Welcome to the Braden City Council regular meeting on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. City Hall Council Chambers. As always, we will start out with an invoc invocation and a pledge. At this time going to ask Father Mike Brady with Christ Episcopal Church to
come forward and give us our invocation and then we'll um have the pledge. And I think there's some exciting things going on at Christ Episcopal Church over the last few days. So congratulations on that. Let's take a moment and put ourselves in
the presence of God. Lord of all the nations, grant your wisdom to our mayor and city council. Give them the courage to apply that wisdom with integrity, clarity of purpose, and compassion. Don't let the extremes of
party politics or posturing blind those who govern or motivate those who oppose so that we may all honor one another and seek only common good. Lord, we pray for our city of Bradenton. strengthen what is good within her and
teach us to cherish it. Strengthen the insight of our leaders into what is best for the people and give them the courage to argue for a future that will bring about the flourishing of our community. I lift up all law enforcement officers, first responders, and those
who help those in need. Father, shield them with your loving presence. guard them in their work and grant them hearts of compassion to ensure the safety and well-being of those that they encounter. Help us all to renew our commitments to one another so that in
our everyday lives, we may bear one another's burdens and rejoice to share one another's joys. We pray this in the name of your blessed son, our savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen. Amen. I'm going to ask Vice Mayor Kramer to lead us in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. And again, good morning. At this time, we will call the meeting to order. Madame Clerk, item 3A is a proclamation for code
enforcement officers appreciation week, which I'll read on behalf of the mayor. Whereas code enforcement officers provide for the safety, health, and welfare of the citizens in this community through the enforcement of building, zoning, housing, animal
control, fire safety, environmental, and other codes and ordinances. And whereas code enforcement officers are often not credited for the jobs that they do in saving lives and improving neighborhoods every day, assisted by
support and program staff, they provide quality customer service to the public for the betterment of the community. And whereas too many times their efforts go unnoticed, even after code compliance has been accomplished due to their efforts and
expertise. And whereas code enforcement officers are dedicated, well-trained, and highly responsible individuals who take their jobs seriously and are proud of their department and the local government within which they serve. Now
therefore, be it resolved that I, Gene Brown, as mayor of the city of Bradenton, Florida, do hereby proclaim the week of June 2nd through the 6, 2025, as code enforcement officers appreciation week, and urge all citizens to express appreciation for the
dedication and outstanding service provided by the code enforcement officers. Signed, Gene Brown, Mayor. Thank you. And who do we have receiving this? Mr. Wilker and crew. Good morning. Thank you, Mayor and Council. We are our
code enforcement officers and our code enforcement coordinators. We have a few new faces, so I just would like to introduce them. Uh, first we have Candi who's our new kind of new code enforcement coordinator who works behind
the scenes. She started in December, no, November. We have Mike McGinness, of course, our senior code enforcement officer. We have Frank, who started in December. We have Rodney, our new newest code enforcement officer, who started
two weeks ago. And we have, of course, Doug, who started three years ago, something like that. So, you know him. Uh, we still have one open position that we're interviewing uh uh uh code enforcement people for. So, we hope we can fill that
position. Hopefully, we make a decision this week. So, we have a few more interviews. I want to thank you and I want to thank the rest of your council and everybody for their support, Mr. Perry. And I want to say one more thing because it's a special day today. I want to thank Chief Beavenon for her support
for all these years that she uh was with us in in for code enforcement. I wish you best in your retirement and I'm looking forward to working with Councilman Kramer when he gets appointed to be the new police chief. I remember him when he was a sergeant.
So do I. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate you guys. Why don't you come up here and we'll get a picture. Mayor, can I just say something real quick? Sure. Yep. I I I just want to, you know, point out that it's been a kind of a hallmark year for uh for code enforcement. They've done a lot of really good things and they have
throughout my four-year tenure. But um this year they really kind of uh tightened down and we had a bunch of cases that had to go to court and it was kind of novel as far as uh is going to the circuit court to get enforcement action uh because that was the only
options that were left. And you probably remember some of this property. Uh you and I were out there with Vulker, his team, Mike and folks. Um they've done a great job with their policy development with the training on it. Mike has a new extended pole to reach signs that are
higher than Yeah. doesn't have to get up on a ladder and and so their equipment as well as their operations. They just really have done a good job this year. And obviously with our addition of uh of Frank Rodney and um and Candy, you know, we're filling the the gaps and just
trying to make sure we get full coverage for the city enforcement. And it's a, you know, delicate balance that they do and they do it well and professionally. And when people get to see you, they're not always happy to see you, but obviously we just have rules and policies. So, all right. Well, thank you
very much. We'll get a picture. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Madame clerk, our next proclamation is for National Garden Week, June 1st
through the 7th, 2025. Whereas gardeners have a passion for nurturing the beauty and resources of the earth through planting of seeds, the care of all plants, and the riches of their efforts. And whereas gardeners
seek to add beauty, splendor, fragrance, and nutrition to our lives through growing of herbs, vegetables, foliage, and flowers. Whereas gardeners work to preserve our country's traditional spirit of independence and initiative
through innovation and hard work. And whereas gardeners advocate for the importance of all creatures large and small that share our world and their roles in a balanced and productive ecology. And whereas gardening furnishes a
challenging and productive activity for our citizens, for those just learning, as well as those having years of experience. And whereas gardening, excuse me, gardening promotes a healthy lifestyle that lasts a lifetime, helps reduce stress from other areas of our
life, teaches that rewards can come from diligent efforts, and whereas gardening enables members of garden clubs across the nation and the world to make a world of difference in the communities where they reside and work. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Gene Brown, as mayor
of the city of Bradenton, Florida, do hereby proclaim June 1st through the 7th, 2025, as National Garden Week in Bradenton, and acknowledge the importance of gardening and the numerous contributions of gardeners. Sign Jean
Brown, Mayor. Thank you. We have Who do we have here? Anybody? Just saw you. Come on forward. Good morning and welcome. On behalf of the Manatee River Garden Club, we thank you all for your support. We are approaching our centennial and um
we will be working with Councilwoman Barnaby to um to make some plans. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Barnaby. I was going to say, some of you may or may not remember when you had the statewide
meeting, you had Mother Nature show up. That was fun. So, I'm I'm looking forward to to continuing to partner with the Manatee River Garden Club. They do such an awesome awesome job. And I I I know at
least of three or four people that I grew up with that were involved in your junior gardening club. Some of them became floral designers. Some of them became uh landscape architects. So, you never know what's going to come from
that little pebble that you throw out into our community. We also gave out to young people going to university for ecology, landscaping for and returning to our community. So, we're very proud of that.
Wonderful. Congratulations. Thank you. If you want to come up forward, we'll get a picture. Thank you. Have a great day and look forward to the centennial. Madame clerk, item 4 A is the quarterly employee recognition.
Who do we have coming forward? Miss Stander and and Nilsa Taylor are going to uh start us off. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, Mayor, City Council, Mr. Perry, Mr. Rudell, Chief
Devon, Chief Gear, Nela Taylor, Director of Administrative Services. Um today gives me great pleasure to recognize several employees for exemplary exemplary leadership, teamwork and commitment, outstanding support to
another department and creativity in a new and innovative work processes. Employees were nominated by their peers, supervisors or directors and were evaluated and reviewed by city
administration, chief operating officer, administrative services and human resources. Based on these accomplishments, we are pleased to announce team of the quarter, employee of the quarter, and two
runnerups. With that, Mr. Perry? No, Miss Sandifer. [Music] Okay. Thank you. Good morning to all. Um, at this time, if Miss Tiffany Shadic will come up, Miss Tiffany Shadic is a a runnerup.
She works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, helping to ensure our citizens get the most up-to-date information as quickly as possible. She is tasked with the duty of putting our citizens well-being first and simultaneously keeping our elected and administrative
staff informed of potential issues happening throughout our city. She consistently goes the extra mile to get the information to produce highquality product and educates herself on most any topic even though it is not in her area
of expertise. During the hurricane crisis, Tiffany worked tirelessly to help calm our citizens during a very stressful crisis. She was setting up interviews, posting social media, writing press releases, updating the web page, fighting and I'm sorry, and
fielding calls from outside agencies as well as our own staff. Although Tiffany was operating on little to no sleep, she maintained her professional composure and was at was an excellent representative for our city. It was her
hard work that kept our citizens informed of the very serious situation that was happening. She has a strong work ethic and will take on outside projects even when her workload is at capacity. She is creative and looks for innovative innovative ways to promote
our city. She is never satisfied with just getting it done. She consistently strives to help us be the friendly city. Thank you so much for your dedication and creative thinking that keeps us moving forward. She has proven her
commitment to our city in sunny days and in our time of need. Thank you so much [Applause] speech. I was not expecting to come up first, so
I'm over here shaking like a leaf. But thank you. Um all in a day's work. I I love my job and it's just part of the job. I do it for the people. Thank you. We're glad you're here. [Applause]
We'll get a big group picture at the end. So, okay. Okay. And our next runner up is um Maraveville Hernandez. Um she is out at a conference. So, Miss Corey Foron is going to come up in herstead and accept.
come up. Marville was initially hired as a temp through an employee employment agency to help with the implementation of the vacation rental registration program. This was a new program for the city and the registration review process
is laborous as the program was new to the city. The process of learning the third party vendor system, the proper documentation required and the process of conveying this to the registrants who were oftentimes confused and combative was an enormous undertaking. Maraveville
grabbed the bull by the horns, became an expert on the requirements and the system and with an extremely helpful and positive attitude assisted several hundred applicants to successfully complete the registration process. We received several emails and telephone
calls from applicants who wanted to reach out and express how courteous and professional Mara was in assisting them through this process. Maraveville was absolutely instrumental in making this program a success. We are very fortunate to have her on team Bradton. So, thank
you very much. So, I'm not Maravel obviously and I will not for the picture, but you all need to know that she is truly a rock star. Everything that was put in the nomination is true, and we couldn't have done it without her. So, thank you. Thank you.
[Applause] Thank you. Um, next we will be announcing team of the quarter. Um, Officer Jeff Fox, Officer Connor Horsley, Officer Enzo Rivera, Detective
Carl Jones, Officer Kevin Williams, and Reserve Officer Brian Windgate. If you would please. Excellent. Thank you. Recently, the police department has underwent a transition to a new duty weapon system with advanced
technology. This team of officers collaborated, researched, and developed both on and off duty and lead training lesson plan, PowerPoint, lecture, demonstration, and real world practical
exercises while qualifying the entire agency in proficiency. These officers adjusted their schedules, family time, some on a very short notice to accomplish the mission. In all, over
100 officers were provided training on this new system with no accident and every member showing proficiency. The disciplined and professional demeanor that these officers project while training, while
teaching their students and working their normal tasks along with extreme safety measures commands respect by their fellow officers without request. This team of officers are constantly collaborating and listening to the
students in conjunction with various standards to enhance the training environment. These dedicated officers, true to their passion and trade, reach into their own pockets to purchase advanced training equipment for the
betterment of everyone. It gives me great pleasure to recognize an outstanding team of officers as employees of the quad. [Applause]
Uh, I want to first thank the officers that couldn't be here. Um, they were a huge part of this program as well. Um, a huge thank you to Kevin Williams uh for kind of running the logistics and allowing myself, Carl Wingate, and the others to kind of have fun out on the
range as we're not paperwork or computer guys at all. So, thank you Kevin for that. Um, a lot of professionalism, a lot of pride out there. Uh, the guys and the did exceptionally well and uh we're very thankful for this recognition and
this honor. Appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate you guys. Vice Mayor, Vice Mayor Kramer. Thank you. Um I have some training I believe this afternoon with uh Officer Williams. So I'll hear all about this. I have not been a trained on that duty weapon yet,
but hopefully pretty soon. Okay. Um, and Officer Winggate, was it a surprise for this happening when you walked in and worked as a reserves officer here? Okay. All right. Congratulations all of you. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Photo. We'll get it all everybody together. Yeah, we'll get it. Stay. Don't leave yet, please. Thank you. And lastly, we are announcing employee of the quarter, Nick Orlowski. Would you
[Applause] please? Nick is a senior member of the information technology team and plays a pivotal role in the success of both the department and the city. His dedication,
expertise, and willingness to assist others make him an invaluable asset. Nick started as an intern and has held multiple positions within the department, demonstrating a strong commitment to growth and service. He is always ready to help with a positive
attitude, mentoring staff, answering questions, and sharing his extensive knowledge to strengthen the team. As Hurricane Milton approached, Nick took the lead in preparing the city's systems and infrastructure. He ensured
that local computers were set up to keep the water reclamation facility systems operational during the storm. Additionally, he migrated critical police department applications to the city's backup data center to maintain
uninterrupted service. His tireless efforts were instrumental in restoring city facilities and systems after the storm. To strengthen the resilience of water reclamation facilities network, the IT team initiated a project to
enhance access to critical applications for both daily operations and emergency situations. Nick implemented an on-site network at water reclamation facility allowing staff to maintain access to their applications even in the event of
a storm or other disruption. Nick played a crucial role in the successful relocation of public works and utilities network infrastructure to Tropicana. From testing cables and configuring switches to relocating servers, he ensured the
network was fully operational even before the physical move was completed, enabling public works and utility staff to resume work seamlessly. His dedication and problem solving skills make a significant impact on city
operations. Thank you. [Applause] didn't know I was talking today. Um, well, thank you everyone. Um, I was just telling my team a little bit ago, um, my wife and I actually just like jumped out
of a plane Sunday. We went skydiving and this is like 10 times scarier than that right now. Um, as you can imagine, that's why I'm it and I like to try to hide behind the scenes. Um, but yeah, uh, been here nine years. Um, I still love coming to work. Um, got a lot of good projects coming up
with the new police station, new fire, too. Um, and yeah, just keeps me interested and keeps you coming back. So, thank you everyone. Thank you, Councilwoman Barnaby. This man is one of the most patient people on earth and has earned the
nickname Staint Nick. Congratulations. Thank you. We can get everybody to come back up. Get a picture. Officer Wing 10:00. That's right. Thank you to walk, but it's hot in here.
Thank you very much. Congratulations. [Applause] Madame clerk, item five is citizen comment. Citizen comment. Thank you. At this time, we will accept citizen comment and this is
accepted during our citizen comment portion of the meeting on any non-aggenda item, agenda item, future agenda item, or topic of relevance to the city. Comments will be accepted on public hearings at the appropriate time. And as we always say, um, you come up, you have three minutes, state your name
and your city of residence, and you have your three minutes, but we do ask and remind everybody in the audience that we don't accept yelling from the audience. The quorum is important. This is a business meeting and any type of uh outburst, you'll be asked to leave the
room. So, thank you very much. First one I have is Linda Seabolt. Good morning. Good morning. Um, Linda Seabold, City of Bradon, and um, I'm here to speak on the the lift station project and the collection system and,
uh, the temporary lift station in Sanders property. But, um, I feel like it's an exciting project for everyone for the city. And of course, I still believe that we should be working on lift station three and the collection system now keep and keep this other
project as a the temporary the second temporary lift station as a backup project in case something really bad happens. That's just what I believe. Now, as an outside observer to this what's going on right now, I don't
believe we have hired a project manager yet. And I think we're still wanting to do that. Um it seems to me that all the major decisions are being made before he even gets a he or she even gets a chance to look at it. And um and are we
planning on putting all the utilities and the road once it's opened up? The electric, the cable, uh water upgrade, water pipe upgrades, whatever needs to happen. Um and I think we need to treat this as a very
simple project as possible and uh I think we will have better results. Don't let anyone tell you that it's not simple because we do this all over the country and the county and here locally every day at or you know every month anyhow
and uh Manatee County and the city of Bradington Beach fairly recently upgraded the whole sewer system out there. They included putting all uh utilities underground. Woodruff and Suns were consulted with this project. Again,
I'm very excited about this project and I hope we will make it successful. Thank you. Next, we have Glenn Jibelina. Please come forward and state your name and city of residence and you have three minutes. come up on that. Yeah, she's getting
it. There it is. For the record, Glenn Jablina, Manatee County. I was here five weeks ago and I want addressed my concerns on the surplus property. I didn't get a response that day. So, I said, "Well, let me just email you and give you some
white papers and some other information and I'll I'll do that." It's been five weeks. I'm asking for eight emails. I don't know what the big deal is. Anyways, uh I did uh contact Mayor Brown and I did get a response from uh
records request this morning. Oh, we're channeling it to the right folks. It's unacceptable. You I do stuff with the county all the time. 10 times this volume and it's done in a couple of days. The other thing I want to talk
about is good to see you at Memorial Day and I am big on civil liberties. So when they are violated, I get concerned. So this is case law from the first amendment and I am a member of it.
