councilman Hearns last night they played an important basketball game last night sir and I know you graduated from that university as well as could you tell me who won that game last night how about those Gators
just for the Sorry about that mayor Blake present ma'am deputy mayor Weeks here council member Goins here council member Hearn here council member Cos okay we can hear you uh city attorney
Gargany here and city manager Whitten here thank you thank you very much madame city clerk proceeding on to item number two-1 a regular meeting of April the 8th 2025 for the agenda what are the wishes of council motion to approve we
got a motion on the floor by Councilman Hearn second second by Deputy Mayor Weeks chair is going to call the question all in favor by saying I i any nays eyes have it unanimously proceeding on to item number two-2 regular meeting of February the 11th 2025 and also I
would like to combine both special meeting for February the 18th 2025 what are the wishes of council thank you ma'am move to approve second we got a motion on the floor by deputy mayor weeks and a second by council just going to call a question all in favor
saying I i n eyes have it unanimously awards and the presentations item number 3-1 recognizing April 13th 19th april 13 through the 19th 2025 as National Public
Safety Telecommunicators Week um would council please go down to the front um Councilman uh Hearn will read this proclamation into the minutes um make sure we get the um
microphone please and then we will read the municipality bonds tax exempt and then third ours yours truly by vasious uh deputy mayor weeks will read us fair
housing market okay council thank you city man city and city man you have the microphone sir so yes sir
all right so I'm going to read off this proclamation uh for National Public Safety Tele Telecommunicators Week from April 13th through the 19th 2025 whereas emergencies can occur at any time that require police fire or
emergency medical services and whereas when an emer an emergency occurs the prompt response of police officers firefighters paramedics is critical to the protection of life and preservation of property and whereas the
safety of our police officers and firefighters is dependent on sorry dependent upon the quality and accuracy of information obtained from citizens who telephone the city of Cocoa Emergency Communication Center and
whereas public safety telecommunicators are the first and most critical contact our citizens have with emergency services whereas public safety telecommunicators are the single vital link for our police officers and
firefighters by monitor monitoring their activities by radio providing them information and ensuring their safety and whereas public safety telecommunicators of the city of Cocoa Police Department have contributed
substantially to the apprehens sorry apprehension of criminals suppression of fires and treatment of patients and whereas each dispatcher has exhibited compassion understanding and professionalism during the performance
of their job in the past year therefore be it resolved that the city council of the city of Coco declares the week of April 13th through the 19th 2025 to be National Public Safety Telecommunicators
Week in Coco in honor of the men women whose diligence and professionalism keep our city and city sorry keep our city and citizens safe michael C blake uh mayor of city of
Coco Dubai announced this as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week all right let's give our police [Applause] department let's hear from both of our chiefs man because uh there's big ships
and little ships like partnership friendship and great relationships so we're going to make this shift happen because we have scholarship here on the great city of Coco thank you mayor i'm probably going to speak on behalf of both the fire department and police
department because we work hand in hand together every day um the dispatchers you know believe it or not this job is a very very stressful job and you have to remember when when they're getting these calls every day we're catching people at their lowest point and they're very very stressful stressed out and they have to
the dispatch have to have the ability to calm people down so we get the proper information to get the proper resources there so these ladies and gentlemen work very very hard to keep our community safe so I just want to make sure we recognize them for the great job they do so thank you all right police department
fire department the police chief doesn't speak for me so no uh it's exactly what he said you know those are the voices behind uh the telephone calls that receive them and a lot of times people you don't see those
men and women who are supporting them and they never get closure to those 911 calls and without them we'd never be able to do our jobs in the way that we do them so my heartfelt thank you to all of our telecommunicators and our dispatchers because they're really the
true unsung heroes behind those 911 calls and without them we would never be able to do our job so thank you to our dispatchers i I will be remiss um real quick ladies and gentlemen both my chiefs tell me some of the positive accomplishments
you've made this year in reference of employment the reduction of crime having our positions fulfilled so that we provide PS public safety for our citizens of Coco gentlemen please elaborate on this why because you both have an outstanding haircut that relates
to me you have It's tough to follow behind the mayor um but but I can tell you so um last year we had another crime reduction i've been the police chief here now going on four years come April 29th and uh since April 29th we we have a fourth consecutive
year of crime reduction and it's not the work that I do it's the work that those men and women do in our police department they work really hard to make our community safe not only that uh we we hire some really good police officers i mean and one of the things that we strive on doing is is hiring individuals that's reflective of our community and
we've been a very good job of doing that and and the proof is if you follow our Facebook and look at our Facebook what we've hired over the last few years you'll see that we're hiring people from all walks of life to be reflective of our community so we're really really proud of that and and and being able to have those community connections so we
