##VIDEO ID:e8z2VplTmlA## e e e e e evening I'd like to call to order a regular City Commission meeting for this the uh 27th of January 2025 we will can I get a roll call please yes sir commissioner dollison here commissioner Mercer here commissioner Daner here mayor prates here and mayor Birdsong here we were to have a invocation by Apostle Willie meny but I don't see him so I'm going to ask uh Minister Abdul Al if you would come and give us an invocation and we will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Vanessa Castillo MMC City pres that is right fa let us pray dear Lord God we come now before your throne of grace and mercy thanking you for this day we thank you dear God for these Commissioners and staff and all those called to lead our city we ask your prayers peace and blessing be upon them as they uh consider the issues that face our community we ask your prayers peace and blessing be upon the citizens of this community and the great things that uh we are able to do uh through your will and your grace we give you all the praise honor and Glory for what we are about to do in this meeting and what we're about to do for our great City in Jesus name we pray Amen to the FL United States of America and to the repblic for which it stands one nation God indivisible with liberty and justice for all presentation we have presentations I'm going to change the order just a little bit uh we will start with the uh Proclamation for achievement for exellency we'll do that one first and uh then we'll do um think we just go backwards we'll go backwards join me commission if you would okay good evening mayor Commissioners just real quick um this is the 34th year that we have received the certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting for the 2023 financial report this is our award it goes on a plaque um and you would think 34 years is everything is really easy by this time well that's not the case because 34 years ago we only had five accounting rules now we have 102 so it's very challenging um this is for the 2023 financials and that was a challenging Year we're working on 2024 right now but 2023 we had two accounting rules one had to do with leases one had to do with subscriptions and I want to give a shout out to Debbie Tate she did a fantastic job with this um so with 102 rules we now have a annual financial report which is over 200 Pages which we know no nobody's reading except the Auditors and the city manager um so we're coming up with a condensed version which is called the popular annual financial report and it's a little bit like the budget and brief the budget and brief looks forward the popular annual financial report looks at what we spent our funds on in the past and this aligns with the Strategic plan 6.1.1 responsible government and I think that covers it so mayor commissioners I think the the key with that is again we're continuing to try and find ways to best communicate to the general public our financial operations budget brief was a great addition to that this year this popular annual financial report will be another document of that magnitude so great the big plaque yeah [Laughter] a it's a big [Music] deal Mr Mayor um we go you want to go to the regular order now okay all right so we will resume uh our regular order uh our first Proclamation uh this evening and for the benefit of the audience over the next two City commission meetings we will have a total of four proclamations that are issued recognizing individuals within our community who have been nominated and selected as local uh black Heroes for the impacts that they've had on the Winter Haven community over the years so we will do our first two this evening our first one is for the Reverend Joel Elven Atkins and I believe we have family that is here that if you would like to come to the podium at this point we'll read the proclamation and present this to you and uh have an opportunity for photos as well so our Proclamation reads whereas the City of Winter Haven recognizes how diversity and inclusion are woven into the fabric of American life and solidify the foundation of strong communities and whereas in 20121 the City of Winter Haven began celebrating Black History Month by recognizing Local Heroes who have made a significant impact on the community and whereas a group of community leaders came together and identified Local Heroes who blazed new trails while demonstrating passion dedication and compassion for the community and whereas one hero will be recognized each week of Black History Month 2025 which is the month of February and whereas Reverend Joel Elvin Atkins is recognized as one of these Heroes and whereas Reverend Atkins served as a man of Faith activist and was so much much more to many people as he helped make Winter Haven a more inclusive and Equitable community and whereas Reverend Atkins would say only one life will soon be passed only What's Done For Christ will last and these are words that can guide us all now therefore Nathaniel J Birdsong Jr mayor of the City of Winter Haven Florida does hereby recognize the week of February 3rd 2025 as Reverend Joel Elvin Atkins week in the City of Winter Haven and calls upon all residents to honor his legacy of leadership Justice and unwavering dedication to the betterment of our community in witness whereof he is here and to set his hand and caused the Seal of the City of Winter Haven Florida to be affixed this 27th day of January 2025 signed Nathaniel J Birdsong Jr mayor ATT test Vanessa Castillo City Clerk [Applause] you speak I'm speaking just speaking uh uh to the mayor uh Commissioners um sitting officials uh nominating committee all my friends and family um I just want to thank the city of w Haven for this opportunity of recognizing my dad um uh it there's a there's a lot of things that I can say but I I'm sure if if we just took the time to to do some research and and read some things you you would find out a lot more about what the impact that Reverend juel Ain actually had on this community uh and I would run a Miss to say that uh those weren't great um uh I I I just want to say thank you on behalf of the Atkins Family and um uh I just want to say um we will forever be a part of this community and we will able to be represented in this community as the Atkins family uh stands for you or for Generations uh of acors and uh we are we just appreciate the honor and the privilege that you've bestowed upon our family thank you very much for the benefit of the audience while the Atkins family is coming forward for a photog for a photograph um the week of February 3D that is Reverend Joel Atkins week there will be social media posts and other Communications that come out from the City of Winter Haven highlighting the impact of Reverend Atkins the banner that you see is one of four banners that will be hung in the uh in the at the light post that surround Central Parks Fountain and those will remain for the month of February and then be folded into the other banners we hang throughout the community each year our next Proclamation is again recognition of one of our Local Heroes and I'd like to invite to the podium retired officer Carol Bradley and members of the Bradley family again and our Proclamation reads as follows whereas the City of Winter Haven recognizes how diversity and inclusion are woven into the fabric of American life and solidify the foundation of strong communities and whereas in 2021 the City of Winter Haven began celebrating Black History Month by recognizing Local Heroes who have made a significant impact on the community and whereas a group of community leaders came together and identified Local Heroes who Blaze new trails while demonstrating passion dedication and compassion for the community and whereas one hero will be recognized for each week of Black History Month 2025 and whereas Carol