You cannot ask me for my ID at a school board meeting. It's against the law. There's case law on it. I can walk in any building, right? The judicial center, the clerk, the county. Nobody asks for ID. But you ask for an ID
because of that metal detector to 20 ft of chambers. You think pedophiles and open warrants are are going to be are going to save the kids from jumping out of that elevator. It's ridiculous. Anyways, you can't do that. Please correct it by by the next time because I
am going to the and I talked to your officers and I said look you can't do that. They ignored me completely. I hope you correct it uh chief. Um in the meantime I I have I have filed a complaint with the attorney general. I have copied
everybody in that the school board. I filed a complaint against the school board as well. I take my freedom very seriously. This is a no ID state. Unless I have committed a crime or articulate exposition of a crime, you can't ask me
for my ID. You can't do it. You gave the school board gave your officers an unlawful order to say you're not going in there without an ID. So, please let's not escalate this further. And uh hopefully by July 8th, this will be
taken care of. Uh but they will be contacting you and your attorney will tell you you're going to lose this case. Uh a case law from the attorney general since 2005. This was never in place when Mitch Mitch Pal uh uh title bomb was there. I
don't know how it got back in place. It's against the law. You can't do it. Save the taxpayer some money because if these guys get involved in the attorney general, it's going to cost you a ton and you're going to lose anyway. So please do the right thing. protect my civil rights. Thank you. Um have no
other um comments. I I'll make a couple if we'll go to council and chief maybe. Um on the lift station, I know everything is being processed through. Things are talked about every day, Mr. Perry and I and Mr. Williams and others. Um so that
is a an exciting project as we we know and and um obviously everything that's being done is setting it up to succeed and do it as quick as possible. So, that's the most important. Um, and then going to we don't control the schoolboard
rules and regulations. We just do what we're told and if they have a problem that they think it it's it's on the school board, not the city of Bradenton. And um but obviously our officers would never try to do anything other than what they're being directed by because
they're hired by them. Correct. Yes. And it is it's it's they're being paid by them. Correct. Correct. So, um, that will be a schoolboard issue to deal with. And again, I don't know what their rules are or what they do, but we don't do it here at city hall. So, any other
comments or all right, moving forward? Thank you very much. Um, Madame Clerk, item six is the consent agenda and staff is requesting approval of items A through F. All right. Chair will entertain a
motion and Mr. Harry. Uh, Mayor V, I got the opportunity to, uh, meet and confer with the entirety of council on items A through F and answer questions as best as I could and provide additional information when asked. And, um, with
that, I think that it's presented before council for approval. All right. Chair will entertain a motion. Anybody make a motion to approve? I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda as listed. All right. and a
second by Mrs. Moore. Thank you. Any other comments? Hearing none, we'll start the vote in ward five. Yes. One, yes. Two, yes. Three. Yes. Four. Yes. Approved. Five to zero. Thank you very much.
Um, Mr. Perry, I am going to at this time um jump down on the agenda to new business by department heads and bring up the proposed scope and fee with Dover Cole and Partners for an economic development action plan. I'm going to jump that ahead to right now. So, um
we're ready to move forward because we do have a time sensitive that I want to make sure at 10 o'clock, but Okay. All right. There we go. And then
And mayor, if I could just make a quick comment while they're getting ready. Yeah. Um, obviously Miss Hilstrom at EDC is here and uh does our economic development work and uh uh Victor Dover and his team are here as well. And um I
did have the opportunity to speak with all council yesterday um along with Miss Hilstrom and uh we had great conversations. I think there was some discussions about what's different from this project as it relates to um what we
will be trying to accomplish and and I think it's really important because there was that was a common question as far as what's different from this project what'll make it not sit on a shelf uh what'll make it actionable and the like and the presentation will involve those types of answers but one
thing that was common theme is that this is an effort to really look at our um our opportunity to renew do and and reinvigorate and reinvest in in what we have here in Bradenton as far as our ability to attract business, good
quality of life, uh mobility, deal with traffic, and a whole host of other things that uh that Mr. Dover and Miss Hilstrom will be talking about. So it's considerably different and I think it's different to the extent of it when we look at the totality of all the work
that's been done um dating back you know many years whether it's Bradenton uh uh by design um and and and some of those projects and some of the great works that's been done um over the last 10 15 20 years. It's it's a different Bradenon
and it'll be a different Bradenon 20 years from now and we want to focus on how to renew it and how to how to stay current and how to offer our citizens, our visitors, our employers opportunities to really thrive here in this city. So with that, I'll turn it over to Miss Hilstrom. Good morning.
Thank you, Mr. Perry. Good morning. Um really excited to be here to present our recommendation for consultants to create the urban renewal action plan for the city of Bradenton. So, we started this journey back in
November of 2023 and there was quite a bit for us to understand. Um, initially we want to get going right away, get a consultant, get a plan going, but then what we realized was you had um the visioning plan going on and then through
more research understood that there were probably about four other plans that were in the library of the city of Bradenton. So, we took a step back, basically took a pause, and reviewed all of those plans because we didn't want to
duplicate what had been done previously, but still relevant and could be included as a component of this new plan going forward and we didn't want to spend money on things that had already been done that will probably be incorporated into this plan as well. So, being very cognizant of both of those
things. So went ahead and reviewed all of those and then we came up with what our criteria would be to choose the next consultant for this renewal plan for the city of Bradenton. So what we decided was we wanted a consultant that had
demonstrated experience in citywide development planning and execution. So a proven entity. We wanted a consultant that had relationships with commercial developers all over the country, which will be very
important as we move forward here. We wanted a consultant that was skilled in computer modeling and multimedia presentation. And then additionally, we wanted a consultant that could create a plan within the budget of $200 to $250,000. So, how did the interview
process go? We ultimately interviewed four candidates and with that interview we outlined the city's immediate and future needs. We reviewed for proposal, we identified two finalists and then we
solicited revised proposals and ultimately made a decision. Um the four firms that we did work with were redevelopment management associates, doc coal and partners. We also con um consulted with the former mayor of St.
Petersburg, Rick Baker, and then the Florida Center for City Design at USF. Ultimately, we decided, let me back up. All of those candidates were excellent and wellqualified, but we
ultimately decided to go with Dover Cole and Partners. And now it's my pleasure to invite them up to tell you a little bit about them. Gentlemen, welcome. Good morning, mayor, council members. Thank you for the privilege of being
here this morning. In our office, we we probably have the best job in the world because we get to travel around the country and help communities figure out what they want to be when they grow up and keep one eye on the ground right in front of them, the immediate future, and one eye across the
horizon so that they're sure that whatever actions they take now are building toward the place they really want to be and and not foreclosing their possibilities as they do things that are actionable immediately. So in our office, we've been doing this since 1987. We do a lot of different things at
different scales. We work about half the time for local governments and community groups, foundations, regional agencies, and the like. And about half the time for private investors and developers, uh, often families and land owners doing long-term estate planning, that sort of thing. We don't work for those private
and public clients in the same place at the same time. So we have no private clients in this area. And our job is to help you translate the public interest to wouldbe investors to motivate them to re-energize what you're doing. There are
three key pillars to doing that. We have to be confident that we're moving forward on a plan that there's general agreement about. That means not everything has to be figured out in ahead of time, but enough has to be known and agreed on that investors can confidently uh put money down minimizing
their risk. The second is we need to visualize what that will be. It's a visual business. We make a lot of pictures. I'll just warn you ahead of time. We'll show you pictures and we'll say like this. No, how about like that? And and help you choose from alternatives. And then third, the focus
has to be on the doable, which means um in our time, not just in the fullness of of the future. So, we have a partner uh that works with us on these kind of projects. urban economists from a firm called pees, partners for economic
solutions. Uh we've managed to do this kind of work for with them all over the country. Our urban economists work the business side while we're working the design and planning side. This is just a little list of some of the kinds of communities that have had us come uh
work. And we're of course we're grateful for the chance to work for private investors as well. translators is often how we find ourselves uh serving because uh investors and developers speak a different language. Uh they think about things differently than community groups
and local government. And so we often have find ourselves in the position of bridging those two groups. I'm now just a little last little bit of chest beating here. I'm I'm super proud of this. We've over the last couple of decades, we've contributed heavily to the basic bookshelf on planning and um
it really all the major textbooks on planning over the last couple decades have featured our projects on the cover or we wrote a chapter or what have you. And I wrote this big fat book on street design. Fair fair warning, I'll just tell you now. I think street design is the one thing we can least afford to get
wrong and the one thing most often gotten wrong. So we'll constantly talk about the public realm between buildings, not just the private realm inside buildings. So that kind of work has led us um as I said all over the country and sometimes abroad. But our favorite thing to do is work here in our
home state. Um my office is located in Coral Gables and u Andrew uh senior project director for our firm. Here he is. Andrew Georgiatis is located in Sarasota. So, we're we're not far away and we're eager to to jump in on this.
Andrew will talk a little bit more about some examples and cover some of our history with Braden. Thank you. Welcome, Andrew. Thank you very much, Mayor. And as Victor had mentioned, we we have just Andrew. Oh, yes. Even last night, you were kind of quiet. You might have to
articulate a little bit. I see. I know. I know. My name is Andrew Georgianis. Is that better? And uh as Victor had had hinted at, we um have a few images here showing some small and and medium-sized cities
in Florida uh that are that have some similar characteristics. And um of course we uh I moved to Sarasota ultimately because of uh the work uh on on the formbbased code many years ago in
2010. And um I I was coming to Bradenon very often and then eventually uh Sarasota asked me to to join um their their planning department in order to to do some code work there. And um so these are those the images from that effort.
And then also on the east coast there are some uh smaller uh re revitalization uh projects such as the Jupiter waterfront which uh these are some of the the shred images and also this uh which is a rendering from Winter Park, Florida showing the gateway to Rollins
College which ultimately was built like this. Uh and then also the street design for Park Avenue which is the main uh thoroughfare of of Winter Park. And so this is the result of the code and the street design work done
there. Most recently we have a project in Venice. Uh so just to the south of here and this one u uh is actually not the Venice island portion but the industrial portion that's to the east of Tamiami Trail. And Victor, I think you,
you know, Venice uh benefits from a plan from the patron saint of urban designers and and city planners, John Nolan, uh who uh was the first American to call himself a professional city planner, but he designed uh Venice and then also laid
out a street grid for what's called the seabboard area adjacent to the intra coastal. These days, there was no inter coastal when he drew the maps originally. So, uh, that area built up along the rail line as an industrial area, but now it is evolving to become a mixeduse area. And, um, I'll just show
you a couple of before and after pictures of what's, uh, gone on there. The city invested in some property and the plan is to really remake the relationship to the waterfront in that area so that the east side of Venice can uh, hold up to the standard of the west
side of Venice. We have a lot of projects on the Gulf Coast. I'll just show you some of the ones that we are active on at the moment. Under construction in Asterero is the uh what we call the Lee Health Village. Lee Health Authority owned that land. And one of their board members
said to us um as hospital operators, they're in the medical repair business. Shouldn't they be in the wellness business? Could we design a neighborhood that would be a model for active living by design? uh get people into fresh air, sunshine and interaction with one another and keep them out of the
hospital. So that that in the end was the inspiration for the Lee Health Village. Just a bit about process uh which is illustrated here by a project in south downtown Atlanta. What we try to do is create in in bursts of activity
an informationrich environment for the leaders and decision makers. We're not going to make those decisions for you, but we'll lay out choices and we'll explain paths forward and the what's what's easy or medium or difficult. And so that kind of work we're doing uh for
uh many cities around the country, including South Downtown. You probably know Atlanta a little bit. That's Peach Tree Street. And what we had to create was another visualization of what that could be if the space between the buildings was given as much important as the square footage and the number of
units and parking spaces inside them. And so I just show you that example as kind of typical for us because we're uh constantly working within contexts that have a deep history and maybe historic buildings, historic street grids and so on, complicated land ownership patterns
and what have you. Uh but that that shouldn't stop you. Sure. So, you can see these consultants are extremely wellqualified and um just really excited about the potential of working here in the city of Bradenton.
So, now what I'd like to do is go over the components of the contract um in more detail. So, essentially there are four phases to this process. The first phase will be research review of past work and current information. And from
that we'll get an analysis map. We'll there will be pre preliminary economic analysis done, base maps, site visits and analysis, stakeholder interviews and meetings and then there will be a draft
Bradington blueprint plan. In phase two, we will collectively identify three special area plans and those designations will come
through technical meetings. Then there will be draft concepts and then an economic review of scenarios and special area plans. So I want to remind you during this whole process you will be engaged. So your your wishes, your your
desires for what these areas are and and the areas that we actually identify, you will be part of that process. In phase three, we'll be revising and refining the Bradington blueprint, looking at the special areas.
There'll be illustrations and renderings done of those areas, and then a summary report and imple implementation strategy. Super important. Um, I just want to stop here and say this will be a living breathing plan. It is not going
to sit on the shelf and gather dust. This will be a living breathing document that will be executed and implemented going forward. Phase four, they'll submit the draft plan and we'll review it. We'll do fine-tuning again collectively and then final documents
will be presented for your approval. So the timeline is essentially approximately eight monthsish if we um so eight months. So initially we would start in June if you
guys approved today and that's where the analysis and site visit will take place. August September we would prepare special area plans. October through December, that's where all of the development strategy will take place. And then January, February, the plan
revisions and presentations. So, pretty quick timeline. And what are the deliverables? Obviously, the blueprint for the renewal of the urban core. Uh there will be three special areas identified and we will have day one action items
indicated. The planned cost is $179,640. Uh there is an added expense not to exceed $20,000 for reimburseable expenses. So our total cost is $199,640. Well within the budget that we
identified earlier. So how is this going to be different from before? The Bradenton area EDC has demonstrated success with strategic planning. We will begin our third strategic plan in January of next
year. The two previous plans um we have achieved essentially all goals in both of those plans and that's because we were incredibly engaged with the consultants. We wanted to have goals that were achievable with those plans.