have a very strong community connection and we want to continue to do that so those are some things we've accomplished and we're really proud of that thank you all right now it's five so the fire department continues to provide services of course to our community but we're very proud of
our high school program uh we continue to get applications every year for our young men and women that want to be involved in their community but more importantly want to work in public safety here in the city of Coco uh currently Gabriel and Siren were our two high school students that we had that
went all the way through our very first program and made it through uh Gabe decided that he wanted to pursue a different career which was okay but we uh we encouraged that and Siren is still continuously with us here in the city of Coco he has done very well a stellar
employee that was uh gone through our public school system here at Koko High School and has done quite well so we're very proud of him next year we'll have another opportunity for our students to come into the program and we look forward to that all right all right
[Applause] okay are we going to take a photo now yes please okay you ready thank you very much let's give our telecommunicators [Applause]
um next southern gentlemen next is supposed to be um tax exempt bonds where I'm supposed to read but I'm being a southern gentleman let ladies go first okay so without further ado we bring on Deputy Mayor Weeks just bring on with a
round of applause please thank Thank you Mayor um and I'm reading the proclamation for fair housing whereas April 11 2025 marks the 57th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act which affirms national policy of fair
housing for all who live in the United States and whereas the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race color religion sex handicap familia status and national origin and whereas
this act provides equal housing opportunity for all Americans regardless of race color religion sex or national origin as well as to ensure ensure fair practice in the sale rental and
financing of property and whereas the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 added new rights remedies monetary penalties and strengthened its enforcement procedures and whereas the Fair Housing Amendments Act seeks to
provide equal housing opportunities to affirm affirmatively further housing choices to eliminate legal barriers to equal housing and to emphasize equal housing as a fundamental human right for all and
whereas economic stability community health and human relations in communities are improved by diversity and in integrate in integration sorry about that misread it and whereas the city of
Coco is committed to fair housing and promotes services and activities provided by private and public entities for equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents and whereas the city of Koko fully supports
the intent and purpose of the federal fair housing act local fair housing laws and follows policies and practices in order to achieve its goals now therefore I Mayor Blake uh on behalf of the city
council of the city of Coco Florida do hereby proclaim the month of April as fair housing month all right let's give Fair Housing Month a round of applause deputy Mayor I know you brought some of your I did i did there are a good number
of realtors who fight every day you guys want to come up and get your picture um fight every day to make sure everybody has a place to live and do not discriminate in any way shape form or fashion so they
are good people and this is Rusty Mill our president for 2025 of Space Coast Association of Realtors very much no I'd be remissed if I didn't say to the city of Coco thank you for doing your prime example of this initiative i know what you did with that RFP for affordable housing and you're leading the way in
Bvard County of that so thank you for your efforts on that thank you very much we ready we're all in you good good thank you all right let's give a round of applause great job thank you all thank you thank you you bet thank you Peggy thank you
Dad yes thank you yes thank you sir thank you James gotta get a hug there you go sir okay great job great let's give um Deputy Mayor Weeks and uh Councilman Hearn a round of applause
please ma'am please sir um sometimes reading these proclamations are challenging but they are just like cream of wheat they rise to the top and that's why I believe in them team co okay what I would like to read to you
is that tax exemption for municipal bonds and by the endorsing this federal level tax exempt bonds mean we will not pay taxes so this will help us through public safety this provides revenue for our both police department and our fire
department so that we provide adequate services for the citizens of Coco amen amen so I'm going to read this proclamation and we're asking by me being the president of the Florida League of Cities all 411 municipalities
the task that task that I asked them to do was every municipality read this proclamation into existence so that we're recognized by both our state legislators and our federal um congressional and senator leaders there
both in the state of Florida and Washington DC okay okay and I would like to read this into existence please whereas a taxexempt municipal bond market is a widely used source of capital for states local government
tribes territories and nonprofit borrowers that finance a tremendous share of the nation's public infrastructure state and local government finance about threearters of the public infrastructure in the United
States and use taxexempt bonds to do so with the federal government providing only about one quarter of the investment the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds date back to the 1800s and
incorporated into modern tax code in 1913 has been crucial for state and local governments to affordable finance critical infrastructure and projects tax exemption bonds offer borrowers to
achieve a multiplier effect of 2.1 meaning that for every dollar borrowers achieve $2.11 in borrowing cost savings thereby demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of this exemption in
facilitating infrastructure investment tax exempt bonds provide an essential infrastructure for projects such as roads bridges utilities broadband water sewer and hospitals which are viable and