Bradley is recognized as one of these Heroes and whereas Carol Bradley is a decorated public servant relationship Builder and so much more to so many people as she dedicated her professional career to making an impact to her community and whereas Carol would say in order to walk in great power you have to walk in God's truth and these are words that can guide us all now therefore Nathaniel J Birdsong Jr mayor of the City of Winter Haven Florida does hereby recognize the week of February 10th 2025 as Carol Bradley week in the city of Winter Haven and honors and recognizes Carol Bradley for her 35 years of service leadership and dedication to her community and witness whereof he is here and two set his hand and caused the Seal of the City of Winter Haven Florida to be affixed this 27th day of January 202 five signed Nathaniel J Birdsong Jr mayor ATT test Vanessa Castillo city [Applause] clerk I I really I am so humble this is really taking me a back try not to cry this is wonderful I did 30 years with the city of wter Haven it was rough but it was good I've been with this city so long till I really I I'm humble like I said Thank You city of wi Haven thank you to the committee that chose me who would have ever thought little old girl out of preville that's right born out of preville who would have thought that I would be standing up here one day through the trials and tribulations that I went through who would have thought I would have made it 30 years I made it I'm here I conquered more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus that's how I made it if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here today am I look at the staff I look at the commission I look at the city manager all y'all know me y'all raise me and I thank God for [Applause] you again during the work week of February 10th we will have social media posts and other uh digital media uh information that we'll share about the career and the impact of Miss Carol Bradley that will be uh available throughout that entire week her Banner will all will also fly on one of the light poles that surrounds the fountain in Central [Applause] Park can I one I know that re Joe was my childhood P I'm so proud all right got a [Music] two all right ready one two three more all right thank [Applause] you mayor and Commissioners our final uh Proclamation this evening is in recognition of the black market a melanin cultural Festival I'm going to invite to the podium Simone Wilson and Zenia z z I believe it's perfect did I get it was I close was correct all right thank you um our Proclamation reads as follows whereas the black market a melanin cultural Festival celebrates the richness of Black Culture creativity and Entrepreneurship and whereas this Festival highlights the contributions of black owned businesses artists and innovators fostering unit unity and economic empowerment and whereas it serves as a space to honor Heritage Inspire future generations and strengthen Community connections now therefore Nathaniel J Birdsong Junior mayor of the City of Winter Haven Florida does hereby honor recognize and commend the black market a melanin cultural festival for its dedication to uplifting and celebrating black excellence 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 first day of February 2025 signed Nathaniel J Birdsong Junior mayor ATT test Vanessa Castillo city clerk um to the mayor Commissioners to the city of w Haven my name is Simone Wilson and it's an honor to receive this Proclamation for the black market Amel and cultural Festival by the cultural Collective Society our nonprofit on behalf of our team thank you for supporting our vision the festival celebrates to uplift back own businesses in our community showcasing their resilience creativity and their vital contributions to our City's culture and economy beyond the business the black market wants to Foster unity inclusivity and we invite everyone to celebrate the beauty and Brilliance of the Black Culture build connections and highlight the talent within our community good evening my name is Zia and it is a privilege to stand alongside Simone and address you all today like Simone I want to express my deepest gratitude to the mayor Commissioners in the City of Winter Haven for honoring us this Proclamation and supporting our vision to the Black Market at its heart this Festival is also about pouring back into our community particularly our youth the black market provides a platform for young performers artists and creators to share their talents whether it's music dance or other forms of expression this is their chance to shine when our youth know that they are seen supported and celebrated it inspires them to dream big and pursue Greatness by giving them this space we're investing in the future of Winter Haven cultivating the next generation of leaders creators and Visionaries who will help shape a stronger and brighter Community this Proclamation is not just for us it represents the businesses the families and the youth who believe in the power of unity and Community to the mayor Commissioners and the citizens of Winter Haven thank you thank you for standing with us for believing in this Mission and recognizing the importance of celebrating black Excellence together we can continue to uplift Inspire and strengthen our community for generations to come thank you the festival will be this Saturday February 1st on Lake Silver um from 12 to 5: shout out to Natalie we're gonna take two one two three one more move wonderful wonderful [Applause] [Music] we have no developments of note Commissioners you have the [Music] minutes a motion Mr Mayor yes motion to approve two sets of minutes January 8 2025 City commission agenda review session and the January 133 2025 regular City Commission meeting minutes thank you I'll 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 the city commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I I pooses by the same sign hearing none the minutes are adopted uh comments from the audience we have uh one person uh Bishop Lawrence would you please come forward Grace peace and mercy be unto each and every one of you from God our Father Lord Jesus Christ Our blessed savior thank you for this opportunity mayor berson Commissioners to each one of you city manager sister Vanessa it's good to see you my sister um I come to say that uh I thank you for the great work that you're doing here in the city of wih when I was born and raised here my heart is still here and um I heard you mention brother our gathers Lim your gathers if you look back in your records during the time that uh Mel ther was the mayor here she say that whoever got the most votes that street that we used to have mther King name on would be named after that individual different ones came in with all kind of signatures and stuff but I came in with the majority of the signatures for limia gathers and it was changed they didn't keep the word the c one Haven and name that street as the Lim gathers because I had more names and everyone put together for that street to be named after Mr limia together so if you can if you have time go back in your records you'll see that the city of wi Haven said whoever got the most signatures that that street be named after that individual and that was limia gathers also I talked with a few people and that's nothing you may can do overnight but when we give our address up here people on the other side of the world knows it but when we we write it down when we write it down and we put it back there hopefully you can read our writing and uh that's public record also but when we said over the mic just go for City County wherever somewh may not like us and they can know exactly pinpoint where we live at also um one more thing um that I would like to discuss mther King was not just about black people he's about people