And so the engagement of the EDC in this process is extremely important. We've got demonstrated success. We know how to manage consultants and uh you can count on us to be extremely engaged in this
process. And with that, I wanted to debut the sizzle video that the EDC created along with our marketing firm digital collective um about the city of Bradenton as it is today. And you'll see from this video, we've already got
amazing things going on in this city. But just imagine when we get this renewal in place, what the future will hold. Welcome to the city of Bradenton, a thriving hub where opportunity meets an exceptional quality
of life. For business leaders, Bradenton is a city on the rise, offering a pro business environment, streamlined permitting, and a supportive network of entrepreneurs and innovators. Our
strategic location near major transportation hubs and a growing talent pipeline from local colleges and universities make Bradenton the perfect place to expand your company or launch your next big idea. Whether you're a
tech visionary, a healthcare expert, or a creative entrepreneur, Bradenton offers the resources and support to thrive here. Success doesn't come at the expense of lifestyle. Enjoy a community where work life
balance means sunsets by the river, a vibrant art scene, and familyfriendly neighborhoods. Discover why Bradington is golden with opportunities for business leaders, skilled
talent, and dreamers alike. Build your future here. Make Bradenton your next move. So that's just one of the marketing tactics uh that we have in place right
now. So with that um we're happy to entertain any questions you have. Questions? Who wants to be first? Mr. Poker. Well uh not really a question. I mean this is exciting for me. something I, you know, looked forward to getting a
great plan in place because I was involved with downtown by design and I I really think having a plan and working the plan was key to a lot of the successes that we have in the Riverwalk. Um I also was on the DDA at the time we went into formbbased code and I like a
lot about formbbased code but there are a few things um with that um especially as you said with the street design, the loss of trees um and the the real closeness onto the street and um I'd
like to kind of address that when we're doing all this. Um but that that's probably for a later time but I'm excited about this. Thank you, Vice Mayor Kramer. Thank you. Um and thank you all for the presentation. You too, sir. Um I guess the one question I
had was um with the plans we've had in front of us before and then all of a sudden we get basically the work product that comes and we all like this is nothing at all what we were talking about. what insuranceances, what assurances of oversight um will you
provide to make sure our our expectations are met on this project? Sure. Obviously, extremely important. As I mentioned before, we have experience, significant experience working with consultants. I think oversight in the process is very important. Clearly
communicating what your expectations are. Um and again the plans that we have produced for the EDC have been extremely successful. They are living documents. We refer to them all the time. Um maybe
um Victor Victor I'm so sorry just escaped me. Um Victor if you want to address uh another aspect of this. Well, um, vice mayor, I'll just tell you that, uh, we will advise and promote as interactive a
process with all of you and the rest of the leadership team as you can stand because, uh, you don't want to get all the way to the end and then find out what's in the in the work. You want to see that early on. So, that will mean we will we will bring up some things and
say, did you mean like this? And for confirmation to check and see. And so, I hope that you'll all lean into that interactive process. It makes plans better. There's an old saying, the best plan is made by many hands. And what we have found is that if we uh if we push
you to interact with us early on and uh we'll get a better plan at the end, there won't be that big a surprise at the end. We don't get to pull a sheet off of an easel and say, "Here it is." Because you've already seen it. You'll know about it. There won't be a big surprise. That said, u you also probably
won't achieve 100% consensus on every little line item of everything. And so it's important to for us to select from among the universe of things you could do those things for which there's enough consensus that they can go into that action step on on the the day after you
adopt the plan. Thank you. Um, Vice Mayor Kramer, a great question because we, you know, are dealing with something right now that we went through and when we got it, we I mean, my jaw dropped to the floor. It's
like even if it was a good plan, how do you implement it? And there's some areas of it that can't be implemented. You I mean, it just doesn't make sense. So, that's why we're a little skeptical on what's next step. Um, obviously uh we did meet last night and talk and we said
let's go to Andrew, let Andrew say a few words and then Andrew never got to say a few words because we talked about exactly what you're talking about. If we get this great plan on the books and it's not implementable, then what's what's it worth? What's it what's
the value of it? But that was so important to hear and your explanations and I know you went through a little bit now because again his business meeting trying to get information but I was impressed with the way that you were able to say this is something that you want to come up with that then you can
implement in a quicker fashion and it's something that will be um targeted and when you leave the whole plan doesn't leave we have the EDC on board and that was why one of the things when I became mayor right away that, you know, it was
important to engage the EDC um as a separate outside entity to come in because they were going to be able to do that. They're working with Manatee County and when you can say because there's times that things are going to people want to be in Bradenton, but
Bradon is 14.4 square miles. Manatee County with inside Bradenton in it is a lot bigger. So there may be some collaborations that we can do with both communities that say, "Hey, they can put part of their administration here, but they've got their big factory over here." Something that can work. And that
was important. And so I think the value is there, not only having the consultant work through the EDC, but also pushing that next step of actionable items. We're going to have some actionable items in City Park coming over the next couple of years. So, that is something
that we're going to see. But how is this plan going to tie in to that? And I've said this a lot with that area, Village of the Arts, our downtown, which starts at Main Street, but spreads to the other streets, hits the Riverwalk, and goes all the way over to Old Manatee. If that
is connected in a way through this, it will be unbelievable in the um urban renewal, you know, because again, it's going to be things happening, but the urban renewal going back to why cities left 50
years ago and went to malls. And we realize that was good at the time, but people want to be in a core that is more manageable and walkable and biker friendly, other things that can happen. And that's why I think this plan will be
more manageable in a good way. So, I've got Councilwoman Barnaby and then Councilwoman Moore. Well, thank you. I think one of the hardest jobs for me as an elected official is
the push and pull of our community from from our our young citizens and then we have retirees. We have like this disappearing middle group. Um, you've got people that that may be
here for the next 50 years and you've got people that may be here for the next five. And for me, it's it's it's a difficult thing to try to to to to
weigh. Um, change is going to happen. And I'm famous for saying the only thing that likes change is a webab. Change is going to happen. or can change be directed? And that's what I see with trying to do this.
Um, everyone knows I have two sons. One is living in England and the other is living in Texas and right now I don't see either one of them coming back here because they both have said there's nothing here for them. As a mom that hurts. As an elected
official that kind of frightens me. So, I think it's important that we do the reinvestment and the reinvigoration that we need to see in our our downtown area
because if your downtown is more valuable and those of us that sit up here and have to deal with a budget on a yearly basis, if your downtown is more valuable and brings in more advorum
taxes then that makes the tax burden lighter on those individual property owners out in the neighborhoods. That's what what I'm going to be looking to see. Can this plan translate to where it
actually helps the people in from from W five to Ward One? That's what I want to see. Councilman Moore, um I um I
I feel like this is expensive. This is a significant investment. Um and so I uh that makes me nervous obviously. Um so I just want to make sure that uh we are looking at those past plans to
see what worked and didn't work previously. Um, I have concerns about how much implementation then would cost and are we, you know, I want to factor that into our expense in hiring the EDC, hiring you all.
Um, and then finally, I already have ideas. I'm not a planner and I've not written any books, but I have ideas about revitalizing downtown and with that historical with that eye for previous history and what we've tried before and what has maybe worked and not
worked. Um, and so I absolutely think that keeping us apprised on a regular basis is key. Um, because I will be very disappointed if those special areas don't accomplish what we're trying to accomplish, their selection and then
what you plan for them um, in what I think is a shared common goal of revitalizing downtown and and having it be a more economic uh, thriving area. I think that that's it. I just want to express those concerns because I do have them. That's very helpful.
Mayor, if I might just uh Well, just one second, Mr. Do. Um, Mr. Perry, uh, we've talked about this before. We've gone through things and obviously, you know, I'm very frugal when doing things and a lot of times like to do things ourselves. But if we created an economic
development department, which you've done in other jobs you've had. Um, so when you talk about finances, what would that bring? being an in-house having basically something like what the EDC does and what we would do with consultants if we really brought it totally inhouse to have a department to
do that. What do you think the annual cost would be? Well, thanks mayor. I've been asked that question by some counselors currently as well as prior counselors that ask me that and uh you know for some for a location the size of
Bradenton given the dynamic of of the population of Bradenton uh heavy tourism obviously coming through the area things like that you know I think I couldn't see being able to do it with anything less than a staff of three to five people and using consulting contracts
anyway so I you know I think a reasonable investment for something the size of our budget um the size of our community the the size of the surrounding community would be well into a million and a half plus dollars frankly and when you know I I heard that
it's expensive um every dollar is expensive because it's the taxpayers's dollar we all understand that but in the grand scheme of things I think it's a great investment because the city spends hundreds of millions of dollars um both
ourselves the county spend spends billions of dollars. The GDP from this area is in the billions of dollars. And to make an investment basically that looks at um where we've been, where we are, where we want to go, how to
maximize the economic development that does look at, you know, renewal, reinvigoration, and reinvestment. I think it's I think it's a pretty forward-looking um undertaking for us to pursue. I think you also have to look at great
great discussions up here and the discussion about okay well downtown or the city park area or the east side or whatever. I I think it's important to look at how it interplays with each other. What would make people from the west side, from the south side, from the
east side come downtown? Um those are good questions. There's there's a huge tourism component of people from outside. My friends from St. Pete come here. I go to St. Pete sometimes, right? So, we have the the local um attraction as well, but I know that the city is
dedicated to some of these projects like the downtown redevelopment and city park. City Park is a very complex beast, let alone to build it, but how it develops as a community because you have that area we're talking about development that looks like, you know,
currently we have spring training there. It's a great time of the year, right? great facility for a lot of different reasons both for local community as well as outside but then you have its connectivity to 9inth street and potential downtown. If you go to the
east side you have 301. If you go to the south side you have 17th a and on the on the north side 13th and how that all connects with the village of the arts that's in the middle. the Tammy Ammy Trail, we have millions and hundreds of million dollars of um attainable housing
potential. The CRA with Dr. Burton that looks out and has the possibility to bring in literally billions of dollars in reinvestment increment to that area. Those are complicated things. They have tremendously complicated things. and and again the downtown issue uh that we've
looked at with Westminster and and maybe the connectivity with Old Manatee. I'm glad I don't have to do it a and I look forward to you having these discussions with my bosses here on council, the community, the professionals in the real estate community, the commercial
business community, the education community, the MO and our government partners. Yeah, a lot of work. And I think one of the things that we did talk about last night is it's easy to get plans sometimes and whether you agree with the plan or not,
it's how you implement that plan. And some of the things that we've done in the last five years is we're implementing some of the things that we see are going. And again, city parks easy to look at some of the other Riverwalk
um a little bit of Riverwalk kind of re-engaging one of the areas, especially Rossy Park with some of the things that we've been able to do. But I think it's so important when you look at starting a department in the city that's 1.5 plus million dollars give or take a little
bit compared to what we're going to pay for this. it is a good deal if we look at eight or nine months that now there's something implementable and the reason I say that is because you know you could give us a plan that it's great but if
there's no private investment if there's no public investment then what good is the plan or if the plan is not investable and that's what that we talked about we talked about when Mr. Bell in the early 1900s came and started
his department store at that point on Main Street. Well, he invested, you know, we talked about some of the things with the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts and and all of those that put the money into it. Mr. Perry and I have probably had over the last four
years, five or six or more Mr. Perry, people have come in and one of the things that you said to me was that's a great plan the as far as outside investors, but are they funded? Do they have the backing? And even if they did,
do we have the ability to give it to them? And I think that's what this does. some of the other things we're doing with the infrastructure that we're starting to fix. Not just the things we have to fix because we've got a face it and fix it plan that I'd want you to understand totally, but also the things
that we want to do to make it better and and that's important. And I think so financial wise, I don't disagree with you. When you look at in a in a single item, it may seem like a lot of money, but when you look at the totality of the picture and what the longevity of it can
be, it's not that expensive because again, it's running a business. And sometimes it cost a little money to make money. And when you can all of a sudden within 12 months possibly have some plans that people are willing to invest in and they ask us that every time they
come here. Well, what's the plan? And I think with the EDC being involved, we have a master plan of our Manatee County that throws into the cities. And I'm hoping that Palmetto is listening now that Palmetto is looking at some of the
things that they need to do to have their plan, but it all plays into the master plan of Manatee County. And the islands can jump on. Obviously, they had a reset with some of the damage they had last year. you know, we had to fix a lot of things, but we didn't have as much of a reset except for some of our
homeowners that have to still aren't reset. So, that's that's another thing. So, um no, I I just think that there is opportunity, and it's one of the things you've been talking about the whole time. What's our strategic plan? This un um fortunately and unfortunately from
what we found from the last one, didn't most opinions give us that next step. This, I believe, does. So, Mr. Dover, you wanted to say something? Well, just to say I'm very encouraged by this conversation because what I hear you reinforcing is the idea that you want to plan you can put to work, not just
something to store. Um, usually when we come to a community, because planning is a verb, it goes on and then more of it goes on. uh communities will offer to open up a file drawer and show us all the previous plans or they'll in some cases they'll
take us into a closet or a room full of previous plans some parts of which have been implemented some some not. And so our very first step is to go through your closet of previous plans and studies because we don't want to rework
things that are still valid and useful. We're going to ask you to tease out for us the things that didn't move forward including on this last planning effort last year. Uh and why so that we know where the non-starters are and that will
avoid duplication. So in a way this is and that was the basis for trimming our fee to the to fit your budget. That's right. uh we want to avoid duplicating efforts that are already and things that are solidly in place and that just will uh lead us to get into the real meat of
the discussion earlier. You know, communities are constantly evolving works in progress like giant works of art where you're collaborating with people that are not yet born. And so imagine in the 1920s, we were sitting in Pier 22 last night.
Imagine in the 1920s they came upon this and they looked at the fabric of a 1870s town and visualized transforming it into the real the best Florida could possibly offer in a new century. And so in the 1920s a lot
of progress was made here. and the things people built, the growth and change that's always controversial were making things better rather than worse because they were creating a place for people and and elevating the city to its next stage. That's what we need to do for the 21st century 100 years later.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. If I might just um I wanted to speak to the implementation question and what I would do is point to the accomplishments of our strategic plans. Um, we identified aviation as a promising sector for Manatee County in
our current plan. We've achieved that. We relocated or we will be relocating Pilates, which is a Swiss airplane manufacturer that'll be located at Sarasota Bradington International Airport. We also are creating an aviation ecosystem to support the
aviation sector. So that's one example of what was in our plan that made sense and we went after it and made it happen. Another thing was identifying the sports performance sector. Nobody even thought about that, but it was in our very first strategic plan. And now we were the
first community, I will say, in the state of Florida that identified sports performance as a sector with IMG Academy, with our Pittsburgh Pirates here, with numerous other sports activities now that we have, but we didn't have before. In addition to that,
workforce housing. We're working with a workforce housing developer to do a creative way to address workforce housing with employer-based workforce housing. We now have identified a property. We have five employers participating. We just had um a loan
approved by the county for $5.6 million for this project. So, those are just three examples of implementation from plans and they were implemented because it made sense when we were putting the plan together. We don't want to put things in this renewal plan that don't
make sense for the city of Bradenton. That's why your engagement, the community's engagement is going to be so important for this process to be successful. So, there's numerous other things that I could identify that were in our previous plans that have been
implemented, but I want to assure you that we're not an organization that sits around and says, "Oh, there's our plan." We use that plan and it directs us in the direction we want to go which benefits the entire community. All right, Councilwoman Coachman. Thank you,
Councilwoman Barnaby. You said it very well. Um I I think you get the feel from just listening to us and most of my questions were answered yesterday afternoon. Um, once burnt, twice shy.
Simple as that. Um, so, um, you you're you're doing a great job presenting it to us, you know, and and we're definitely trying to, you know, digest it and and and accept it and believe it. Um, no one has a crystal
ball, that's for sure. But looking at the history of the EDC and and their sharp eyes on you, um I um I I feel I feel a little better than I did yesterday. I have to say I'm the
kind of nerd that would go up to the professor on the first day of the semester and ask what was going to be on the final exam. And you all are doing such a great job this morning of telling us what's going to be on the final exam here. I'm very grateful. Vice Mayor Kramer. Nothing else you want
to start. All right. Yes, ma'am. Just one like to kind of like sum the nature. I mean, I guess maybe the nuts and bolts of just it and when I say concern, it's really to let you know what my expectations will be the concept of
three special areas. Um, but the city is comprised of, you know, it's more than three. And so I just want to make sure that we're really uh to the extent that though when we identify those three areas that all the entire city has buyin to all those three. You know what I
mean? Like I don't want it to seem like it's just this one little area. 10 to 15 acres is pretty small. Um but that 10 to 15 acres times three has to benefit everyone. So I feel like that's going to be a challenge. Um and and in the
beginning of the process, of course, we have the the interview stage, you know, where we interview you and and stakeholders to so to the extent that Sunshine Law permits, we're going to probably have one-on-one discussions uh with all of you so that you can funnel
your constituents desires and also their points of complaint uh you know into this into this process. And we we really, you know, are are anxious to hear what your ideas are for the three special areas because we realize that the the small number, three
areas makes it hard to be representative of the the complexity of all of city of Bradon and part of Manatee County. So, we uh were sensitive to that and you know, we hope we hope to get your input so that we can select those. Well, um,
would it be okay if I just address one thing that Councilwoman Barnaby said also, which was when you mentioned about the different needs of of of the the life cycle, you know, the of of age groups and demographics. Uh, one
of our one of our big areas of research and interest is blue zone planning and also something called NORC, naturally occurring retirement community. That's different from the villages for instance which is designed for for artificially.