vital to the health and well-being of our community such that without such bonds the cost of borrowing would be more expensive thereby causing an increase in taxes and fees that would
place an undue burden on taxpayers the city of Koko this great council finds and determines that taxexempt municipal bonds provide an opportunity for economic development along its path better facilitate the
movement of agricultural products such as equipment and other goods and increase safety safety now therefore be it resolved the governing body of the great city of Coco follows the governing body hereby encourages the Florida
congressional delegation to assist the city of Coco Florida by preserving this taxexempt of municipal bonds by supporting and ensuring the protection of the bonds would everyone raise your right hand please ma'am and sir I hereby
unto set our hand and cause the seal of the great city of Coco to be a fixed this day April 2025 give yourself a round of applause please i thank you for your support this productive and rewarding tax exemption
for bonds will stand in the hallways of our community but also throughout Washington DC so I thank you for your support and I thank you for being here tonight amen this concludes this portion of presentations thank you we have one
more we have one more okay surprise surprise okay mr city Manager who So we're gonna we're gonna ask Um Mrs bowman is going to do the presentation mrs jani is going to come up because this is a new program for us
it's a recognition program for our city employees because we every day they're out there doing wonderful things and so we've come up with a recognition program that we're going to do internally the first one we're going to do publicly here tonight because this is such a great story that we wanted to uh make
sure that the public was made aware of that and so um as they present this I'm going to ask Devin Lisa Jessica and Bethany to come up and participate in all this joy too so if they come up in support of the employee
all right come on down man we're like Bob B the prices yeah and so these are these are the folks who work uh in customer service and and they do such a wonderful job there and they're they're part of the leadership team down there so I'll give it to Mrs
jamani to uh talk about the program overall and then Mrs bowman will actually bring up the guest of honor okay so uh human resources we're always looking for different ways to recognize our employees and um myself and our HR
manager Lauren Stanette um worked with a promotional company to create a challenge coin for the city of Coco um which looks like this and I'll pass um because I have one for each council member if
you'all want to pass one down for for you and Anthony and so what this does it helps recognize an employee immediate um if they go above and beyond their regular duties of their job and um so we've created an internal form that employees can sub or co-workers managers
or supervisors can submit to human resources um to recognize that employee for going above and beyond and tonight we have the first one that our city manager and Rebecca Bowman are going to present hey hey hey hey all right
[Applause] so I would like to request Ron Sherful to come up here please [Applause] yes um would you bring your family Ron yeah lot of D in everybody yes sir come
on man yes team baby hold on there you go all right there you go brother right up front yeah there you go so um I'd like to share a story with y'all uh Mr sheriff joined the city of Coco on July
24th 2017 as a meter reader within the finance department and he currently serves as a utility field service representative throughout his career Ron has consistently demonstrated excellence in both the quantity and the quality of service he provides including tasks such
as checking for leaks um and customers accounts reading water meters and turning water on and off for customers on March 24th Ron volunteered as he often does because he's the speed meter reader to read meter readers in order to
keep the division on schedule while working on his route in the Port St john area Ron approached a home to read the meter and heard a cry for help he immediately stopped what he was doing to investigate and discovered a customer lying on the ground unable to get up
without hesitation Ron assisted the individual helped them get to their feet and ensured their safety he took the extra time to confirm that they did not need any further medical attention before leaving ron's quick thinking compassion and willingness to step in
during a moment of need reflect a great credit on himself and embody the core values of team Cocoa Pride all right [Applause] [Music]
so I would like to present a certificate of employee recognition to you Ron in recognition of your exceptional contributions and dedication to the city of Coco your outstanding efforts exemplify the spirit of teamwork excellence and service through your hard
work you have gone above and beyond positively impacting our community community and setting a high standard for others to follow thank you for your continued efforts and for making the city of Coco a better place for all we
are proud to have you as part of our team Coco all right [Music] you are our honorary first member to get our uh coin there thank you so much for
your hard work and dedication and so just to add a little bit more context to the story I was joking with Ron earlier about um about the story there i think the the the lady was actually an elderly lady if I'm not mistaken a gentleman okay so so um and
so you know he could have walked away from the situation and uh and um you know just simply done uh the basics of the job there but he again uh went above and beyond and so we're so proud of him for doing that we also heard that uh if
you're not reading meters or home you're at Long Dogggers and and so and so uh Laare and I took the opportunity to actually get you a uh Long Dogggers gift card which
I'm going to give to your wife all right speech well speech okay well I came here what eight years ago and it's the best place to work i wouldn't change my mind yeah I got work with the greatest people
so if you need a job get over here we work with a lot of good people thank you put one on the gift come on [Applause] excuse me sir i want to thank you because