as a whole that was being mistreated wrong and I remember the time when Billy gram saw how how Mar Luther King and the people with him was being treated he Billy Graham went down and cut the ribbon down and invited Billy gr I invited Mar Luther King up to the Ping with him so both of those men to me were concerned about what was right people and so I think that we wi Haven the city of win haven you have a street name after Marther King it'll be very very very blessed because we the fastest growing County in the in the nation my understanding if we can get from dundy road all the way down Buckey Loop all the way out to the city limits name after the M of the king will be a blessing and would be an honor to our great City and hopefully you can consider these things I brought to you because it's just right it's just right and we are growing by leaps and bound and so yes I'm I'm not about black and white y'all know a lot of y'all know who I am I'm about people so I'm asking you to please do this thank you very much and get me father and our God continue to bless and keep you as you continue to bless our great cities thank you B all right thank you all right um we have ordinances uh second reading ordinance 02504 would you read by title on the City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number 0- 25-4 an ordinance extending the corporate limits of the city Winter Haven Florida so as to include therein additional territory lying contiguous and adjacent to the present boundaries of the city of witer Haven Florida describing some addition territory repealing all ordinances in Conflict here with providing for the administrative correction of scers erors and providing an affected date the general location four Parcels genery located approximately 1,218 ft north of old Barto Lake Wales Road East of mlan Road and approximately 1,333 feet west of Gary Street the area covered by this request is 93.4 five plus or minus Acres thank you thank you city manager uh mayor and Commissioners this is a second reading on ordinance 0254 is the City attorney pointed out gain Inc request the city commission Annex four Parcels that total 93.4 five plus or minus Acres located off of Old Barto Lake Wales road is depicted on the image shown on the screens the current taxable value of the subject parcel is approximately $1,483 uh which will generate a tax revenue of approximately $756 under current conditions however additional Revenue would be expected upon the development of this property staff recommends City Comm approve ordinance 02-04 thank you thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes a motion to approve ordinance 02504 on second reading thank you I will close the commission meeting open the public hearing and one wishing to speak to ordinance 0254 may come forth state your name and address for the record seeing none close the public hearing reopen the commission meeting is there any discussion seeing none all those in favor let it be known by saying I I I oppose this by the same sign hearing none 02504 is adopted Commissioners you have the consent agenda Mr Mayor yes motion to approve the consent agenda in its entirety as presented thank you I will close the commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to the consent agenda saying none close the public hearing reopen the commission meeting is there any discussion Mr Mayor could I offer a comment just as clarification from the um discussion we had during agenda review I think we have some photos of those smart covers there was a question I think perhaps commissioner dancer had asked about those um we do not have any of those that we can put out to show you because they're all deployed into the field but what you see on the screen is an image of what that smart cover looks like in the lower leand corner that is the underside of one of the manhole covers and so that's what would be uh suspended from that there and then you have a monitor that extends down to the uh to the the water the fluid level that gives us that indication I also provided for you at the Das at each of your seats a case study that was provided by Smart Cover which is the company from which we acquire this equipment this is specific Al a case study that they have published based upon our history with them of having used the smart covers throughout our system so just a little background information on that item thank you thank you all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I opposes by the same time hearing none the consent agenda is adopted resolution r2504 would you read by title on the City attorney thank you Mr Mayor resolution r- 25-4 a resolution confirming the acceptance of certain improvements infrastructure and dedications in favor of the city public city of Winter Haven Florida is notated on that certain plat entitled Harbor at Lake Henry recorded in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court in for Pope County Florida in plat book 208 Pages 29 through 32 public records of Pop County Florida and authorizing the city manager to release the performance bond postered to guarantee completion of required improvements in infrastructure General location subdivision is generally located south of the East intersection of Old lucern Park Road and lucern Park Road State road- 544 thank you thank you city manager mayor and Commissioners The Harbor at Lake Henry LLC requests the Commission accept certain improvements and dedications in favor of the public or the City of Winter Haven as noted on the plat for Harbor at Lake Henry this subdivision includes 36.3 plus or minus Acres located south of the East intersection of Old lucern Park Road and lucern Park Road or State Road 544 subdivision contains 179 building lots and 14 common Lots all water lines sewer lines and related infrastructure will be owned and maintained by the city as with the internal roadways which are contained within 50 foot rights of way all storm water drainage systems and related infrastructure will be owned and maintained by the HOA the city commission approved resolution r438 that ploted the subdivision however certain improvements were not completed at that time and the developer had submitted a performance bond in the amount of $313,200 the incomplete improvements which included earth work sanitary sewer potable water storm water management and Engineering certification have been found to be complete um uh through our recent inspections and can now be accepted by the the city um staff's recommending the city commission approve resolution R 25-4 I do want to offer a few additional comments that just to continue the conversation from the agenda review of last Wednesday the for the benefit of the commission and and those in the audience and listening online there is with respect to State Road 544 improvements a public hearing that is be being held this week I believe it's Thursday evening at PK State College that speaks to the pd&e study we had a lengthy discussion about that and their improvements and that focuses primarily on the section the first section to be constructed will be from First Street at MLK Boulevard northward to Avenue y uh there's also uh plans for a traffic signalization at the intersection of lucern Park Road State Road 544 in this easternmost intersection with old lucern Park road is part of that and I'd like Eric Labby our our director of Economic and opportunity and Community investment to offer a comment or two on some recent changes that we've learned of from TPO regarding capacity on this is it speaks to other developments in this area yes sir mayor commissioner so we've recently got updated traffic information from the Pok TPO um with respect to L lucern Park Road um as expected traffic is increasing on lucern Park Road um we do have uh enough capacity for both the harbor Lake Henry subdivision and the