an ex officio member to fill the seat that was previously held by Mr Eric Crump when he was with pulk State College uh so that is our recommended this recommendation this evening is to uh remove uh Mr donalson and Mr Crump from the airport advisory committee and appoint Mr Allan Anderson as an official member and Mr Brian Hughes as an ex official member and I believe Bruce lion is here as your chairman of the airport advisory committee if you need any additional information thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes move for approval of the airport advisory committee appointments of Mr Anderson and Mr Hughes thank you I'll close the city commission meeting open public hearing if there's anyone wishing to speak to this item you you may do so at this time seeing none I'll close the public hearing reopen the city commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I oppos this by the same sign all right the item passes City commission Le on reports uh commissioner Mercer okay um I attended the public safety oath of office and uh I'm glad to to see that we still have people that want to be firefighters and police officers um and um thanks for um allowing us the opportunity to get to meet them um early on uh I also attended the pope Vision at Lake um mytle Park in auale um their subject was on broadband and the high-speed internet of that um also so um they call it a bandwidth means the amount of data you can uh transmit and the amount of data you can receive um this is a a a committee I guess you'd say of um um Community Leed Partnerships uh of organizations businesses government um and uh providers um so to ensure that things are impl in that area they are talked about not being left behind in that so um it's um one of the Committees I guess I've been on for a while um I often do it um through um teams or something like that but I had to attend I attended in person this time so I got to meet some of the people that you just see also um attended the quana's um Club pancake breakfast um you were were kind of like the available person to answer any questions that people may have or um or ask um of course there was uh me from the city I think there about three of us there from the city there was um the state's attorney um there was the principal of the wi Haven High School there were they had every hour on the hour they kind of had someone there to um give out information uh I also attended the chambers lunch and learn about um early the Early Learning Coalition and they have about 24 different um little I guess you'd say some of them are located in schools and some of them are just in communities um and about the impact that it has on their education on preschool um and in the preschool part of that they have to um pass the class I think they have about 8,000 students and only about um 5,000 of those actually complete the class because um a lot of their parents move or change schools or or something like that so then they get to go into uh kindergarten and they're tested within the first 30 days of kindergarten and some of them do not make that um because number one the summer and they lose some of that then like I said some of them haven't finished um that training and um one of the things that as you know um I had spoke some time before about Early Education get kids in school as early as possible um preschool uh any of that because that affects their life's outcomes and so this is pretty much the same thing it affects their life outcomes it's a known fact that education and Early Education keeps kids in school longer they're not uh apt to and there's so many statistics that prove that um they're not um they're not the ones that um commit you know uh crimes they're not the ones that um um are Trent they graduate a large percent of them graduate high school so um however education may be the solution but it's usually a three generation deal which takes it a long time for to prove that but to get to these kids early may change the outcome of their lives and that's always been one of my passions so um so I was really interested in that um it's a big problem like I said they're usually not on drugs it's it's really uh a good outcomes for them um one of the other things um attended was the main street and employee uh breakfast they put on a breakfast for the city employees um a big thank you to all of that I know um it was really a great meal um a lot of people attended and uh so a big thank you for even thinking of the employees um it makes them feel a lot better um if you've been an employee sometimes you um uh don't always get maybe the some of the things that you deserve it's usually um you know everybody likes um to have um some reason to normally just um uh complain about something not everything's perfect um but we're not always often the the fault of that so um the other one I did attend was the Black History Month and it was an employee luncheon and again thank you to the committee the food was really great thank thank you to the employees um and just a big thank you for um all of that I know that the committee worked really hard at that as same as the committee uh at Main Street so thank you for showing your concern that's it that's it I probably forgot some things but thanks uh just a couple items this evening so also wanted to send um thanks and appreciation to the Main Street Organization for hosting the breakfast for the city employees uh attended the Ritz board meeting uh Ritz has several items coming up that I did want to mention uh just to if you have a moment get online check it out grab a ticket have dinner downtown Winter Haven uh so the Ritz has the out of the boox improv show coming up uh also a knock three times show I I don't really know what that is some kind of music or something I uh but then also the American band stand with everybody from Ray Charles to Elvis Presley will be there so um that that event was a big event the last time it circled around and it is going to be a big one again on March 23rd uh so be sure to check out the Ritz's website uh and grab a ticket before those are gone also attended the airport advisory meeting um and that was it for the last two weeks thank you commissioner doson I am uh still in the process of orientating and uh today I was with the public works and uh really