But what we've noticed in our in our research is that there are places that due to their wonderful qualities and attributes they tend to attract uh uh people of a certain age demographic who want to walk and have uh social interaction and and all those other things which weren't meant necessarily
to be the the retirement community. But uh knowing that they have uh their own needs, we also then look at at the young and the middle-aged and all the other strata because as as you know, we're all on the same journey through that through that life cycle. And so we do approach
it with empathy, thinking how would each uh group benefit and and what are their needs? That's that's as we talked we'll get into the weeds in a workshop and a lot of stuff and I know you're excited, but um let's move on. The chair will entertain a motion to move forward. Mr.
Mayor, yes. Mayor Kramer, uh move to approve the proposed scope and fees from Dover Cole Partners to develop an economic action plan for the city of Bradenon in conjunction with the Braden Area Economic Development Corporation and direct the city city's
I'm sorry, the city's budget section to include funding for the fiscal year 2026 operating budget to fund this project. Second by Miss Coker or Coachman. Second, Coachman. Go ahead, Mr. Coachman. All right. Thank you. And we've had extensive discussion. We'll
start the vote in word one. Yes. Two. Yes. Three. Yes. Four. Yes. Five. Yes. Carries five to zero. Thank you. And now the pressure is on. So, appreciate it. Won't disappoint you. Thank you so much. All right. We're going to go ahead and take a recess for a few minutes for
everybody to do what they need to do before we come back at 10:00 time. Certain. You guys ready in the back? All right, we'll come out of recess. Madame clerk, the next item on the agenda is 7A and this is the second reading of public
hearing for ordinance 4059, an ordinance of the city of Bradenton, Florida, amending the city of Bradenton's land use regulations. Chapter 3, District Regulations. Section 3.2, Standard Land Use Atlas, District
Regulations, Schedule 3.2.1.2, permitted and special uses, mixed use, and non-residential land use as Atlas districts, excuse me, to add docks and peers as permitted or special use in the urban village zoning
district. providing for codification, providing for ordinance repeal of ordinances and conflict, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date. Yes, sir. Welcome. Good morning. Greg Del Long, the assistant director of planning community development. And
thank you, Miss Melton, for reading that long title for me. Um, this is ordinance 4059. Um this is the text amendment to the land use regulations to um permit docks in the UV zoning district. Um
staff was approached um earlier this year and it was actually brought up in a case we had in front of city council back in January when we had a event center come in. Um the applicant was requesting that we consider docks in the UV zoning district and this is for that
property that was at 1720 Manatee Avenue West. Currently, the land use regulations prohibits docks in the UV zoning district. It is actually the only zoning district in the land use regulations that does not allow docks or peers. We're not sure why um since there
is property that abuts waterways, but ironically, you can have a dock or pier in the industrial zoning district at Tropicana. So, it doesn't make a lot of sense. And like I said, we were unable to come up and find an reason why on this. Um, so as I mentioned, staff was
approached by a property owner in the zoning district request and add a dock. Here's just a quick zoning map showing the uh area that's primarily affected. Um, this is on Manatee Avenue West as you crosses Creek. Um, there is a few
properties in that area that do have docks. Um, there is actually one property currently has a dock. One has another there's another dock that's should be permitted, but that is we'll get that one addressed. But there is some waterways um that abut the uh frontages on the UV zoning district in
that area. Um we originally proposed the planning commission that this be a permitted use. Um at the planning commission meeting uh they did have a thorough conversation about this and decided it'd be better to make this a special use. And basically that was because of the commercial properties in
that area. They thought they would want to vet them more thoroughly. So with it going to a special use, uh that would require planning commission review and then city council approval. So just putting that out there that that was something we as staff did propose it as a permitted use. Planning commission
thought it would be better as a special use. So here is the recommendation from planning commission. This is the use table. As you can see, I moved the um little X over from the permitted side to the special use side. And this is just a summary out of the future land use of
what the Urban Village zoning district is about. The Urban Village zoning district is primarily an area perimeter of downtown. It's walkable um kind of has mixed uses from residential to um low income or low uh intensity
commercial medical offices, items like that. But as I mentioned, there is residential in those areas and those typically are the ones that are approaching us with the uh request for the docks. But if we do have a commercial one come through, again, as I mentioned before, planning commission would like to have that vetted
thoroughly. So, they wanted to make them all special uses. So, city council needs to is encouraged to evaluate the request based on the input from staff and the public. It is in our opinion that this is found to be consistent with the um intent of the land use regulations and the future land use element of the
comprehensive plan and we do agree with uh we are fine with the recommendation from planning commission to make this a special use. So, as I mentioned earlier, planning commission met on April 16th. They recommended to city council approval by a for vote of 40 of ordinance 4059
um case PLN TXT-25-00001 to list docs and peers as a special use in the land use regulations. And that is what I have. Do you have any questions for Mr. Dong before we go to the public hearing? Seeing none, chair will open the public hearing.
Anyone wishing to speak? Anyone wishing to speak? Anyone wishing to speak? Hearing none, we'll close the public hearing. Chair will entertain a motion. I'll make a motion to approve ordinance 4059.
Second. Second by Miss Coachman. Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. I just want to clarify because obviously there's two options here, right? it's either permitted or as a as a special use. So, and the ordinance is kind of set up to go either way. We we left the language in there um for
either. So, I just want it to be clear in the motion and then um also want to put it in the record that we will we'll modify the ordinance based on that just to finalize it after. Was your motion for a special use? Special use. Yes. Second. Second. All right. So, the special use portion. All right. Any
other discussion? I just have a Yes, ma'am. more. Um, I just uh I don't have strong opinions about this, but I wanted to make sure in case anyone else had strong opinions about per the permitted versus the special use given that the special use means they have to come before us. They can't just go to the
planning department and whether anybody has any thoughts on that. Um, my thought is just I'd prefer to keep it special use so that we just don't, you know, make it permitted. I I
still think having to come back to us in case there's some unintended consequence that we don't that I haven't thought of. Great. All right. Seeing nothing else, we'll start the vote in ward three. Yes. Four, yes. Five, yes. One, yes. Two, yes. Carries five to
zero. Madam clerk, item 7B is the second reading and public hearing for ordinance 4060, an ordinance of the city of Bradenton, Florida, amending chapter 62, article 4 of the code of ordinances to provide for overnight mooring of
authorized vehicle or vessels at the public day dock located at Riverwalk Park, providing for cotification, providing for severability, providing for repeal of ordinances and conflict, and providing for an effective Mr. Perry,
this is the day do for uh Mayor, this was uh brought to our attention through um the county and TDC. There was a prohibition that would allow overnight mooring for uh for vessels at the day dock. And what we wanted to do
was uh try to accommodate the uh the water taxi. And of course, the county um is in the process of purchasing, I believe it's about a 90 foot vehicle, about twice the size of what they have now on the two fairies that they use right now. Uh higher speed and velocity,
can make the trip out to the islands and and back a great deal quicker. Um and and it has an enclosed cabin area and can accommodate more folks since the program has been so successful for the county. But in order to do that, they
need mooring area. And so we're working with the county both on um some technical um marine type issues regarding dredge and and and things like that. But they came upon that prohibition in the in the uh permit for
the paperwork and we passed an ordinance when we initially put the day dock in that did not permit overnight mooring. So to to modify that ordinance, the proposal for the amendment is before you and of course the amendment specifically says that it's pursuant to um overnight
moing has to be based in pursuant to and permitted only with um an intergovernmental agreement um with a with another government entity that operates a transit service. Yeah. And I know there was some question at the
beginning could we even have the service there because other private businesses have come and what it is is that's transportation and that has why it's been created in the way that it's for those boats because we are seeing huge success getting 400 cars a week off the
road that actually a day sometimes that actually is now even being talked about with taking this from downtown Bradon all the way to downtown Sarasota. with this new boat coming in. So, um this is one of those things that I think could win transportation national awards
through our MO and different possibilities. Absolutely. And it's been um ultra successful and it's it's a great staple for our community. Um so, if there's no other questions, I'll open up the public hearing and then we'll discuss. All right. Um chair will open
the public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak? Anyone wishing to speak? Anyone wishing to speak? Hearing none, we'll close the public hearing. Councilwoman Coker. Yeah. Um, I just want to address I've gotten some calls about
some issues with derelic boats mooring and I I did find out that there was no mooring allowed on the river, but there are some area there are some areas palmola area, right, which is different than this specific, but that's I know. That's but but I do also know that
Sarasota and Manatee County are now discussing having mooring areas. Do we need to be identifying the um specific area where this going to be? I don't want anybody to It's on the day dock only. It does. It does identify that specifically.
Okay. Authorized vessel at the public day dock located at Riverwalk Park. I just I just want to make sure that we don't have some unintended consequences, right? Well, yeah. that people think that they can go more just because we're allowing this and this is going to be
restricted to this. Okay. Yep. I believe that's we've we've just on that point of equipment may we've received inquiries from different commercial folks that want to do dolphin tours and other types of things and we tell them basically that they're prohibited because there is no overnight mooring and it's not a commercial pier. There was also some
agreements that were initially related to funding uh that it was for public access for interant travel and and and not commercial businesses. So we stand on pretty good ground. Um, regarding that type of application for either commercial use or or mooring. Okay.
Would Yes, ma'am. Would we need any particular signage to It's on there now. Yeah, I was going to say I think it's on there now. No overnight. No overnight boring. I mean to update it though. And I do believe that's probably a good idea. Yeah. Once once the future comes, we're going to
have the TDC is going to come to us and ask us for um some opportunity for them to um really improve the signage and different things on that. So, and that will be taken care of by them, but the council will have a chance to I think
they've commissioned actually some work on the signage as well. And they plan on really showcasing um the Riverwalk and the the uh the friendly city emblem and the city of Bradenton and also some directional signage because of course a
lot of people park at our parking garage and I'm often out there when I'm running they're like, "Do you know where the where the uh the ferry is?" and you know give them the directions over there but it's not marked particularly well there it is currently marked but they're going to enhance that it'll be a great addition in my opinion y especially with
the new boat that'll be a lot more the boat's several million dollars I think it's about four three and 3.4 4 million. Yeah. All right. So, the chair will entertain a motion. Motion to approve ordinance 4060. All right. Second. Second by Miss
Barnaby. Any other questions? None. We'll start the vote to approve ordinance 4060 and ward four. Yes. Five. Yes. One. Yes. Two. Yes. Three. Yes. Approved. Five to zero. Thank you, madame clerk. Item 8B is architectural
and engineering change order for the Bradenton Police Department headquarters. Mr. Perry. Thank you, Mayor Councel. Uh, I wanted to bring this matter to your attention as it relates to um the architectural services contract um for the Bradenton
Police Center. Um it we we run into I guess about probably about 22 months ago um I was approached uh by by the architectural firm that was selected for this project AECOM and uh I was
approached to sign what was called change order 5 and and approved that ultimately comes up through my office and I had some meetings with them and asked them well what's change order five about and really what it was about is that under the original proposal for
architectural services um that had about a I want to say about a $2 million price tag. Uh it contemplated an eight uh an $18 million project that was about 30,000 square feet. Um it's written out that way. The the the original proposal
I have a copy of it. It it's rather lengthy and it had the various architectural components of services that were in there. um when the project went to programming and based on um a totality of of of future growth needs and other types of programmatic needs,
the project grew. At one point it was as high as 60 thou,000 square feet. We're in 30,000 square feet now, but we it's tight in there. And I think we're 50. The current location the the current is is 30. Yeah. 30. Yeah. Yeah. The the
current here in in city hall. current here. I thought you were saying the current went from 30 to 50. Right. Right. Yep. And and so, you know, it's what council Kramer talked about often. I've heard him say where we we overgrew it the day we walked into it type of situation. You know, that's probably not
uncommon by the time everything happens and all. But uh what ultimately happened was they sat down with me and uh this was I want to say I think early June of 2024 and they said so under the contract you have to pay a percentage of what your overall construction cost is and
the construction cost now is is uh $30 million uh thereabouts. I'm kind of using some estimates. It's a little bit higher than that. So what ended up happening was I said, "Well, let me look at it and and and try to figure it out a
little bit." And I had several meetings with them and there was deductions that were related to services they didn't provide. And they agreed with that. They were fairly minimal and everything, but at the end of the day towards the end of the year, they said, "Well, you know, we've submitted payment and and and uh
change order five for approval." And I said to myself at that point and to them, I said, "That's going to have to basically be looked at much much closer." And so, uh, lo and behold, in January of this year, they sent a letter
that said they were going to, uh, uh, suspend services because they hadn't been paid and the agreement had not been approved. And I said, "Well, you can talk with some folks that at the council, you can come to council, you can do what you want to do." And so then we got the letter about
suspended services. I got with them and I said, "Let's have a meeting and and try to figure this out a little bit." And I sent them the letter to Randy Majour basically um explaining a little bit about what our concerns were with a
variety of different um charges within that change order and the possibility of reducing it. I frankly told them, I said, "I think the mayor and the council is mad at me. I think they're mad at the police chief and I know they're mad at you, frankly. And I said, "We have to
get this resolved." At the same time, I basically with M. Rudesol's assistance obtained um a construction litigation attorney to consider where our legal position was. And uh that was Doug Peebles. And so he looked at my letter,
he looked at their response, and he said, "There's some things that are legit in your letter." and and and and you need to be assertive and try to get reductions, he said. But at the end of the day, the arbitration provisions of that contract and uh the the control
over it and the tacit approvals that had occurred through it by us telling them, "Yeah, we're okay with that. Build, you know, give us this size, do that, we need this, need that, that kind of thing ran up the price." And he said, "You're not going to do." His opinion was that
that we would have um some challenges because clearly we owed more money on the on on the the contract because the contract contempl played an $18 million facility. By the time we built the
facility that was contemplated at $18 million, it was 50 it was actually at 60,000 square ft. It was paired back to 53,000 square ft which it is now in final construction. It also has a garage on it that's about $7 million which is
probably necessary. Um and and and that's considered in there. And so pursuant to the AIF contract, which is the American Institute for Architecture, they get 6.77% of the total construction cost. What I said, we need to pair that back. And so they operated in good faith
in my opinion. And and we had a meeting and they were able to pull that back. They initially uh asserted that they were owed uh 1.2 28 million under change order five and they agreed to reduce it to
934,000 because we pulled back some what called supplemental con uh post construction not post construction but uh construction administration services. I was able to shave that off. I got with our um I got with our Semar contractor that's building it and he and we were
told, "Yeah, we think we we can work around that and shave those services." And then ultimately they shaved a little bit more and we got them down to I think it was $889,000. So we got them to drop the better part of $350,000 off it. There's no doubt that
the project is much larger than what was initially uh contemplated. There's no doubt that the contract has a provision that pegs their compensation to um the total construction cost. There's no doubt that the construction cost is fairly significant. And according to Mr.
Peebles as well as other attorneys I've talked to on this um in my own opinion, I don't think it would be worthwhile to pursue litigation, arbitration, and the like. We need to finish the project. Most of what they were asking for was they were entitled to. they operated in
good faith to pair back the services to get us within within a reasonable area. Uh it's a great project. It'll be completed hopefully um in about 15 months or so. And that we should provide, you know, many years of future capacity for the police
department. And I just wanted to explain that to you a little bit. I think an important factor to go through it to also is when you looked at the $18 million 30,000 square feet Um, when we put that in there as a placeholder to a point, um, talking to
other architects and different people and going through the construction phases of things, that $18 million that day for 30,000 square feet might have been good. With the economy that we went through a few months later, everything
is 40% more. So 18 million for 30,000 square feet would be closer probably to 26 million for 30,000 square feet. Absolutely. When and so to say that we've gone up um from what the original bid was, you know, and we didn't have a
parking garage then. So when you really look at it and and if you read any of the comments that came after our groundbreaking that other areas and I won't specifically say where but are talking of sixdigit million, hundreds of millions,
100 million and we're getting a very state-of-the-art facility that will last us a lot longer as a police station, not an office building. So, yeah, I would have liked to been 18 million, but I think when you really look at the
logistics with, you know, some of the situations we went through, um, I think we're going to be in a good space and I think we'll have the facility that will take us into that next couple of generational parts of things. I think that's a good analysis. At that time,
reflecting on your comments, uh, we had looked at about three or four different stations. uh Dun Eden was one, I think Paul Meadow and a couple other ones that were similarly sized. And of course, that was before the price escalations for all these raw materials and labor had escalated significantly.