willbrook north subdivision um along Lo lucern Park Road but at then at that point capacity will be used up that concludes my presentation sir all right all right thank you commission the uh the light you said that there's going to be a light is that at the cemetery return to the cemetery going to Old leou Park Road it will be um AJ can you navigate to that intersection or Eric to show where that light will be it's going to be further back right there so there's I believe a gas station on that corner um it's a pretty dangerous intersection uh in terms of traffic conflict so that's one of the locations where they're making a an early on intersection Improvement there are other intersection improvements scheduled throughout this corridor from First Street really all the way out past us27 but this is the first one that the Improvement at Avenue y will include as you said uh at Avenue y I believe that's intended to be a roundabout at that intersection based upon the last designs that I'm I've I've observed all right all entertain a motion Mr Mayor motion to approve resolution r2504 thank you I will close the commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to r254 can do so at this time come forward state your name and address for the record have five minutes good afternoon I'm Ernestine Davis 379 buckout Point Drive let ask a question about the the light that you all speaking of on um the L Park Road yes ma'am yes so where in there on the lcan Park Road you plan to put the light so if you look at the screen in front of you you can see where the hand is moving right there that is on the easternmost reconnection of where old Luc Park Road comes into lucern Park Road and that is it's not a city project that is a Florida Department of Transportation Improvement that will be made there Miss Davis okay I think they help you a little bit more Ernestine uhuh that the section that they're talking about old lucern park and lucern Park Road comes together at two different intersections the one that they're referring to about the light I guess is the uh the one that's closest to 27 yes sir that is correct so that gives you a a better picture of exactly what you're talking about okay are you speaking of P um Walmart yes coming back towards 27 you know where the race track is on 27 and okay L Park Road coming back there's a little service station right there where the road goes off to the right oh wa where the uh mobile homes yes okay well now we need um I would like out here you talking about a RI or some roundabout you all talking about uh we need a like we have about four churches in the same area and we need a light in our community that's where we need a light because listen all over po County in different area you travel and the community you know in the community Street by Street it's a light okay so we need to work on that that's what we need to work on that's very important and we've been talking about it and talking about it and that's not fair if we need to have a meeting tell Washington wherever we need to go we need a light thank you thank you anyone else I just will make one comment uh Ernestine I just want you to know that we have no control that's a do state they they have totals [Music] and un compromising power over that I I would probably add that the the roundabout will probably bring some supposedly bring some relief to that area uh where you're speaking to relative to the uh churches because you're exact right it is it is quite a challenge uh when you're trying to access U lucern uh for many of those areas and it's very dangerous and uh so I think the roundabout will alleviate that because one it will and that's why they're they're using those much more today to slow things down a bit and to uh give Ingress and egress uh a little much easier to navigate and move through so hopefully that will uh bring about you know some some assistance or help uh with uh the Improvement to the road all right anyone else from the uh public I close the uh public hearing reopen the city commission meeting is there any discussion all those in favor let it be known by saying I I I posos this by the same sign hearing none resolution r2504 is is adopted okay we have uh three audiences uh first reading uh we will not be voting on those tonight the we will vote on them on February the 10th however I will allow any uh questions or discussion in reference to those so ordinance 02503 which you read by Tyle on the uh City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number 0- 25-3 an ordinance amending ordinance 23-24 of the 2035 winner Haven comprehensive plan by amending the schedule of Capital Improvements portion of the Capital Improvements element of the city Winter Haven comprehensive plan revising Capital Improvements element policies 1.1.7 and 1.1.8 reping all ordinances in Conflict here withth providing for the administrative correction of scers errors and providing an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor and Commissioners Florida Statutes requires all local governments to adopt a 5-year schedule of Capital Improvements as part of its comprehensive plan this update includes fiscal years 2425 through 2829 and is derived from the city's 2425 operating budget the fiveyear schedule of Capital Improvements consists of items identified in the capital Improvement program portion of the city's operating budget that implements specific objectives and policies that are contained within the comprehensive plan only those projects with a minimum cost cost of $25,000 and a minimum service life of 5 years are included the total Capital spend for the proposed fiveyear schedule is approximately $482 million the uh in addition to the city's CIP that will be incorporated in the comprehensive plan it also formally adopts by reference the current fdot 5year work program the P County 5year transportation work program and the five-year work program is adopted by the PK County School Board the Planning Commission on January 7th of this year unanimously voted to recommend approval of this request and forwarding on to the city commission for consideration staff recommends the commission move ordinance 02-03 to Second reading thank you thank you we will have second reading on February the 10th H if there's any commissioners if would like to ask any questions or speak to this AUD you can do so at this time all right anyone from the public all right ordinance 0256 would you read by title on the City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number -256 an ordinance amending various provisions of article Roman Nal 3 chapter 19 sections 1968 through 1981 of the code of ordinances of the the city of winen Florida regarding the city's Wastewater system specifically the industrial pre-treatment program also referred to as the industrial pre-treatment ordinance by incorporating changes mandated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Andor the Environmental Protection Agency through revision of the city's Wastewater industrial pre-treatment regulations providing for codification the administrative correction of Governor's errors severability and a repeal of conflicting ordinances and resolutions and providing for an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor and Commissioners the city has Wastewater industrial pre-treatment ordinance specifying the requirements provisions and local limits for General sewer use and pre-treatment also referred to as a sewer use ordinance in accordance with fd's ongoing oversight the City of Winter Haven is proposing revisions to its Wastewater industrial pre-treatment ordinance uh the revision stem from fd's March 27th 2024 audit of the pre-treatment fat oil and grease division the proposed ordinance addresses D's recommendations for regulatory compliance clarifies language and corrects minor typographical errors