uh I've really been impressed with just how our city operates and the phenomenal people uh that make this city what it is is very impressive uh I'm proud to be a part of it and it's just an honor to even serve uh so I just I'm just so grateful for uh for the opportunity I had the opportunity to uh attend the uh 63rd annual Kanas pancake uh fundraising uh I had some of those uh uh try to get me to uh wear a certain t-shirt uh that uh I decided that probably wouldn't be great idea uh to wear but uh nevertheless we were there and uh commissioner danler he was there and then I think he ate more pancakes than you sered but uh and uh but he did pretty we we uh we were we were just happy and actually I won I actually won one of the prizes uh for prizes for the children and uh with four granddaughters it was a it was a blessing I was also able to be at the welcome uh for the program for or the lunch and for the new employees I really enjoyed that because I had an opportunity to meet several new employees uh talk with them a little bit about you know just coming into uh working for the city and their hopes and some of their uh uh some of the opportunities that they hope to uh take advantage of so that was very insightful and to hear and uh also department leaders uh want to introduce them to know a little bit about about them that they know a little bit about you know their lives and what they're bringing to uh to our city also um the Florence Villa Place uh the reason I mentioned that uh Housing Development by uh blue sky is coming to a a quick uh completion very soon and uh they are working feverishly around there uh I'm excited uh because it's right outside my office door and uh 88 units I think it is that will open U soon and we'll be cutting the ribbon I believe sometime end of March and to know that another project similar to this project is underway uh many of you know that I've been a strong advocate for uh Workforce housing affordable housing uh because our children in Pope County uh were homeless and that was something that should be of concern to all of us so it's good to know that you know Winter Haven uh has taking a uh a lead in that regard and uh I was one of those in the in the audience pushing very hard now I'm sitting up here and it's a different view but I appreciate the view and opportunity to understand even from this perspective uh what we do and why we do what we do uh I do also want to encourage many of you I think there's a show at the Winter Haven theater uh entitled voices and uh it will be this Saturday and uh the reason I mentioned it is because uh my oldest child uh who started uh singing and performing in Winter Haven theater as well as uh other theaters in po County uh they've asked her to come back here and she will be performing uh this Saturday she's had opportunity to perform on Broadway and many other stages across the country and uh some of her cohorts will be with her that will be singing as well so it should be a wonderful event they're going to be singing uh music uh music that speaks to this is like history month and they're speaking to uh songs that will speak of the challenges that we've had even as a nation uh for the movements that have taken place in our country to make our country a better place to live so I'm excited looking forward to one seeing my child but also hearing some great music on Saturday time I believe it starts at 7:30 7:30 well I've been to those before they're good dancor all right I'll go quick I'll try to hit some highlights that we haven't talked about I this weekend I actually went to the state soccer High School soccer finals that were held out at the uh Lake mod Park uh in Arendale and um watch the girls finals and the boys finals and I can tell you I don't remember girls kicking the ball as hard as they can kick those balls but my goodness they're good and they can kick a ball 50 yards with just standing still so but it was interesting and if you haven't been out there to see that facility you wouldn't believe what has been built out there the soccer fields and the baseball fields and the skiing and the you name it it's just really become quite a show place and if you haven't seen it if you can drive all around and see the whole thing it might be worth going out there sometime and looking around also was at the Black History Month we had a TDC meeting the time is is coming now I think I mentioned this the last time if you have arts and culture U organizations you're part of and they want to apply for funding Now's the Time to start collecting those applications and getting those you've got to go to a training class and I think there's one more left so if you're having somebody that wants to apply they need to go to that training class to even qualify went to the Bok Tower bites and insights and mayor bird song was supposed to be there his name was on the list and they had a name tag for you but uh interesting to see the history of B Tower um but I covered for us and it was it was interesting to hear the see the history of B Tower and also shot a video for wi even high school they came and did a video of me asked me a bunch of questions um all kinds of neat stuff I wish I could actually see it but they were asking me things like what would be your walk out song and all kinds of neat things that you know high school kids would ask so what was it yeah you can't throw that out there without telling us what it was funky comb and Dena oh wow they like that yeah that's a that would be my walkout song one hit wonder there one hit wonder and I was at the pancake vestival and I didn't eat that many I'd played tennis that morning so I was a little hungry you know we'll just leave that right there also was at the employee luncheon oh and um quickly we had a aack meeting today and I'm here to report you Commissioners our ah aack is on great ground now things are going great really good we had a full house today and with the new person we appointed tonight we may have to move the meetings to over to nor Mayo we've got such a full committee oh wow so if if if uh if everybody shows up that's on the committee now we can still how it here but one more person we may have to go over there so uh good energy uh staff is engaged and committee's engaged the manage everybody's engaged and so I'm