And we built a fire station uh back back right when I got on and that was I believe 2.7 million and it it's a little smaller than the one we're building it that's now $8 million. And so that's kind of proof is in the pudding as far as price escalation. And I don't think anybody doubts that there's been
significant price escalation in the construction, both materials and and labor markets. You talk to any contractor, residential, commercial, industrial or whatnot, and they're like, "Yeah, it's it's outrageous how much it's gone up." So, that was a piece of it for sure. And then, you know, what
was necessary to have um a properly programmed police station and have that additional capacity was important as well. If you look at it from a value perspective and say, "Well, let's talk square foot construction costs, right?" And you're looking at basically 53,000
square uh square feet with the garage and and a rough number of $35 million all in type cost. The math of that is going to come out to about $700 a square foot basically, right? 35 divided by by
50, that type of thing or five. Um that's pretty competitive. $700 a square foot for for that type of facility. It's a specialty type facility. We're going to be on the fire station I think close to about 550
closer to six maybe on total total in and so you know different levels you look at it it it it is an investment by the city. Um there certainly were some issues and and I've talked to you in
private about some of those concerns. I think each and every one of you as far as the construction management and budget control on this project. But all in it's going to be a pretty good value in in my opinion. And we have to be mindful we didn't have to have land cost
procurement. We did have to do the take with Verizon of that historical property behind it. There was also significant costs related to site development because of the water tower next to it and because of it having being a previous gas plant. Um, I have
photographs of some of the stuff we found underground and it's just amazing when you look at this stuff. It was like 1940s vintage uh types of infrastructure underground work. We've done what was called a sue on it which is a subterranean underground examination and
uh found a lot of things in there that were under the under the dirt and so that made it a little little trickier. But by and large I would not say that this this project is out of line in cost. questions. I have one thing, Miss Moore.
Um, we have had a chance to talk about this. Um, when you say pair down services, I guess my goal is to make sure that going forward, we will not be continuing to have to have this conversation. Um, so I if we're pairing down services, I want to make sure that
we really can eliminate those services. And also to the extent that we need to talk to our uh our architect, our CMR about this, you know, maybe not happening again. How do we feel about
that going forward? Are we feeling like we're going to be this is it and we're we're landing here? And I would reform the selection process for the architect, the cost control and budget controls for future for future projects. That's just
like um formbbas based code we learned a lot after the after the fact and you know this we've learned a lot after the fact that some things you as far as this not happening again I I don't see anything of this magnitude happening again but I got to tell you I mean you
know you were at the site and you can see them laying plank on the flooring for which is the concrete for um the the deck on the the parking garage but we believe we've investigated everything underground but who's to say that an IND Indian burial ground isn't under there when you go a foot deeper. I mean we you
know when you start doing the construction work and site excavation which they've done mostly the relocation of the water utility out along Manate a it has to do kind of from the there's a high a high relay pump and then it does a bend couple of 90s and then it kind of
heads west on Manatee Avenue. Um we haven't done deep level excavation in there but we have done boring and some of the sew work was done there not indicating anything problematic. There was some environmental contamination on the take site that was the prior Verizon
property that required us we didn't find anything but the plan that was already in place by DP for the brownfield designation of that site did require certain protection levels for dewatering meaning if you find certain content within the dirt you got to dewater you
got to take it off site or you got to clean it on site that gets expensive the good news is we didn't find too much from a chemical qualitative analysis of it that required extensive extensive cost associated with that type of remediation.
Yeah. All right. So, is this something I don't really don't think I I need anything, but I thought I definitely, you know, have a responsibility and obligation. Yep. To to address it. So, that's it. So, then we have uh C, city
administration, which is contract for purchase and sale for 252 Riverside Drive East. Grab my paper. Do we have kangaroos on the roof? No, we have Mrs. Coachman. No, no, no. I don't.
Uh, she's doing this and it's Oh, it's making noise. I don't know if today is the day, but we are bringing in temporary cooling units. Yeah, it could be that. I'll have to find out for you in a couple minutes. Yeah, I think that I'm Jurassic Park. Yeah, I don't know
why. Over here. Yeah, I wouldn't think we hear that from down here, but perhaps there it is. That is not you. It's not me. It is not you this time. It just happens when you stop. We we we have a bad habit, if you haven't noticed, of allowing uh certain
work happening during our council sessions outside different meetings. Right. Right. Well, we won't stand in the way of air conditioners, though. We're not standing in the way of progress either or a clean city, right? Well, the the leaf blower maybe for five
minutes, right? Friendly city's beautiful. So, the the matter before us is basically for the city to um uh purchase a property at 252 Riverside Drive East uh in order to put a temporary what's called pack list
station at that site. Then in place of list station 13, um Kim Claybback is here and she can probably address anything uh technical, but we had spent a good deal of time um trying to come up
with a way to to address the challenges related to lift station 13 and the potential for failure of lift station 13. And ultimately our engineering folks um and public works felt that it was
necessary to put a temporary pack in while we engage in building out and improving the sizing and capacity of a permanent list station 3 which is about 60% design right now. a collection system that will address about 170 homes
and a lateral system from those homes that virtually all most of them are in the rear lateral and we have to basically uh bring in plumbers that that is not utility um contractors those are going to be plumbers and so it's a f fairly um ambitious undertaking but it
it's necessary because of the position of those those homes and the system in a high flood area along the Manatee river on the east side of town. Uh this is basically a purchase of that property in order to to to situate it where we think
it would be best suited. And and this is going to be a photograph of a rendering. Good to go on that. She'll get it. I'm doing it right. Okay. Thank you. Yep. That's going to be temporary. So, as you can see, um from the rendering, it'll be
completely shielded and and and surrounded and fenced and accessible. Uh it has certain components that have to be above ground at a certain level above the base flood elevation. Um, obviously there's a a great deal of of uh plumbing
valve work and uh and that doesn't indicate a generator that I can see in that rendering, but there'll be a high-capacity generator as well that will be able to basically service those 170 homes um as a as a bypass to lift
station 13. I think you've heard me talk a little bit about lift station 13. It's real old. It is deteriorated from about a 16inch width of concrete to 4 in. It's typically underwater when there's high
flood waters. As a as a stop gap, we put a bypass pump and a generator under there. Most of that was underwater during the storms last year. If it's hit again, it could compromise the entire area. Now, we have talked with the community and some folks have said
things like, "Well, we're willing to take that chance." If you take that chance, and it it compromises that area. I think it's important to know your best bet is to go up into upper Manatee County Road in the county and look at what Woodruff is doing there because
what will happen is we will not be able to put piping under there. We will go above ground with probably what 12 18 inch big pipes for all that system. It has to go above ground and it'll
go all over the place to try to get to wherever we have to build a temporary list station at that time. Upper Manatee County Road. The reason why I I use that as an example is as you head up towards the bridge, I guess that's going to be north, that whole pass from from State
Road 64 up to um uh where the bridge is, the new bridge, it's it's all heavy heavy construction with with piping, relay pumps. I mean, there's a there's a bypass pump every I don't know at least quarter of a mile. um and and we don't
want to be there when we can avoid that um and and and and put something in place on temporary basis. Having this in place at that location provides us the ability to do that and it provides us the ability to do it um in the best way possible. It doesn't direct uh it
doesn't in any way impinge on the line of sight because the location of that particular property and where we would put this would not impede line of sight which would have to happen if we put it on quote the pork chop um that that's
right at the the corner. It it also is closer to manhole two. Um, so it's a little bit probably more efficient than actually taking it the extra I don't know, it's probably 25 yards down to the river from there. Um, and and it it also
provides us the ability to to control the site. So that's why we're we're asking for it. We did get an appraisal for the property. Uh, we believe we were in about I think I think about 5% over appraisal value. Cory can do the math on that, but
but I'm pretty sure the appraisal value was 420. on it and because of some other things we thought the 441 what we agreed to with the seller was a a good price to execute the contract. Under the contract the seller has to perfect clear marketable title to the property um
which is important and we think it would probably be the best way to approach our overall utility problem that exists out there. Yeah. And I think one of the things that's important that that and Mr. Ruticell can weigh in on this. This is a piece of property that we want to
purchase for the use of this temporary lift station that when everything is done to lift station this 13 when it's fixed to where it's going to lift station three it's off the river then that property will be back
marketable and is there a way we can do like a resolution as this council I know that any f future councils could change things but do a resolution that the intent of this council is as soon as quick as possible that that property would be turned back onto the open
market. Yeah. I mean, I I don't see anything wrong with a resolution like that. Obviously, it's not binding on future councils, but at least to if you want to show put in the record what the intent is of of this council. I I don't have any objection to that. All right. Questions?
Miss Moore? Um I um I have no objection to the resolution of this council. Um I think that that uh I think that that would be great actually. We could commit to that. Um
the as far as the contract itself, I know it has to be updated. I know that this was, you know, that there's dates and whatnot, but um I noticed also that it was assignable and I don't know that we need to have that. Just a small point that I'm sure Mr. Russell can look at.
Um, and I also just want to say thank you to staff for uh I feel heard as far as the location. Uh, this the location of the temporary was a matter of really importance to the people that are most
uh adjacent and going to be most affected by uh where the temporary was placed. And so I feel like this is a really positive step forward with um you know having residents feel like they were really listened to and whatnot. Um
going forward I would like to be Mr. Williams is not here but I would like to be a part of the communications meetings that are being regularly scheduled uh so that I can kind of have an idea of of what we're working on. I know that that the change you know I know that the work
is you know systematic and not nothing happens overnight. I totally appreciate that but I think it would give me uh a sense of uh reassurance that I know kind of what is being discussed when when we get there and I think also that to some
extent about the communications I can offer some guidance in that regard. Uh so I would again like to be invited to those meetings. And then I also wanted to just mention that again just to keep you guys like in your frame of mind as far as what we're doing. This is the temporary that we're talking about and
where we're going to locate it pursuant to our last you know month or so ago motion to bring the the location back to the council but that there are two other projects that this involves the expansion of the station 3 and the replacement of the design and replacement of the collection system.
And I also wanted to thank staff because so far my understanding is that all three of these things are going to move full steam ahead. We're not going to wait in phases to accomplish one and then the other. Um so that we can expedite what's going to be, you know,
an inconvenience to that immediate area as far as construction and roads and whatnot. It is an extensive project. So those would be my comments. Is that a motion to approve the sale and purchase for 252 Riverside? Well, let's get a motion and we can do discussion. Okay.
Yeah, I would I would happily move that. Just again noting that and I don't know if this is a matter for discussion. So, after we discuss, I would happily accept a friendly amendment, but I I mean I don't know unless there's some other legal reason that we would make this contract assignable. That's what I'd like to discuss. Yeah. Yeah. No, I think
it should stay the way it is. Oh, you do? You think it should be assignable? I just don't understand a context in which we would assign it. Well, let's have a motion. We have a motion and a second for Barnaby for Okay. Now, did that legal part of the assignable? What's the
purpose of that, Mr. Rut? Well, just I mean, it's in our benefit that it stay assignable because if we decide to I don't know. I've had it come up before and everybody's happy now, but then later if there's ever an issue and I've had it used to where they wouldn't allow
you, like let's say you wanted to put it in a trust or you wanted to put it in the CRA or I don't know. um but they have to agree to it then uh if you change the name whereas if it's assignable we're not being released from the from the the legal responsibility
but we can change the name if we want to and I think it's in the city's best interest to keep it that way not that we probably won't ever need to but we don't have to get the permission of the seller in order to do that Mr. Rudel. Yeah, I'm not a lawyer. I just play. Yeah, I think
that I mean that was the thinking. It doesn't um doesn't prejudice the city in any way and the city doesn't have to assign it and I think it's unlikely the city would, but it it just gives another option. Miss Moore, um where I was coming from, I agree with you. That's normally in the
in these residential contracts. That's the context that I see it also, which is someone is purchasing something that they ultimately are going to put into an entity or they are maybe going to put it into a trust. Um, I I guess maybe because we're, you know, simultaneously I'm saying I support us resolving as
these human beings on council currently to put it back on the market. It seems counterintuitive to also say, but we want to have options. I can only think that we would put it in the CRA, but I also can't imagine why we would do that because it's not located within the CRA. So, I don't know. It sure, yes, it gives
us options, but I just I don't know. It seems to me like it's kind of going against the whole we're going to put it back on the market. I I'm no longer a licensed attorney in the state of Florida. What? But but it seems to me that the assignability provision is only relevant
to the purchase and sales agreement. Once we own the property, we can do whatever with what the law allows us to do it. And so I don't know if it's worth I mean it it would seem to me highly unlikely that we would do an assignment
in the short period of time that we have a purchase and sales agreement which is a fairly expedited schedule. That that's just me. So So I don't know if you guys want to Well, I would all your call about that. I would think it would only be the seller who who would who would
have an objection. I don't know why we would even be arguing on our side. Well, again, because I'm just trying to reassure residents who have a concern about our intention for the the use of the property later. Um, you know, I couldn't I mean, basically where my mind
is going is the the replacement of the collection system and the expansion of the lift station will only enhance that area and increase value in my opinion. Um, I I don't have a crystal ball either as far as property values, but I just that is that's my thought is I just
don't understand why we would need it. And once it's once we purchase it and it's done though, it's done. That that is true. That is accurate and and and that was one of the reasons that I felt that it was important to to push it. You got to look at all the
outside factors and not pay attention to them. this is the best property to do the best project and get it done the quickest as possible with then giving a future council an opportunity now that the area is fixed up because that's you know I I I thought about it hard what
you said Miss Moore about my daughter has only known that pump station there and that and so she didn't know it was never there um and now that's going to be gone so everybody's property value the quicker we get this done the quicker
their property values more as well as the piece of property we're buying that hopefully then will be worth more and be a prudent purchase and then sale by the city whether it's any of us up here or the next generation of council people and mayor I yes ma'am I agree with you
um completely and I only I I actually didn't expect anyone to really think about the assignment thing that in that much detail I guess my I'm just trying to figure out a scenario in which we would want to assign this contract for this property prior to conveyance.
Correct. I can't I can't imagine one. Then why are we checking that box? That's my question. Because it's standard fair to to we're a buyer. We should have the right to do that and we don't want a seller dictating that you can't and it's just standard real estate practice. That that's what I'm assuming.
Looks like it's a real estate approved contract to me. It's Coker. And I will say, believe it or not, I've been in the situation where someone wanted to get out, the seller wanted to get out of a contract and for whatever reason, we couldn't go forward because they had to
because of the wrong box being checked. This keeps our options and and there just could be an unintended thing that comes up where we wanted to put it in the name of something else. and and that's all that was trying to be accomplished before when I was in this
situation and it blew everything up. There was nothing I could do. I'll I'll just say um it just for me I'm talking about prior to conveyance us assigning this contract to purchase to another entity or
individual. I I would the circumstance would have to be so incredibly unique for me to really like understand why would we be doing that. So, I would happily amend my motion such that any assignment has to come before council for approval. Wouldn't it have to
anyway? No, we're in the contract. The terms of the contract right now is that the city can assign this contract to some other entity or we're the authorizing entity for the city, right? But we're entering into a contract that says that the city can assign this
contract. There's no other to my knowledge. I mean, Mr. Mr. Russell, are we prevented from doing that without a council approval except for that I was just going to amend my motion? I mean, I don't have any objection to the amendment to the motion or the concept. I it would have been my expectation that it would come to council if if a
contract like this were going to be assigned. Well, Mr. Perry and I would not make that decision with the, you know, way things are going and the transparency. If something changed, it would come back to council. So I don't think that that being in there is a
issue because yeah I mean I you know if I approved anything it would be like me approving the right to transfer property that the city has under contract to buy. I wouldn't do that and I don't think the mayor would either. Yeah. But but
alsil you reviewed this. Are you comfortable with this contract? Um yes we're comfortable with the contract. Um, okay. You are a city attorney and that's what I needed to know.