having received D's preliminary approval on January 3rd of 2025 the city now seeks City commission's adoption of ordinance 0256 staff recommends City commission approve the ordinance and move it to Second reading and authorize the city manager or design to take all further actions necessary related there too thank you okay thank you we will have our second reading on February 10 10th however if there's anyone from the audience that would like to address it or anyone from the commission thank you ordinance 0257 would you read by title on the City attorney thank you Mr Mayor ordinance number 0257 an ordinance amending ordinance number 0- 23-54 appropriation of funds for defraying the expenses of the municipal government of the city of win haven for the fiscal year commencing October 1 2023 providing for severability and providing an effective date thank you thank you city manager mayor and Commissioners in July of fiscal year 23 the city implemented encumbrance of purchase orders for better management of resources transparency and fiscal accountability encumbrance roll forwards occur when these commitments are carried forward from one fiscal period to the next due to the encumbrance roll forwards from the previous fiscal year 2023 adjustments to fiscal year 2024 budget are required the those uh roll forwards are outlined within the packet that you received staff's recommending the city commission approve ordinance 0257 approving a budget amendment for the encumbered purchase order roll forwards thank you thank you all right we will have our second reading on February the 10th however if there's anyone from the audience or the commission that would like to address this ordinance you may do so at this time seeing none we'll move right along new business RFQ 2438 city manager mayor and Commissioners on August 21st of 2024 the city issued RFQ 2438 seeking submittals from qualified design build firms for the Redevelopment of the city's former fire station one located just to the north of the building we are in this is to construct New City of Winter Haven Building Division administrative offices on October 9th 20124 four proposals were received meeting all the specifications for qualifications on December 10th of 2024 the city's selection committee met and selected the unanimously top ranked firm Whitehead construction a recommendation of award was posted December 10th 2024 with no protest received in response city has approximately $7 million set aside for in the in the construction fund for the construction of these Building Division facilities there's a rendering this is not necessarily exactly what the building would look like but gives some concept of how that building may be transformed the building itself will remain pretty much as the the exterior walls in roof are it is a complete rehab and construction on the inside of this building that will allow us to better meet the needs of our community from a building official standpoint staff recommend City commission award RFQ 2438 to Whitehead construction and authorize the city manager to negotiate the design build services and take all actions necessary incidental there too if approved the next step in this process will be once the contract is fully executed we will bring back to the city commission a guaranteed maximum price for the design efforts associated with this project uh afterwards we will bring back an amendment to that GMP that will factor in the actual construction cost for it thank you thank you Commissioners quick question yes T you know was this a gene Le building by any chance I know ours is but is was that a Jean Le deign you know I I cannot confirm if it is an actual gene ladyy or if it is similar to I know that it has many of the same features with the Double T trussing and everything but I'm not certain if that was one that was designed by Mr ladyy or not but we can uh we can look back maybe in the old yes sir that would be I think because I think if this is a gene leading building it's going to mean more to us with what we do on it uh than if it weren't but that's all I'm saying assistant C manager bird you recall if this was a a genan lady building we'll we'll confirm that sir if you don't mind thank you all right entertain a motion mayor motion I'll make the motion for RFQ 24-38 thank you thank you I will close the commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to our Q 2438 may do so at this time seeing none close the public hear 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 oppos this by the same sign hearing none RF Q 2438 is adopted all right 13B is the recommendation for grant and aid application Review Committee members city manager thank you uh Mr Mayor mayor and Commissioners so we have our grant Nate application Review Committee that was established by resolution 2219 on May 9th of 2022 City commission appointed the initial five citizen members to serve three-year terms uh Alex cam was one of those members who unfortunately had to resign his seat and he was replaced by Miss Melinda caligus which was recommended by commissioner Mercer she was appointed to the commission to the GC by the Commission in early 2024 that group met this October and the current members of the committee include Tina Summerland Abdul Al ctib Alex Santiago and Melinda cagus and they all indicated they wish to serve a second three-year term Dr Steve Negley who was one of the original members noted that with regrets he would not be able to serve a second term Dr Negley had been nominated by former City Commissioner JP Powell which who was ultimately succeeded by commissioner Clifton dollison commissioner dollison has nominated Dr Barbara Jones to serve on the committee thereby filling the seat that would be vacated by Dr Negley at this time we are recommending that the city commission reappoint the uh members Tina Summerland Abdul ALB Alex Santiago and Melinda cagus for a new three-year term and also appoint Dr Barbara Jones for an initial three-year term all of those five individuals will serve from January of 2025 over the next three years and uh there is a application within your packet as submitted by Dr Barbara Jones Thank you thank you Commissioners Mr Mayor yes motion to approve the recommendation for grant and aid application Review Committee members as presented thank you I will close the commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wishing to speak to this item may do so at this time seeing none I close the public hearing reopen the city commission meeting in a discussion oh just a question yes clarification um and first I want to make it very clear that my question is in no way related to the applicant tonight it was just more of a I want to clarify what the process is for any and all of our are um committees like this do we do background checks and go through that process for every single member regardless of any committees anything associated with committees with the City of Winter Haven we run background checks and do all we do sir uh they fill out their application they go through a back around check and some of our committees and boards are also required to comply with the commission on ethics through the completion of form one depending upon what their roles and responsibilities are so that will be the next step in the process with Dr Jones is to go through the background check on that got it okay and again that not related to Dr Jones at all I just wanted was curious of confirming what that process was excellent excellent question and thank you for for asking that I also say that we have all the three meetings of the uh for the applicants the training sessions that was something that we stole uh from commissioner dancer and his role with the TDC requiring the applicants to go through that process those have been set for the month of February we are we have more