here to report that's good news for for for everybody and last thing I don't know if you guys did it but I had a zoom meeting with Emily Rogers to talk about my goals and objectives for the upcoming planning session and um if you haven't done it she's going to be reaching out to you to ask you what's important to her and what I told her and I've been telling everybody what's important to me going forward is the human element of what we do up here we've built a lot of Trail and we built a lot of facilities and we built some really cool infrastructure now I'm starting to focus more on the human element and um Emily got it and she knows what's important to me and if you haven't had your interview with her yet she's going to ask you a lot of questions about what you want to see so now's the time so she can get ready to help lead our Retreat our planning Retreat here coming up in just a few weeks so with that Mr Mayor I'm done all right all right thank you um in fact I have my interview tomorrow okay um congratulations is due to the Winter Haven High School girls and boys basketball team they both won this past week and they are going to be in the state tournament in Lakeland so um had the opportunity to present in a uh resolution Proclamation at First Missionary Baptist for their historic marker 143 years the church has stood and so it was a a a great event and uh we had uh the ABC uh TV station there and it's been broadcast live so it was a a great event and a historic event um tended the Black History Month uh employee lunching the food was good as always the main street of uh breakfast the food was good as well I probably gained at least 10 lbs last week eating all this food and um I went and did a um a groundbreaking at um for the the new blue sky development out own Jersey road and it it has a um it's going to have Tri county is is the operator of it and um it's going to have some Services there that normally you don't have uh in a development and what it is is um to treat and help the chronic chronic homelessness that exist in our community and um so this is a a pilot project there's not one of these in pop County this is the very first one and um so blue sky team with them and uh Duke Energy and and so it's a public private partnership tax credits are in it but it's a pilot project and so uh as I said it's out on uh Jersey Road and finally I got to uh I'm the chairperson of the uh Central Florida Regional planning Council and uh last week we met in avarn park and we did a field trip to the uh Avon Park Air Force Gun and Range bombing range bombing range we actually got to see two active uh training squadrons from different states that were there in Jets shooting targets that they have on the ground out there and in fact uh they put us under um under uh guard where they were guarding us to make sure that the enemy didn't get us and so man those Jets were man they seemed like they were at the top of this building and the noise was loud they were shooting not live am amunition but they were shooting ammunition but it didn't have lead in it but it was popping like it it had lead I mean it was really something to behold and we had to get security clearance for the be even out there on the Range and goodness it's that buming range it actually is in uh Avon Park but the property actually touches Poke County that's how big that uh that piece of property is and uh I mean it was something to behold and not only do they do training out there but they leas some of the space to uh to ranchers just raising cows out there I'm saying man that would drive a cow crazy but all that noise uh and also also there was something else that they told us there's an endangered species uh that's called The Scrub J and uh Congressman I mean uh representative killer Brew would know all about it it's an endanger species just thriving out there and so I mean you couldn't see the scrub J it's just a little bitty thing I'm saying how can they stand all the noise because there is noise out there you all because they have like um tractor trailer units that's all around that place and they got them set up like buildings and like skyscrapers and everything and they they'd be shooting for real and they dive in and I mean it's like it was I couldn't believe it and it was sound of scary just a little bit but they is assured us that we were not in danger but uh but any rate that that was it I wouldn't want to have to fill in for you that that's probably as close as I'll come the next 12 months St attorney you have anything no no sir not this evening thank you C manager couple things for you this evening Commissioners uh I need to request two separate Liaisons for some uh procurement that we have coming up the first is the water recycling facility Progressive design build Services you may recall I think it may have been the last meeting or the one prior we had asked for a uh a liaison to serve on our RFQ for the um the Professional Services associated with this project this is now and I think commissioner Mercer you were uh volunteered for that yes um so this is the second part of that which is the actual design build or Progressive design build RFQ for that project so we need a liais on for that so commiss Mercy you want you want that one as well I'll take it if nobody else does yeah you're more likely to see something that needs to be seen probably than the other four people up here when it comes to water all right and then the other one is um you may recall we have a urban forestry Grant uh coming forward that involves um provides for tree planting maintenance and removal uh within our uh rights of way within the city we have a volunteer he couldn't even wait for you to get it all out I figured our member of the urban forestry Advisory Board would want to perhaps do that thank you and the last thing I will share with you is um this Saturday in downtown is the Chamber of commerce's annual community Fest that will take place uh around Central Park through the other parks of downtown as well from 11:00 a.m. until 400 pm. this Saturday so right that's all I have city manager nothing tonight thanks city clerk nothing evening Deputy city clerk is she back there yes she back there all right emergency matters not received for the agenda entertain a motion to adjin we stand a join