So, Miss Moore, did you want to leave that in and then see if you're seconded or we'll keep it? I will leave it in as is or putting the amendment in. I would like to make sure that coun it comes before council if there was to be any proposed assignment. Miss Barnaby. Well,
we've gotten the mayor and the administrator to say that. I feel very uncomfortable saying, "No, we don't trust you and then we have to leave this motion in." That's how I'm interpreting it. I do not That is not the intent at all. Is Well, I'm I'm not
I'm not assigning intent. I'm saying this is how I'm interpreting. So, I'm withdrawing my second if you keep that in. Does it fail for lack of a second? Mhm. There's no second. So, all right. So, fails for that. So,
chair will entertain a motion. The contract for purchase and sale for 252 Riverside Drive East as presented. I'll make a motion. Second. All right. Any further discussion? Miss Moore. Just one more. Let me just please be
absolutely clear that this is not an issue of trusting anyone. This is just a matter of my interpretation of the real estate contract as it's written and this is me just trying to clarify that any other use of the
property would come before council. All right, we've had discussion. We have a motion and a second to go forward with contract for purchase and sale for 252 Riverside Drive East. Start the vote in W five. Yes. One. Yes. Two. Yes. Three.
Yes. Four. Yes. Carries five to zero. Thank you, Mr. Perry. Moving on to item D, which is emergency procurement. I have a couple of emergency procurements to report on. Coming up on El. Oh, yeah. I You taught
me how to enlarge it. I just want to do that. I want to squeeze it. I saw it smell. So then he could replace it. Yeah. Well, they tried to do something, but they couldn't get any bigger. They couldn't think of it as job security, Miss Milton.
They could do it and bring it out more like here. Yeah. Like air traffic control. Oh, there we go. That's what we're dealing with. We're dealing with like 1998 industry. Yeah. Yep. That's what it is. Surprised they still work.
But can we go back to the number part? I'll switch it over. Yeah. Right there. Can you make it bigger? It's at least halfway done. Thank you. Of course you can. Isn't that what it
was when we started? So just two matters here council which is my emergency purchase was brought to our attention and authorized emergency purchase uh on 514 2025 by Mr. David Lindseay, the fiscal manager for public
works for a sewer repair at Seventh Street and Fifth Avenue, the contractor CUR. Um, we don't believe that to be related to the hurricane. The second matter basically is 521 2025, uh, brought to me by Mr. Burner, our
facilities manager for roof replacement of the golf cart, clubhouse, and and cart barn out at our golf course. and that is 147 thou $154,720. We do believe that to be
mostly related to the hurricane damage. We're also, just so you know, working on a problem with the foundation out there as well and have to have a structural um concrete contractor try to sh up the the the foundation. So, that is a report and
I don't think there's any official action necessary for those. Do you know if that window at the clubhouse was storm damaged, too? I kind of think it was. Yeah. I think we repaired it, though. Okay. Did you hit it with a ball?
Britney's telling me No, I did not. I as bad as I played at the league last week, I easily could have, but no. All right, Mr. Perry. Item E is the city administration's health insurance renewal for fiscal year 2026. Would you like me to start? I think that would be
great. Thank you. So obviously I sit as the chairman of that committee and Mr. Kramer, Vice Mayor Kramer for now is on that committee. We've had several meetings over the last couple of months. We went to monthly meetings instead of quarterly meetings so we could keep up.
So I appreciate our HR department really keeping that going. Uh Mr. Perry does sit in an adviser as a non- voting member on that board with us and several staff members obviously through all the departments do. um after last year's um situation we went through, we really
wanted to keep up with it and we still looked at possibly changing from Florida Blue um as our agent uh and going through it. We looked at the RX benefits and everything for that. Um there was some different opportunities, but going
through the whole thing, the board decided to stay where we're at. the year has not been as drastic as it was last year. and to leave it basically as a status quo with the R the RX benefits staying because last year when we
changed RX benefits there was a lot of hiccups and with everything going on the committee felt that it was prudent to kind of stay status quo for a year see where we go with a 0% increase on either one because we are going to have
probably close to 400,000 I forget get the number maybe the number, but there was some where we were going to be under budget this year possibly if nothing happens over the next several months to start to build our reserves a little bit, but they just
felt it was better. We, you know, there's not going to be an increase to us and we're going to be under budget. So, it was better to just stay status quo. So that's the insurance committee's recommendation to just continue with Florida Blue part of it as well as the
RX benefits with the status quo on our payments as is now 0% increase on both questions or Mr. Kramer. Yeah, one one thing that I did bring up when we talked about the cost and it's because every
year we get a number of emails from retirees uh because the and I know it from just sitting where I'm sitting where I'm about to be, but um basically the the 75% that the city pays for now and employee pays for 25% basically
flip-flops when you retire. Um, so for a lot of our seniors that are retirees, it's a significant hit. And we've tried in the last couple years to make sure that they're also taking full advantage of whatever Medicare that there was a belief that if you came off the city
insurance that you could never go back on it. Well, the Medicare plan was never really explained as part of that city insurance option. So, the last couple years we've been able to do that. But, it's for those people who aren't quite there yet, it's a significant cost. I mean, I'll just say that personally. I
can say I can attest to that. So, it's um in the future, I hope we are we still look at that and maybe as we do make any potential changes in the future that uh we always are considering the retirees because I know I'll be still requesting
that for everyone. Right. Mr. Coker, did you have a question? Okay. didn't know if you did anything sir. So I guess the recommendation would be to go with what the insurance committee's has recommended to this council to move forward I believe so and it was a
positive recommendation to continue on with Florida blue under the uh right rates proposed to continue on with RX benefits uh under the RX plan. I think you did a really good job of summarizing. And I'd like to thank you, uh, Vice Mayor now, Chief Kramer, uh,
Corey, and some of the other folks that were all on there. We actually would have meetings just about every 3 weeks to a month. Well, that's something I'm still going to ask. Maybe not as much coming. Well, let from now till the end of the year, I'd still like to have more meetings, but then maybe the first quarter we don't need it as much, but
then still to get into it because I don't want to get into a situation like we did last year. Yeah, last year it was it was awful. And I think we all learned a little bit about the healthcare insurance industry as well on that last two years for sure. Yeah. More than normal. I appreciate your support. We're
still recording on YouTube. So to say vultures is bad. I don't want to sound that way. So uh chair would entertain a motion to go with the health insurance committee's recommendation. So moved. So moved. Okay. So we have a motion by councilwoman Moore, a second
by Vice Mayor Kramer, and we'll start the vote in ward one. Yes. Two. Yes. Three. Yes. Four. Yes. Five. Yes. Carries five to zero. Thank you. All right. Uh, Mr. Perry,
Woodard and Curran. Thank you, mayor. Last but not least is item number G, city administration. We do have an H. Also, yours is the last one. H is planning. Yep. Yep. Yep. Right. Is is
item G. uh uh Woodward and Cardan's fiscal solutions strategic funding plan proposal for fiscal initiative plan uh that the copy of which was attached I believe to the uh the agenda memo and agenda item. Now Ryan Watson is in the
back um of the room and Ryan is is one of the senior management team from Woodward Curran and first off they have done a really really good job and I want to thank Ryan and his team for staffing up. uh they brought in top quality folks
um with expertise in in in in wastewater to look at our plant to operate our plant to and by and large all of the employees that were former city employees uh that are are now working for Wood and Curran. Um some of them we
actually plan to um retain for certain reasons. There was a couple and they go we like wooden gar and and they actually and Brian had the courtesy to to tell us a little bit about that and said you know if the city doesn't want us to do that but we're very pleased with with
wood and car thus far they really have put a lot of resources and attention and planning into the operation of the wastewater treatment plant but wooden car has about 1,400 employees uh and and and they're nationwide and mayor and I
had the opportunity when we went to Tallahassee to meet with their fiscal solutions team, some a couple of the members of the team and I believe one of them had worked for was it SRF um state
revolving fund. Yeah. Yeah. And um and then the other the the other individual I think it was Fred worked for the city of Tallahassee as their public works director and really really knowledgeable in accessing funding for utility
systems. And it's it's really important because when you look at what you know where we have before us in the face it fix it campaign we have a variety of different shortcomings on aged utility that has to be repaired replaced and
remediated and really that includes you know drinking water as it includes waste water it includes storm water and um they have the expertise in in accessing federal funding. If you remember from
our workshop, I laid out a little bit of potential funding that's out there currently right now. And $1.7 billion dollars was allocated through the federal EPA in the infrastructure act. And it's still in it's still in, it
hasn't been pulled out or anything to go to, I believe it was six states that were affected by um Hurricane Helen and Hurricane Milton as well as the Hawaii wildfires. And uh those states are obviously southeastern United States uh
states and the allocation to Florida was $1.7 billion. Um Wooden Curran had worked for was it Labra Florida? Label Leel I'm sorry Lebell Florida and had accessed similar
types of funding and it was significant funding that they they were able to get for a smaller community of Lebell last time the Ian funding uh that came down that was very similar to this that funding in particular I just I'm getting probably into too much detail but it
goes from federal EPA down to D. We had met with the secretary of D um that controls those funds and then ultimately it gets administered through SRF and Wooden Current has already put applications for us in to put place to
express interest in accessing those non-competitive funds. Uh if you were if you were hit with these storms and qualify by virtue of that, they're grants. They don't have to be repaid. And the last time I think it was uh with label they were $20 million. And so what
uh D and SRF are trying to do is figure out how many people are going to apply and how do they distribute the $1.7 billion. Three categories. Drinking water, which of course we deal with through um the Evo surf surface water program. We have the uh distribution
system that's related to it. There's some serious needs out there at Evis Reservoir as it regards to uh resiliency and uh purity of of the water being being breached by certain types of events. We've had weather events becoming
brackish, having salinity problems and other timmetry or whatever it's called type problems that's becomes a chemical issue and they're obviously generating a salty taste. Um so we got to protect that reservoir. There's some ways to do it. The dam was built many many years ago and so it would probably deal with
dam enhancement. Um then the distribution system as you've heard Miss Clayback talk a lot about is about a seven mile run singular run from the plant into the city of Bradenton and there's no redundancy. So if there was a problem with that distribution we wouldn't be able to turn valves and you
know bring it on a parallel pipe type of thing. And so we're looking at some improvements there in the drinking water aspect. Um then we also have we have um the wastewater um which they call clean water under the act and we obviously have issues related to our aged
infrastructure there uh resiliency related there too both in the collection as well as the treatment process there and uh storm water of course we hear about flooding all too often here that's just that federal EPA money then we're also looking at $32 million in an
allocation from the county from HUD CBDG that deals with some of the same types of issues and we're looking at what would we would be eligible for there. The AL county I believe has authorized the 32 maybe some change
million dollars and so that's a pretty sizable pot of money too. We also have $5 million in in requests that's included in the budget that's in a holding pattern up in Tallahassee um that deal with some wastewater improvements as well as some storm
water. Uh and then we have the rate and we have to do a a calculation and rate study to see if we would go to back back to SRF and we would say okay we need how much money how much could we borrow um
on a promise to budget you know covenant basically within the lending documents to budget and appropriate based on a rate increase of 3% a year something like that. That's typically how utilities do it to fix current things with future revenues at a certain level.
And uh then we also have things that are on the development agenda for off-site improvements both on this city side itself uh where we have our our our developers uh making commitments to pay for certain improvements to the wastewater and potable water system too.