applications or more signups I should say we haven't received any applications yet but more people have expressed interest and signed up for those three training sessions than we've ever had before great all right that it all right well we are now down to uh was there a vote on that Mr mayor I there was a motion by commissioner y I wasn't sure if there was a vote I didn't care I don't think we voted you made the motion yes oh all right any discussion all those in favor of the motion let it be known by saying I I opposes by the same sign all right let adopted sen attorney report nothing this evening thank you did I miss something I think you missed the Aon the you've been doing this for a little while bottom of the page minute it's at the very bottom yeah the very last one number 14 the sheet that I have doesn't have that on reports it just Le's on reports commission Le is on reports oh I should do the commissioners before I do the city ATT turny all right to you mayor my brain is still in Connecticut I'm sorry commissioner danler okay I'll go quick uh started today with a goodbye celebration for sunny didn't realize he'd worked here for almost 30 years so wish him all the best in his uh retirement attended the Martin Luther King Parade good crowd this year very very good crowd this year also the unity luncheon the refling ceremony and the PK State College Martin Luther King lunch and so we had a lot of Martin Luther King celebrations and a lot of commemorations and it was a good week and um I was glad I was able to make several of those I got my tree from Arbor Day they were giving away free trees out there and I've got I've got another I got an email that they have another one for me that guess I had a few extras so if anybody wants one they might have an extra tree for you but you got to go pick my extra they're gonna give me a second one so um and then um last but not least this weekend you know I guys like to give reports on what's going on in the Fieldhouse we had a volleyball tournament down there and it was the most crowded I've ever seen that place it was so packed you're and and it just so happens all the construction so the parking was a little bit of a challenge uh and I came back that night Saturday night to watch the play Anastasia and I'm begin to tell you if you've not seen that play you need to go it's one of the best ones they've ever put on down there I'm just telling you it's it's it's just really really good play the music is so good but we have really hit a home run with that Fieldhouse and Conference Center because it was hopping on all cylinders between the play and the volleyball tournaments and the people and people were down there walking it was just an absolute busy be Hub of of um of activity so I'm just thrilled every time I go down there and see how much that place is being used so we we absolutely did a good thing for our community with that building so anyway that's it thank you commissioner Mercer I attended the Poke State MLK lunch in and we did the MLK replay um also attended the MLK Unity lunch in um the MLK Park um parade and uh did that from um Ruben Williams Sports Center to MLK Park and I did the MLK breakfast with concerned citizens and I also did the chamber eggs and economics at Pop State and we had one of our own Eric and of course we had Bruce there and they did a good job so um I even had a lot of questions for them so um the uh I also attended in uh Port Charlotte the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary program I guess it is I have um I can give you a report on it if you'd like I'll just hit some of the topics that um they discussed um we had one report as you can see it was a lot of pages um uh they also did um talked a little bit about both of the the hurricanes in that area because there was a lot of flooding and a lot of damages to both from both um we had some presentations um and the Publications and outreaches that they have done um through their through their Association let me see okay I wanted to talk a little bit about um they had two rivers that they did have on one of them was the maaka national wild in Scenic Rivers designation I never heard of that but um they also were looking at the peace National um Wild incen River designation and so uh part of that is um you have to get it's authorized by Congress so it's a federal designation and um so what they try to do is um have a lot of um to preserve those rivers and of course um since the Peace River uh there will be Water Supplies taken out of that so that makes a big difference for the Peace River it may not be declared there was some just a lot of discussion on that so um so like I said there were there's a lot of other things that they um the hurricane recovery needs they talked about that um and uh some of the uh technal projects they gave some updates on some of the projects that they're working on so I have them more detailed and I brought back a whole package for you and that's all I have all right thank you commissioner doson good evening I um was able to uh it was privileged to attend the MLK activities and uh they were done with excellence and uh do want to commend the committee for doing an outstanding job as they normally do um I think uh it it's so important um and sadly I'll say this is sad on the national level that diversity has been given a bad name in the sense that many of those acknowledgements and awareness has been eradicated tonight was a was a great example of what we do locally and I and I think it's important to stay focused locally because sometimes when you look at the national scene you can really become discouraged and disheartened by what you see but tonight we honor to people um Joel Atkins I knew personally I knew him up close I worked along with him in our convention I was under his leadership I knew of his great work in civil rights I knew the struggle that he endured here right here in Winter Haven that his house um was scheduled to be bombed he lived under a bomb threat and just to know that we took time to honor such a man who would put his life on the line for doing what is right and uh he served this community as a pastor teacher and also carol which I know very well over the years 30 years 30 plus years I've been working in the community and Carol has been and was an integral part of many of the activities as it relates to law enforcement I've been a chaplain for 20 some years you got a call today to respond and I did respond to a call it's just wonderful to be able to serve a community and have the opportunity to do so but I I it is my hope that um locally we maintain the idea that we are a nation of many different groups and our cultural differences and we shared those we saw those on display here tonight I think it's what makes us strong and What Makes Us unique and I hope and pray that uh we will always maintain that as a city I think it's always in our best interest and so I wanted to at least Express that tonight because I think we're on the right path uh I was able to U be there with uh past excuse me think about pastors but she emry today and uh we thank him for his Meritor service and commitment to the city and uh it looks like he could do another 30 30 years or 25 years and U so we appreciate him so very much also poke State uh was able to uh be at the ribbon cutting uh the mayor spoke very eloquently about uh that facility and uh it was just an honor to be there and to see what they have done uh with that um it is Premier in terms of sound and just the quality of of what they've done and the Art Gallery is another add piece that I think is really exceptional as well and uh so you know those are just some of the highlights of the things I was able to share with this uh last few weeks all right thank you thank you may I proes thank you uh just a few items this evening um one thing I wanted