In this particular case, you've got to increase nominal pipe sizing for water pressure and volume because it's a high-rise building with a lot more folks in it. Uh then you obviously have more stuff going into your source system and the closest lift station is cliff lift station 8, which of course is at the end
of Buckarata Boulevard and 15th Street and we need to get it off there. I think we also have a request in for D grant to assist with that. Is that right? Yep. And so we're accessing all these things. I mean, I could go on and on, but but but but the the big number that you're
looking at is probably $140 to $150 million in in in funding. Uh and most of it is is funding that is either grant um or or or straight out appropriations. And so so that's pretty good stuff. and
and and I hate to say this, but if it had not been for these horrific hurricanes that have been so terrible for the area, that funding probably would not have been available for this type of infrastructure improvement. Uh it goes to the adage about strike while
the iron's hot and it's an opportunity. This basically is a contract for $150,000 to have wooded and current up to $150,000. um try to study what our needs are for our wastewater capital program uh the
the priorities cost evaluations um associated regulatory compliance and then try to develop fiscal solutions between those various categories and more. I just kind of laid out what's currently known and available and being
worked on. I want to give a a thank you to Kim who's done this work over the years for the city. Um, I don't think people understand how complex it is to put together these application processes to D or the state legislature. And you
have to have obviously the estimates of cost, you have to have the pro project description, um, and a host host of other things. And while she's, you know, doing a million other things, um, she's got to do this too to try to access money. Well, we need to expand some bandwidth here. And, and that's what
this is an attempt to do. the money's out there and and you have to have, as I always say, a grant getter. That's what this is. There's the grant applicant, the grant getter, the grant administrator. It's not just one person. Oh, you got a grant person. Remember how we used to hear that? Why are we hiring
a grant person? Well, you you don't need just one grant person. You need three grant people. Yeah. I didn't mean over there. Now, one of the things I think and and with the the upwards of
$20 million per project with the water, sewer, and storm water possibilities, you know, that's something that that without the proper paperwork, the proper, you know, to spend a little bit
to get upwards of 60 million plus, because those are just those three projects we know about now or three pools of money, and that's due by the end of June. So, we don't have a lot of time to get those in. Then there's other things that they'll work. And I, you
know, right now, if we can get those plus what we got the CDBG DR money, we're looking at and plus the state money, we're looking at close to hund00 million right there. Plus, we're still going to be 40 to 50 million short. And where else can we get it? And
I think uh Brian's not smiling, but I think he's got an opportunity to have something where the team I believe has other avenues as well and connections that will get us to that point. And again, and put together a plan. Even if you get the money, what are you going to
do with it, you know, and then we got to actually deliver and build the projects. It's it's plus that keeps up with the the um what you have to do to keep the project and keep the uh reporting done, right? Right. Because reporting is probably one of the most reasons you
have to give money back. Absolutely. Reports supported documentation. Yeah. No, no, it's it's this is just the first part of it is kind of putting the plan together and you know that that's going to be some evaluation of our engineering evaluation of what Kim already has some of the stuff we've done through
contracts with other folks um that's out there and ultimately those are supporting documents. Obviously there's the uh the resiliency the vulnerability plan that is required by the state as well for a lot of these applications. We also heard something earlier in citizen
comment about consultants or project managers and things of that nature. This basically does I don't know this specific but it gets us to that next step of the next step of project managers for these projects and I think
we're close you know that I think if if you said what would it take if if me and Kim went in the back room with a cocktail now can you know and she's got a lot more better spec specifics than that but you're looking at probably 15 to 18 projects maybe 20 even over the course of stressing her out Rob stop
stressing out I know I know and I Don't mean to do that. I really don't. But but we don't have the bandwidth because we would need 10 Kims and three Brandies and a bunch of other folks, you know, and everything. But you can use funding from this grant to do the project
manager. I what I'm envisioning is if you do have that many projects going and you're trying to expedite it. When I say expedite it, I'm talking about, you know, five anywhere from what three, four years to to to to eight years. Um,
you got to have a master project manager that manages all the project managers on each project. Because you think about it, while doing the dam isn't going to be the same guy that does the the redundant pipe and that's not going to be someone that does all the electronics over there. There's all kinds of
different disciplines and and and everything. And we just have never, you know, been able to attack problems like that because, well, we probably didn't have problems like that, but with with a whole host of things, you know, it needs to be uh we've seen the outcome of what
Councilwoman Coker brought to us a couple years ago, which the the council supported a uh southern group and the lobbyist Tallahassee, which has got somewhere around $20 million for 22
$25,000 basically over the three-year period. This is something that's going to get us close to a hundred plus million dollars. I'm confident that is grants and different things that without missing a beat. Right. So that's my opinion. Any comments? I don't know
how you I know you can face it, but I don't know how you fix it without that funding and and the support. There a motion to I'll make a motion. Mr. I'll make a motion to approve the proposal from Woodard and Curran for the fiscal initiative plan as presented and authorize the mayor to sign on behalf of
the city. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none, we'll start the vote in Ward one. Yes. Two. Yes. Three. Yes. Four. Yes. Five. Yes. Carries 5 to zero. Thank you. Thank you. And is the last matter which you pointed
out is item H, planning and community development uh is for resolution 2551 as submitted for building permit fees. You Robin and and uh and Scott Williams are going to talk about this building official for the city. Um you remember
the short version about we run a deficit now terribly so um over there and really that deficit gets paid up by the taxpayers the G you know the general fund taxpayers and the fees are considerably lower um our permit fees
right now than surrounding areas it's increasing costs you know for personnel that we've been putting in place IT systems and the like and uh there hasn't been a significant cost increase for several years. There was a moratorum
that was put in place for many years as well and it's kind of inerant on it changes based on on sometimes the storm season and the like and we would actually really appreciate due consideration. I want Robin and Scott to talk about it a little bit and the
proposal itself. If you can't do all of it now, if we could do some of it now and some of it a year from now, at least it'd be on the board so we know what type of funding we'll we have because there are a lot of demands being put on our permitting section and the planning
department right now. Good morning. uh Robin Singer, planning community development director, and Scott Williams is here, our u chief building official. Uh I'm just going to run through some of the things that um I think Scott has previously presented. Um
but just for clarification, I think it's important uh just to go through what we're doing and why we're doing it. Um so, uh what we're proposing is an increase of fees by approximately 20%. Uh we are not changing the fee structure
at this time. and we suspect that might be something that might be coming forward in the future. Uh but for now, we're not proposing to change the fee structure. We're not increasing impact fees. Uh we're also not increasing our budget. Um we are looking to maintain
the current budget. Uh the last significant change, as Mr. Perry indicated, was in 2013. Uh there was some update in 2018. Um, and I think it's important to note where like the deficit occurred and where we started to uh experience more
demands on uh the building uh permitting process is up to um 2020 up till the pandemic. It's my understanding. I wasn't here prior, but we were re reviewing primarily paper permits. Um and that is labor intensive because you
have to track the permits. people had to come into our space in order to review the permits and then there were instances where the permits could get lost. Um the state mandated that uh communities offer electronic permit processing. So um we've endeavored to uh
put a plan in place to uh it started with accepting permits by email. Still very labor intensive to uh shuffle those around. uh that we went to an electronic plans room uh which helped immensely in terms of the review of plans but always
with the eye towards uh implementing a system that would allow people to apply online and everything to occur online. We think that saves everybody in the community a lot of time and trouble. Uh while you'll still see people we're still friendly business friendly and we'll meet people in the lobby but for
the most part people are submitting and processing their permits online. they're paying for their permits online and the permit uh process has been immensely streamlined. So, we have seen some additional costs. In addition to that, we have staff members that, you know, um you take somebody with good customer
service skills, you train them up to understand the construction process and the terminology. And now you also have a computer program uh that they have to be trained in and learn how to process those permits. And that, you know, by about six months, we're ready to turn them loose at the counter, you know, and
helping people uh directly. Um and and what that does is it makes them more valuable employees. it makes them more valuable to us, but also to other communities that process in permits in the same way and appreciate those same skills. So, we've had to uh have some
increases in salaries over the years um and and just to retain our staff and to keep up with the industry and what other communities are paying. And so it makes sense that we also keep up with what other communities are charging uh for their permits because the other communities are do the same things that
we're doing in terms of implementing an electronic system because they're required to by the state but also training up their staff and and uh making sure that they're customerfriendly in terms of being able to do everything online and not require that people come in uh to the permitting
office. Um, so the the goal is to make the building department uh financially independent of the city's general fund. Um, and as that's as it should be. It's an enterprise fund. It's there for a purpose. It's there for a purpose just to run the building purpose. It's not
there to make a profit. We're only looking to cover our costs. Uh, and we have, while we have stayed within our budget, the revenues aren't keeping up with the budgeted costs um that we've already agreed to. Um so operational
costs have increased. Um there's general inflation that's increased. Uh the the fees the system has been antiquated for a while now. Um and we have to also as I said increase with the private sector for salaries as well because inspectors
and even permit processes are in demand also in the private sector. And if you notice what the state has been doing, um, in addition to the preeemption on the increase of fees, uh, they've also, uh, passed some legislation, excuse me,
that I would say has been favorable to the private sector in terms of private providers, and that's something else we we need to talk about. So it's um not really put us in competition but we still have to process those permits that even the private providers are processing but then that private those
private providers are also competition for us in employing staff. So once we train somebody up there's there's the possibility of them uh turning over. So this is just to show you how um this has kind of proceeded. And so you see in
2021 that's where we started to um see some you know while there was some um reduction in revenues um there was also some increased cost just in trying to retain staff and implement the new services that we were required to
provide. So the analysis that uh Mr. Williams uh conducted included um basically he looked at 37 different communities and settled on five similarsized communities um and analyzed them for what their permitting fees
were. Um they and and he didn't consider ones that hadn't updated their fee structure in the last four years because again that's a time frame where everybody was doing the same thing that we've been doing in in terms of implementing electronic permit fees and we wanted to
make sure that we were keeping up with what the future is is going to entail. Um, also, uh, we had an organizational assessment by Matrix and they also did a sort of a mini fee study for us and found that we were still lower than most
communities in terms of our fee structures and community particularly communities over the similar size. Um, so the deficit over the last five years is averaged at 18%. The four-year average is about 30%. a 20% increase uh
would generate about um 30 $322 uh,000 which is about the average of what our deficit has been. Um we anticipate that there'll be a cost savings over time with attrition as people get up and train. So we will balance out on that.
So it may, you know, if even if it doesn't cover all of our costs, we expect that as our our system becomes more efficient, uh that we'll be able to do more with less, uh in terms of staffing. Uh and again, uh we look back to the matrix study and their statement
that Braden becomes in below most jurisdictions when comparing common uh construction type scenarios. uh for new construction on residential and commercial. Braden is below the average and is the second lowest fee overall for those um in those two areas. So I I'm
sure you can zoom in and read all of this, but but basically the it's a it's a 20% increase means 20% across the board. So if you had a $100 fee for a permit is now $120. Uh that's what we're proposing. And uh just to give you an
example, for a 2,000 ft² new uh single family home, the current fee would be um $1,540 and the proposed be $1,840 for 15,000 square ft of new commercial new construction. And that's about like a new Walgreens or CVS. Um
the the current fee would be 12,300 and the proposed fee would be 14,700. And for a residential re- roof, again, just a 20% increase. Uh that's probably one of the more common um increase, you know, permits that we've had since the storms storm events of
last year. Um another component to this is private provider. The state provides uh that we have to give a reduction in permit fees for private providers. We're still doing a lot of the work that we would do um
for issuing permits. Um they have an option of just doing inspections, private provider or doing both plan review and inspections and private provider. And um Scott can tell you more about how he arrived at that, but he f
looking at the other communities, he found that the norm should be about 15% reimbursement for if they're just doing inspections with private provider, but up to a 30% if they're also doing plan review. We're still doing a lot of work for those permits, but we do have to
provide that reimbursement per the state. And um so our recommendation, it's a 20% increase. um uh 15% reimbursement for private private provider inspections only and 30% for
plan review and inspections. We're talking about an effective date of approximately 30 days. I think we put July 1st um in the resolution. And that's to give us an opportunity to notify all contractors uh locally and and uh put some website banners and
social media posts just to let everybody know what's coming so nobody's surprised. Um, and with that, I'm I I don't know if Scott if you want to add anything. Um, the only thing I would like to add in there is to consider the fact that there is a new Senate bill
coming through the floor and it's on its way to the governor's desk for a signature. The reason these fees haven't been adjusted for many years is because of the storms and they usually put a freeze on any fee increases. In this new Senate bill is language that says that upon the emergency declaration, all all
fees will be frozen for six months. So, it's not a matter of if we're going to get an emergency declaration. We will get one. So, I would like to encourage you to make action on this prior to us getting locked back down because this has been dragging for many years because of that scenario. Other than that, I
really don't have much more to add to it. Questions? I've got my Miss Coker. Yeah. Um, couple of things. Um, first off, I you know, I I don't like raising the fees. uh been upfront, but I understand the need and
what we can. I think we've come a long way by allowing for the uh with Asella and getting everything more electronically and hopefully that's going to continue to get better. Um all these studies keep talking about fee comparisons, all that, but I would like
to see something that does a measure of performance like like time periods between submitting an application and when the permit's issued. Maybe some timing um like from requesting an inspection to when the inspection's
done. Um maybe even a a satisfaction survey type that I just think we need to have accountability. We're raising the costs and the costs will be passed on and I just would like to see um you know that tied to a higher
performance. Um, and and I think it will. I think everybody's committed to that and I think we've been working in that direction. Um, and that's I'm not in any way, you know, trying to disparrage staff in any way. I just feel
like if we're going to raise the raise the fees, we need to have our level of service go up as well. And also at one time we had also discussed a rapid response person or a program or something for if there's those catalytic projects that we want to make sure get
through quickly. I don't know how we're addressing that as well. Um you know permitting can make things more expensive, harder, and I would like to see us become more the friendly city.
stuff. I I I feel like a 10% increase up front, you know, rather than go the full 20% now. Um and then see if the 10% increase brings up that level of service and then maybe in a year do another 10%.
That's just kind of my feeling on that. Vice Mayor Kramer, thank you. And ma'am, for the record, we all get a little choked up when we hear what the legislature might be doing. So, um, I was in support of this. I was about to say I agree with a lot of what
M Coker says on regarding this, but I fully support the 20%. I was ready to vote for it before and we had to wait, but um, I think it's absolutely necessary. Uh, a lot of things she did bring up though about measuring
performance. Obviously, I think from time to time we've every department head has gotten a call from one of us from constituent who's disappointed in their level of performance that they're receiving from any department. And uh it's just something that I know other departments measure it. I'd like to see
that too. And you'll soon have that opportunity to do that. Uh trust trust me. I know, Miss Moore. Um I also struggle with raising the fees. Um, so I guess I have a couple of
questions, but I also, um, I'm weighing the, uh, discouragement of commercial projects, if the fee increase is going to do that, or residents that are just struggling with affording their, you know, of course, I'm thinking storm people and whether or not that's going
to hinder their ability to rebuild. Um, but I think that I weighing that against your desire to retain talent, I think it's going to be the retention of talent that's going to have to um take precedence over my concerns
about raising fees. Um, as far as the amount, I I when you put it down into numbers, it seems reasonable, especially when my concern is the residents. Um, does the matrix when you were doing this analysis to come up with whatever? It seems to me like there's like a myriad of combinations that could be going on
here. So, have was there part of your analysis like uh 30% on commercial projects and 10 on residential or above this threshold of square footage you could do this amount? That would be something I'd want to dig into on a complete probably a fee restructure on
the way we do calculate our fees. Okay. We tried to stay within our existing fee structure because we were implementing Excella and we didn't want to add another level of complication to that process because we had plenty of complications. Got so we tried to stay within our existing fee structure and find an avenue that would get us to a
break even point so that we're not demanding money from the general fund any longer to meet our budget requirements and we could be self-supporting through the fees collected. Nobody likes a fee increase. And this honestly, however you look at the perspective of this, this really is not
a fee increase. This is a reallocation of where this money is going to come from. My whole goal with this and this percentages would be to have the users paying for the fees, not the non-users in the general fund, and have that money coming from those who are pulling the permits and using the services rather
than those who are not. That makes sense. Because our our budget numbers haven't gone up. Our budget hasn't increased. operating budget isn't going to change and we're doing what we can to streamline our operating budget and to make it more efficient and get it better. It's going to take some work
because to be honest with you, prior jurisdiction I was in, I had six staff members versus 14 here and I had the same operating budget with my six staff members. So, we're not overly abundant in cash flow. So, but we are trying to find ways
to streamline that. Miss Barnaby. Well, I I do agree with you saying it's it's a user fee and and that the people that are using it are the ones that need to pay for it rather than the general population coming out of the general
budget, so to speak. And just one comment, I find it fascinating that the state identifies these as enterprise funds, which means they have to stand on their own two feet. And then in the next breath they turn around and tell us that
we can't adjust our fees because they don't want us to. I I just I find that that's it's fascinating to me the logic behind that. Me as well. Any other questions? Mayor, can I just
make a Yes, Mr. Perry. Fiscal comment on it. when we talk about it being subsidized by the general microphone by the by the general fund. Um it it it's kind of an important concept to be be thoughtful of. Um Heidi sitting in the
back of the room there and her budget team have to basically take a budget every year and when we have to supplement an enterprise with general fund monies, that means we have less general fund monies to pay for things
like union contracts for wages of fire and police and general service employees and all the other stuff we do. And so it's really important because this has been a reoccurring cost to the general fund to to basically supplement it. And
I would just, you know, I'm not a big fan of fee increases either um on any kind of repeat basis, but I would believe that the totality of circumstances here would support that for all of the reasons that Mr. Williams
and Miss Singer have pointed out and the fact that it really hasn't been in touched uh in in many years and that the window may be closing as well and and so I I hope you would support it because it helps us fiscally, it helps the department itself and it will help the
delivery of service. All right. Anything else, Miss Singer, Mr. Williams? All right. The chair will entertain a motion. Move to approve resolution 2551. Okay, we have a motion by Mr. Vice Mayor
Kramer, second by Miss Coachman, had a quite a bit of discussion. Well, one, yes, I just want to say that without any performance whatsoever attached to this, I just can't support it. I really can't.
So, well, at the same time, if I may. Yes, sir. We've sort of put that edict to them that that's what we expect back. Yeah. So I think when we ask them about that and they say, "Oh, we haven't done that." Well, then but we will have already given them. That's why I would would have preferred to see it go to 10%
and then we'll get the other 10% as long as we see that we're getting a a a raised level of performance. I Yeah, we we will implement quarter quarterly reporting to city council similar to the way code enforcement has been reporting.
We'll we'll give you a report on that too because we're able to with the new system. Okay, Mr. Mayor. Yes, ma'am. If I may. No one likes raising the cost of anything, but it happens. And it happens
for a reason. I can't say that about our economy, but but it happens for a reason. We're the friendly city to a fault. We often are the lowest paying
entity around here and if we don't take a look at that we'll lose people and and we lose them every day all across the board. You know I I'm of
the philosophy and maybe I'm polyiana I don't know. Um, I'm of the philosophy if you take care of your people, if you pay your people, especially when you've got dedicated people that are working as three or four because we're
the friendly city and we don't we can't, you know, um, I just feel like if you take care of your people, the the the performance comes because right now we have people that are so dedicated to doing a great job
and they're being paid less. So, you've already got the heart. You know, I I'm sorry. I just um I just feel like we take care of our people. We won't lose them to Sarasota and Hillsboro and
wherever else and and we take care of them and that that performance, that quality performance will come. It'll be the extra friendly city. Is this about salaries or is this about Well, well, we're talking about retention and we're
raising Never mind. I I don't want to get into it. We're raising the fees so that we can take care of that department and that means people. I mean, they are real they're the the department. I mean, they're the ones that are doing it. Oh, yeah. I guess we
have some technology, too. But we got technology people that have to deal with that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kind of go all off track. All right, we have a motion and a second and we'll start the vote in award two. Yes. Three. Yes.
Four. Yes. Five. Yes. One. No. All right. Approved. Four to one. Thank you. All right, Madame Clerk. Mr. Perry. No, sir. Thank you for your anything else, Madam Clerk. No, sir. All right.
It's unfinished business. We go to council reports. We'll start in W five. Oh my goodness. And last meeting I remember it was four and I said, "Okay, be ready because you're going to" and I'm not. Um I feel like I've talked enough today to
the point now my voice is leaving me. A as we have been having as of late great meeting, great discussion. We're doing our jobs up here. I really feel that way. And and we're friends afterwards. I keep saying that. And that's true. All
of you out there. It's really true. We disagree with each other and then we just go smile and have a have lunch. Um but but just great things and and then recognizing code enforcement uh and and and the gardening club and
and just recognizing that we have these terrific employees, terrific us too because it it takes so much to be the friendly city and run this um this entity. It's a lot going on. Um, I I I
think I'm gonna just stop right there because I was going to talk a little bit about I just have to say it. We recognize people for their hard work during mornings like this, you know, during the meeting. I think we need to
be mindful and be appreciative every day. Don't lose sight of it. Don't at all. I I get to see a lot of of our employees. I get to see BPD. Unfortunately, I guess fortunately
fortunately and unfortunately I get to see you um in and and in and we just have to be mindful. I know it's horrible raising cost to our citizens,
but it's like one of those unnecessary I mean necessary evils. All right. Sorry. Well, no, I'm not really. I just wanted to say it. All right. Thank you. Award one. Yeah. Um, first off, uh, I wanted to thank you
for the opportunity. It was fun. The picnic with the public works department and going and serving the hot dogs and hamburgers. It was hot, but it was a lot of fun. and and I enjoyed getting to, you know, see a lot of them and uh and
not just my uh garbage collector in my pajamas like normal. But anyhow, but I agree. I I I want to kind of agree with uh Councilwoman Coachman. I mean, we do have a lot of debate up here and sometimes, but I think that's very
healthy. I think if we all thought exactly the same, that would not make for good sausage, so to speak. Um, I think our opinions, and sometimes they're very heartfelt, but I am glad we had that debate and don't just rubber
stamp or, you know, whatever. So, I hope that that people appreciate that with us because I do genuinely like everyone up here. And uh it is really with a very heavy heart that I voted
for my colleague to go and be our chief, but I I know he's going to be good. I I'm excited for um him to bring the perspective from us sitting here. Um you'll have that additional perspective. Um and you also know that we have a real
heart for our law enforcement officers. And uh it it pains me when I hear someone say, "Oh, we don't we don't care about them." Because we truly do. Uh keep public safety is one of my, you know, priorities up here. So, you know, that and we'll take that back with you.
And um I'm looking forward to uh everybody. And I also want to thank the chief. I think you've been an amazing leader and um and I think uh we're very blessed to have had you for as long as we have. Have one more meeting. one more meeting. She does, but she'll be crying
at that. Oh, no. She was doing cartwheels that quick. But anyhow, that's all. Thank you, Miss Barnaby. Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I too had a had a nice time over at public works getting to see everyone and and I
hope that um they they do h know how much they are appreciated and I hope all of our employees know how much that that we appreciate them. It's working for government sometimes can be very frustrating and it can be uh
not a lot of change happening very quickly. But I think that our government was designed that way back in uh you know with the the Continental Congress. Um they were very worried about having the soldiers representing King George
show up and and commoder your you know take you over your property, your farm, your business, whatever. So government I think sometimes does move slowly. Sometimes I wish we could move a little faster on certain things, but uh all in all it's it that's the way it was
designed. Um I would I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Laura Baden. Laura was a wonderful person and when she was um healthier uh participated with the Junior League and getting that
organization going and being the uh the very strong and impactful organization that it is today. And uh just want to wish uh strength and peace to uh her uh husband Chris and her son Corey and and
all of the extended family with that. And then Mr. Kramer, I remember meeting you in 1998. I'm gonna hold it together. I'm going to do that this time. There you go. Cuz I know you're not really going
anywhere, but right over there. That's actually getting to know you and your your your quiet confidence and demeanor. Every time you came into a situation, I always knew it was going to be handled
appropriately and professionally, and you continued that here with your service with us on this side of the building, and I I don't think that the mayor could have come up with a better choice. So, congratulations, Mrs. Moore.
Um, I would love I didn't plan to do this, but I would love to echo both of uh Councilwoman uh Coachman and Coker's sentiments that I agree wholeheartedly that robust uh conversation and debate is an indicator of the health of your
city government. um we we all bring our our personalities and our strengths and our backgrounds to this role and mine is very preuncter and so I hope that no one ever takes that as an insult but um I think Mr. Ruters can
probably attest that this is the way lawyers speak to each other in a professional environment and it is not and ever intended to be an insult. Um but um so I do I appreciate that as well and I think it's really important and that said I um have only had the
pleasure of knowing uh Councilman Kramer in this capacity as a fellow colleague on the dis. It's been an absolute pleasure and an honor to get to know you um and your lovely wife as well. And I am excited about this next chapter for
you. It will be bittersweet for us, but I'm excited about this next chapter for you. And I um happily put my trust in you to take over what Chief Beavenon has created and and developed over the past nine years of her service. So, thank you. Um, real I have a couple of other
little things, but none of them are really like super time-sensitive. Hurricane season is next week. That's completely a nightmare. And but I'm I'm an hopeful person and I'm going to hope that we're going to be, you know, just fine and not have to suffer like we did
last year. That said, um I did just come off of um doing uh the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's summit. Miss Singer was able to attend for a portion. I think that that was beneficial. I'd love to see more staff be able to participate in the more technical assets or aspects of that summit. Uh for me as
um as an elected official at that event, uh the takeaway for me was the segment on mental health after a disaster. And most notably, I know that we all up here have expressed our, you know, the emotional trauma really is what it is.
Um, for what happened last storm season, but um, one of the takeaways for you from the summit was that staff also probably suffered as well. You know, they saw some things, they had to deal with some things, they had people crying and and generally being terrified and in
a real moment of uncertainty. So, I'm taking that to heart and I've talked to Miss Shadik and also Mr. Williams. I don't know if Mr. Perry and I have had a chance to discuss it, but I would like to do a town hall when I return from vacation um in a couple of weeks just
almost like a a you know, for lack of a better word, like a group hug of sorts, a it's going to be okay. This is what the city is doing and working on to prepare. um things that they can, you know, citizens can kind of remember like sign up for code red and evacuate if
you're in an evacuation zone, all that kind of thing. Um so that's what's on my mind. All for the good of the order. Thank you, Vice Mayor Kramer. Thank you, sir. Um first, I want to congratulate all the graduates of Manatee County
schools and colleges. um especially the seniors just graduated uh Saturday from St. Stevens, um, which has been my other part-time home, uh, for the last three years, um, along with being here. Um, I got choked up
yesterday because they made me feel welcome. And I want to thank all of you for making me feel welcome and, um, be a younger big brother, I think, is what I've heard from one. Um, one thing I promised, uh, I was
asked by somebody, I'm not going to say who it was, like, "Well, this is the time like promises would come to, uh, make sure you're appointed or whatever." I said, "The only thing I promise is I'll tell you how it is." Um, I know Chief Beavenon does, too. But, um, you know, sometimes there's stuff about
investigations we can't talk about, but you will know where I stand on things. You will know where the department stands, and you'll hear it from me. So, I promise all of you that um I know you said you hope I'm good. Well, I'm gonna strive to be excellent. I know it's a uh
strive for perfection is really what Vince Lombardi said, but you know, you're not going to attain it. So, you will catch excellence and that's what we're going to do. I assure you all of that. Thank you all. Thank you. And uh a lot of the comments obviously here today
echoed by everybody is as as you know where I stand on a lot of things and how I feel. And um when I became mayor five years ago, the first meeting probably the first or second day I had with Chief Beavenon, I I asked her for two things and she can
attest to this. One is the where the country was at that time is protect our city. Do what it takes in in the fair and honest way to protect our city. And um the other was to get our department to the point we're at now and
I would have her back. And I think it's something that when I went through the process, we're not ready for that yet. No, we still got another meeting through the process of which was tough. We had four great
internal candidates at the point and it was tough to pick but it wasn't tough to pick Josh as number one. The other three were great candidates. the reason that you know that the drama that we've been
through and the untruths and in that and as this job as mayor and and I was more like a councilman when I was like Mr. Kramer didn't say much, didn't say a lot. Even some council members accused me of,
"Well, are you ever going to speak?" Well, if it's been said, it didn't need to be said again by me, right? And so that's how I felt as a councilman. but as mayor and the desire to make our city that next level, that next step and some
of those things that that I was so proud last week in our workshop and the workshops aren't televised, but I saw people going through things that are going to take us to that next step. you know, our police department is accredited, our fire department is working, our public works, I believe it
was 81 or 82 things that you have to do to become accredited because when you do those standards and step up those standards, other things come with it and respect comes with it. and you know, our planning department going through the things they've been going through, the HR department with the insurance that
we're going through and I I'm gonna miss some, but going through all of those things is stepping us up into that next level of government. And that's no knock to anybody in the past. It's just where we are now. But we're also expected to
do those things when you um are up in these seats. And so sometimes you do disagree, sometimes we go with things, sometimes you have to. But you're we're making those steps and those strides and I think we have um and with Chief
Beavenon setting that standard and willing to take those arrows at the time that we needed to to step up our department. And this council stepped up and I said it to the the media. This council stepped up over the last five
years with great negotiations because it's a negotiation in the union and we were paying $45,000 to officers. We're paying as of October one, I believe it'll be close to $63,000 to the minimum and everything's articulated up, but
that was all done through negotiations. There will be another negotiation next year to work things up, but it's something now that we're going to be so proud of that Chief Kramer gets sworn in on July 8th and within weeks we'll be
able to swear in several recruits that will put us at maximum capacity, 133. And you didn't hear that before. and that's a testament to her as well as all of the council members and all of the staff and you know it's it's
a process and we want to keep doing it but I think it's something that we had to bring the integrity and the leadership to this community and it's happening. So I'm just proud of that. Enjoyed the public works. I drove by the guys on Main Street today on the way
here and told them I said, "You know what? I'd rather be in your clothes today digging and putting the plants on Main Street, the little things that matter. You know that it's not always going to make a big difference, but those little things when people drive by and see, they see that this city
cares and we're making that friendly city while stepping up. And unfortunately, it does cost more money sometimes, but we've got to step it up." Um, another thing that we put in and I asked um, Nelson and Shemica when I
first got in as mayor five years ago is is our awards and our quarterly awards and our yearly awards. And I've heard great reviews from that and because you give kudos to people. You know, sometimes, you know, a title isn't always the most important thing.
Sometimes you want money, but at a boy or at a girl or a pat on the back is important. And that's what we do. That's life. That's whether it's your kids, your family, or your staff. So, you know, I'm I'm proud of that and uh and
I'm looking forward to continuing that growth with our workshops and our public works and that um and how we do things to make it fix it and fix it. And thank you for all of the support on everything on this agenda today because I think that puts us in a higher category league
of community that makes it better. Um it costs a little money sometimes and we all have our opinions on that and I agree with most of them but but we go through it and and we'll get through it even there and and then again graduates you know that's it's
so gratifying to see as the graduates get out and I watched this thing on TV and I told somebody but Miss Coachman I believe but there was something on TV this weekend that they showed sixth grade Josh and he gave where he was in sixth grade and then as a senior senior,
they showed 12th grade Josh and basically said where you were, what you are, and how you're doing, what you're in six years later. And it was such a testament to say what those kids were doing. And some of them were good students, some of them were athletes, some of them were all over the place, but it was just fun to see that. And
that's how I look at us. Think about where we were when you started on this council and where we are today. all to our employees and everyone where you were when you started at your job with the city where you are today. We hope it can be better and and that's what every
one of us strives in life. So, um and it's not political season. It's not election season. So, this is more about what we do as a group to make our city better. And, uh thank you for everything. And I think that's all I've got. Mr. Perry,
just congratulations to to Chief Kramer. Thank you, sir. Yeah. And uh and congratulations to Chief Beavenon on her retirement as well. And I appreciate everybody saying those kind words about our city and our employees because I work with them like you do every day.
And I just seem to do amazing things and they, you know, it seems like they they step up each and every time and every year they get better and that's all you can hope for people is to, you know, try to give 100% and and keep getting better at what you do and our folks answer the
call. So, my hats off to him and um thank you for your leadership, council and mayor. Thank you. Any other department heads? Well, yeah. Next one. This is going to take a little chief gear. Let me let me chime in real
quick. I've got uh my uh B shift station one is being recognized over at Blake Medical uh for uh a traumatic injury uh survivor and uh they did an excellent job with a vehicle extrication and and prehosp care
uh that contributed to u saving this patient and they're being recognized today at 2 o'clock. Good. Congratulations. Tell us about the uh ladder truck a little bit. Yeah. Oh, so the ladder truck is uh we we've got to go up there and and fine-tune it a
little bit. They're putting the finishing touches uh on it and it'll be on its way uh down to Braden to get a little additional work and and upfitting and uh we'll hope to have that by uh I'll say you know mid June to bring over
to a meeting and and show to everybody. Good. Really really nice uh apparatus. So nice. Can you take us up on the platform? I was going to say this one you'll have to climb up to the end if you want to. This is a climber. Yeah. Yeah. 107 ft. So, not not that far. Any
other department heads before we go to Chief Beavenon? Chief Bevon, just a few things. Um, this is not my last speech. I got a couple more. Right. I have next council meeting and then you're swearing in uh a couple highlights from what you
all talked about. There's this debate going on right now with my um HR section of me that we're only allotted 132 people. I keep saying 133 people and since you said it like four times today, it's 133. So, thank you. Um no matter
what, Rob or Lance or whatever. Here we go. Uh I find I find it um I find it ironic. Maybe you don't remember. Um, but I would actually like to to take credit for that um that quote about excellence
and and perfection because when I got sworn in, that's why I point at you. Yeah. When I got sworn in, the day I got sworn in um and incidentally, I was wearing this shirt. The day I got sworn in, this shirt is 12 years old. Um the patches have changed, but I don't know. I uh I'm starting to throw them all in a
heap, and I kept this one to to swear in my son here in a couple weeks. Um, and I told you all that if um if we pursue perfection, we may never get it, but we're going to find excellence. And excellence matters in policing because it's what keeps people alive. It's what
keeps us doing our job in spite of everything else. And so that warms my heart that um that's going to continue to be a mantra of yours. Um you know, I uh I got to be careful here. I was supposed to be gone these
two days to take a class as you know and it's a class that I wanted to um kind of show the pathway for my folks that helps you kind of unpack that bag um for for mental health and wellness and something
that is very important to me. Damn it, you guys. Something that's very important for me to model the way for my officers. I couldn't make it because we had this and my joke um to my wife was like,"Well, everybody's going to be
emotional and crying up there, so I'll just be able to like join in the fray and same difference, right?" Um because this this council, um this place, this city, this agency is so good with emotional support. We are at the top of
our game. You don't really need a class to help you get there. Um, but this was in Coral Gables and it would have been kind of fun for me. Um, but this was more important and um, you know, uh, I will tell you all while you're still sitting here because I'm not sure that you'll be at the next one. Um, I wasn't
happy about getting returned to the DAS as you know, I like being in the, uh, I like being in the audience, but what a great group to be a part of. What a great group to sit up here. Uh, best boss I've ever had. A and I've had some good ones. Um, all right. Uh, you guys
got the annual report in front of you. Um, we have some extra copies should you need them. Start on page. It, uh, it doesn't give a lot of, um, data and stats. Um, you know, we have those in different areas, but it gives a great snapshot of who we are as an agency. So,
by all means, if you guys need some more, please ask. Hopefully, you're going to involve yourself into the dive into reading program, which begins next week. If you need help signing up, please. And I'm looking at all of you all. Anybody is welcome. Um, contact Ela if you want a time or a date. Um,
they're looking for people out at um Central Cafe Cafe um most of all and there's kids who need some folks next week and if we don't get more volunteers, it's not going to happen. [Music] Um, yeah, you said arrows. I'm going to
say Adam Bombs, right? Uh, arrows is probably an understatement. Um, we've been hit with a lot of hard stuff, but that's it. Um, I'm going to reserve a lot of my comments, but it's it's um, sitting up here with you. It's been a privilege. I'll miss you at the next meeting, but I'll be there waiting to
uh, um, embrace you with open arms. Couldn't have made uh, you couldn't have made a better selection. If if anybody at this agency in this city in this town um anybody who I had my eye on to to ever
take my spot, it was Josh Kramer. And to see you get here is almost next to pinning that badge on my son in a couple minutes. So all right, we'll be adjourned. Thank you.
There was no tear [Music]