to point out was that I kind of discovered a need and an opportunity within Winter Haven obviously everyone knows that we've got a great um FSU Residency program here in town and attending some high school events I noticed that you know with football you always had um medical staff on Call ready to go any kind of time you have a football game you have that but you miss out on that a lot of times with soccer and basketball and some of the other High School athletics so I reached out to uh uh to Dr Faulk over there at The Residency program and tied them in with uh Ashley surgeon our our liaison with pulk schools and also with Dan talbet we had a meeting of how potentially residents could attend these High School athletic games and earn the credits that they need to to graduate residency and that was very well received um so that's in motion and gives an opportunity for the residents there to attend games if there's any medical need or any situation along those lines um that'll be there and and available for the the high school students so happy and hopeful to see that um come about sooner than later um also attended uh sever of the MLK events the the Friday lunch in the MLK parade and the MLK breakfast this past Saturday um I hope I I think sometimes I I I think maybe the speakers need to have a little bit more of a crash course on what's going on in Winter Haven because I just think we are a very unified Community um everybody is respectful of one another and goes in the right direction so I just I I was hoping to hear a more unifying message at the lunch and and the breakfast but that's okay um and u i I know the town that we live in and and love our town and love Winter Haven no place I'd rather be um and we are a unified Community here in Winter Haven um also wanted to mention uh I'll be traveling next week uh to uh uh DC on behalf of the Florida Liga cities and the uh fast ction Strike Team committee and one of the things that um was brought up today uh that's going to be um a priority up there is that is urging Congress to pre preserve the tax exempt status for municipal bonds obviously we've done several bonds as of late um which achieved uh tax-free status I think that helps the investors come in and and acquire those bonds it helps our rates and so I think that's something that Congress needs to keep into place certainly knowing that we're going to have some more bonding here before long for water plants and and other things that come along so um that's something that I think is important to to keep in place and I'll be advocating for that in in DC um with that that's all I have oh airport advisory meeting sorry I wanted to touch on that so they um have been inviting uh private schools out there there I think just the communication wise uh private elementary schools have been um getting out there they wanted to reach out to public elementary schools think a phenomenal idea um so I put them in touch again with our liaison Ashley surgeon and uh to facilitate that and hopefully we'll have local elementary school field trips coming out to the Winter Haven airport and visiting out there so I think that'd be an awesome thing um and hopefully maybe we'll strike a spark in some of the younger students to um hopefully attend some of the classes out there one day and get their pilot's license and fly us up to Washington DC and everywhere else around the world to that's all I got all right thank you go ahead speak you were there yes okay uh well I got to do something I had never done before in fact I've never heard of it the peace pole have y'all heard of the peace Pole Yes No Maybe So it was at the montau school they have a peace Pole where they unveiled it and um it's the the whole purpose of it is to promote world peace and so it was s really interesting we had several little speakers of which I Was Won even though it was my first go around but uh and we it it the weather cooperated it was a little chilly but uh other than that it was pretty good at the matu school uh attended the Poke State Fine Art uh ribbon cutting um Renovations are stunning out there it's just really nice and it took several years to uh to get the Mone to have the money come from the state to uh to renovate uh that P Arch building uh also attended the uh language and and literacy academy uh Westgate is donating a playground is money for a playground at this uh uh language and arts uh literacy Academy and um they are totally renovating their building and it is so nice and for those of you that may not know the language and literacy is for uh the mentally um challenge students that's that's that's what it's for and um so it's just they can have a building and they got I think they told us that they have over uh 300 students so it's it's a big deal and uh just good to see uh attended all of the uh MLK uh activities that were put on by our committee and also poke State the one thing that really intrigued me I had never done before was to go and uh observe what they did at the library and I mean I was really taken back because it I really wanted to do more I wanted to play around with some of the the things the ice breakers that they did and it was really good it really challenged the the students and so uh I thoroughly uh enjoyed that and also attendant Sunny Walker's uh retirement and again he doesn't look like he's ready to retire I mean he doesn't look old enough but I guess he is and um saw some baby pictures of him I mean normally you go to a retirement you don't see no little baby pictures of of nobody and nobody has the baby pictures I don't think I've seen a baby picture of me in all my years so but there were some baby pictures there but uh thoroughly uh enjoy that and uh attendant the um one Haven EDC meeting and also the prwc meeting and with that that's it so now City attorney you already said you didn't have nothing thank you mayor nothing else this evening thank you all right city manager thank you sir I have a couple items for you this evening first of all we discussed Wednesday evening the legislative agenda uh you have an updated version of that document I believe at the dis it's still in draft form we're still plugging in some numbers to that it will highlight not only what we're asking the state and federal uh Partners to consider in terms of funding but we'll also outline what our local contributions will be um with respect to uh Sage Road commissioner dancer had brought that up we're going to be engaging in further discussions with our County Partners on that one um we think that leveraging both of those projects together May overextend our ask at the state level um I think on the Willowbrook Road alone we may be about $5 million on the design aspects of that that we're going to be asking the state to do but we are looking at Sage Road at the same time to see what's the best Avenue to get that uh moving forward so we we heard you loud and clear on that we will wrap this up up pending any uh critiques or comments that we get from you all and that will be the basis for us to carry forward to Tallahassee when we go for in March for p County day we've also received the the legislative platform from pul County Public Schools which has a lot of key points in that Deputy city manager will be engaged with the school board tomorrow in their inside P County public school program and that will hope will focus heavily on legislative platform so we'll know a little better what the issues are that they're dealing with and we are still uh working with PK State College to get their uh key legislative items that we can help Advocate on their behalf wanted to share with you that I had a opportunity last week to meet with representatives from Central Florida Healthcare and their Dental uh practices that they offer this is following up on our discussions from November on fluide and the uh the idea that came forward of how do we utilize some of our local medical Partners to maybe fill the gap or mitigate the the the elimination of the floration uh so I met with Ann Clawson and her chief officer for dental services their mobile Dental unit provider uh the individual in charge of all of their hygienists and they are um working up a program that will focus on education and awareness as well as extended services to areas within our community and I expect to have that back and I'll bring that back to the city commission for consideration uh I would not pursue that as a grant and a they will do a grant and aid request but I felt this was more of a special initiative at the request of the city commission so I'll bring that back to see how we incorporate that either with funds that may be available in the current Year's budget or to appropriate or make a recommendation for appropriate in the upcoming fiscal year as we develop that budget they have a mobile unit they do have a mobile unit yes sir that's our answer right there yeah and we we um we discussed you know the the opportunities uh to work with churches toh extend Services out uh to work with the Winter Haven Recreation and Cultural Center when that facility opens up um they've got a they've got a pretty amazing program that they're they're delivering within our community um it's a it's a very impressive organization so proud to have that based right here in Winter Haven um to answer your question commissioner dancer about the uh Gan ladyy influence on that building assistant city manager bird was able to afford me a document that says it suggests according to Max Strang who is probably the the the best expert on Ley architecture that that building is a lead building so um that will uh come into to consideration and the design I think so this building is so seems like that one would be too um you mentioned the retirement of Chief Sunny Emery the swearing in ceremony for chief Drew newbrand will be next Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. at noro Hall so that should be on your calendars if you're able to attend we would certainly love to have you there uh very significant event that we put on to to swear in our our law enforcement and our fire chief um so we're looking forward to that and then this week beginning Wednesday Deputy city manager carnavali and I will be traveling to the Florida City County Management Association Winter Institute over on the west coast uh during that time assistant city manager bird will be the uh in control and be your point person for any issues that come up so feel free to call upon him as frequently as you may desire and MJ will be back into the area on Friday evening so they can double team that that responsibility and I think that is everything I have for this evening sir thank you all right MJ I do have I do have something this evening I'd like to share we had an incident on Sunday that we thought was worth sharing with you guys uh so I think AJ has uh some slides um so we had a water line break near the entrance to College Grove which is on the north side of Lake ilbert um as you can see that green pipe in the picture there that's a 6inch PVC pipe that pipe exploded is that am I saying that right G which is pretty uncommon the way that it broke um but that pipe broke and uh it's part of a looped system so you had the full pressure that feeds a fire hydrant so you essentially have the full pressure of a fire hydrant feeding from two directions uh into this this area um that caused the wash out I think you can click to the next one AJ did you say green pipe is supposed to be blue for water an old pip yeah um so you can see it caused a bit of a wash out here a lot of Utilities in the area which made the repairs here much more complicated uh this is just outside of the area where we're constructing uh doing the construction on Lake Elbert Drive uh so not really related to that project just just outside of the construction area MJ what are those two Rusty pipes in the background so there is a uh I believe a 10inch um Force man in there I remember my gosh like they're ready to break yeah and then then there's a water these are the lines that are being replaced okay as part of the lake Elbert project and they just weren't you know the new ones weren't in and operational yet would you hit the next one AJ so that's kind of the the zoom out on the wash out there pretty significant also worth noting that's the only entrance in and out of College Grove uh so there's a lot of coordination with Public Safety to make sure that they were able to continue to provide services there was a medical event in there during this they were able to get people in and out um effectively still uh so staff was able to get the water shut off there was a lot of coordination between our utilities teams Public Works Park Recreation and culture and then partnership with Carter K engineering who's been providing some uh support on the lake Elbert project and then the contractor for the lake Elbert project came out to provide help um they weren't working that day but they had materials and equipment on site right nearby so they they came out uh and helped us get that repair underway everybody collaborated uh they repaired the storm water pipes they um you can see that blue line running across the middle there that flexy one one as the 6-in line washed out the roadway there was a 2-inch line over it that then caved in on top of that so then you had a two-inch line leaking as well kind of adding to that so they bypass it with that flexible line there um got everything kind of patched back up hit the next one AJ and by the end of the day this is what that looked like um and you kind of Hit the next one to you AJ so uh Road was open and passable to traffic again able to get in and out of College Grove but it's just worth pointing out that the that's a very pretty significant uh issue and the fact that the teams were able to collaborate together have that repaired um back open to the public by the end of the day that doesn't happen unless everybody's firing on all cylinders it's just pretty cool stuff on a Sunday no less on Sunday yeah this we we think that this pipe probably burst sometime around 3:00 a. and winter Police Department was notified and our crews were rolling by no later than 7 a.m. I don't know what time we our first notification came in um but by the end of the day to have that completely restored is it's an impressive uh feed on behalf of your your staff in those departments so just a kudos to everybody barge in the background we have some sort of barge out there or something with that on the side of that crane big scoop truck uh on the left here looks like the other side that blue that's silt fence that's a piece of pipe yeah look behind look there is some sediment that was down in the lake so there's some followup work that's going to happen here um some of the like I said some of the infrastructure there was already slated to be replaced they'll go back and do that um they're doing some late cleanup work uh probably starting tomorrow I think um so following up with that working with the residents just a pretty significant uh issue but that was really really well handled I think across the board so just want to share that that's all I have toon sir all right thank you city clerk nothing for me this evening Deputy City clerk all right I've since I've already renamed uh Chief Emer Sunny Walker if he's listening I hope he doesn't come back to haunt me but any right and what I had just one final thing uh tomorrow night at the uh Winter Haven High School uh men's uh boys basketball game they're going to retire my brother's uh number number oh cool and so uh he's in town to uh to receive that honor all right emergency matters not received for the agenda motion to adjin standing