Good stuff good stuff good stuff bro can I Oh no i got a P never mind that's beautiful that's cool though good man proud of you
man can you take credit for it i like that i said they could put into their like maybe a little or something a lot of great things are happening in our city and I'm glad to be a part of it
and you all are making it happen the citizens of Coco and the commitment of the 400 plus employees of the great city of Coco so kudos to you all all right moving on to delegations all
right I have one [Music] two three i have three cards anyone else in the audience with a delegation card if so please bring it forward now so we
can respond immediately okay seeing no additional cards first will be Miss Sarah and Conley be mindful you have 180 seconds to elaborate on your particular item i'll try to talk fast
good evening everybody it's nice to see you all nice to see my council member looking so beautiful and thank you for trying to beautify our community i'm very grateful for that also but tonight I'm speaking I'm usually speaking just for myself but I'm speaking tonight for our church which is the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship of Central Boulevard we've been established in Koko for over 70 years because of the generosity and foresight of our founders we expect to be in Koko for many more years to come our fellowship is part of the worldwide Unitarian Universalist
Association our first principle is recognition of the inherent worth and dignity of every person our second principle is justice equity and compassion in human relations does this sound familiar it is very similar to a core value of the Koko police to gain
trust and appreciation from the Koko community by recognizing the inherent dignity of all people regardless of personal circumstances we are aware of the recent state and federal direction that local police departments train local officers to help immigration and
customs enforcement detain and deport local undocumented people while we support the deportation of any undocumented person who has been convicted of a serious crime we do not support the detention or deportation of any person who has not committed a serious crime statistically it is well
known that undocumented people commit much less crime than documented people undocumented people are much less of a crime risk to our community than the rest of us the stated vision of our local police is to proactively respond to shifting crime trends and emerging
social problems by building strong community relations throughout Coco our undocumented neighbors are neither a statistically significant crime threat nor an emerging social problem they are our neighbors and they deserve strong community relations our country was
built by immigrants and our local community is made rich by its racial and ethnic diversity we feel that some recent deportation efforts by ICE have targeted people based on where they are from and without regard for their legal rights we also feel that many current detention and deportation efforts are
focused on black and brown people and we feel this is also wrong documented disturbing accounts currently exist of people with legal immigration status being detained for publicly expressing their beliefs expressing disscent is a first amendment right under our
constitution there is also at least one account of someone with completely legal immigration status mistakenly being sent back to El Salvador where his life is threatened i'm going to skip to the end but this my letter is longer we are in serious times that call for serious action we must resist any policy or any
policy mandate that violates the moral and spiritual mandate of compassion toward our neighbors as a religious community in a time when authority is sometimes being exercised in ways that do not recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every person we need your help to make sure our neighbors are
treated with compassion please direct and empower our law enforcement to resist official requests to deny compassion to our neighbors thank you thank you very much Mrs conquer um next will be JB Dennis
re JB Dennis jb Dennis will be Ted 4 re JB Dennis 3710 Catalina Drive Coco Florida and I rise tonight with a class action complaint against the water department uh I respectfully request
that Lisa Edgler be terminated from the Coco water department for male pieces i also rise and respectfully ask that the secretary uh be terminated also for refusing to
make me appointment to see the city manager here's my issue the VA cut my disability check from 1336 to $105 a month so I fell behind across
the board if it wasn't for my church and my three daughters this 73y old Navy combat veteran would be on the streets but every year there's an issue with the water department each time I come in here there are four or five people got
to complain it's time for change on March the 7th my water was cut off without notice i had a March the 10th due date it was cut off without even
notice before the due date okay so I come in and ask for how much I had to pay to get it cut back on so I was told I had to pay $85 for the last three months I've been paying at least between 80 to $100 to try to get cut off uh to
get caught up I'm sorry okay so when I come back off my honeymoon yesterday my water off again no notice and also after I just paid $85 three weeks ago I got a bill here for
$490 that's due by the 14th and remind you I just paid $166 yesterday when I come off my honeymoon for water to get it cut back on so I called the city man the secretary she refused to make a
appointment for me to see the city manager i've been going through this every year mayor Blake is a witness that was the first thing he asked me when I come to him do you have your receipts yes I do okay so I just paid $166 yesterday and when I got to talking
with Dante cuz I couldn't make no sense out of Lisa and the other ministry you got down there so he said "Well you owe another $230." So this what I intend to do i paid $166 yesterday April 30th of this month i'm going to pay the $230 all
right now they still got me talking about another deposit of $160 $70 or some kind of collection fee or something that I don't have it so those people need to be terminated need to start all over and I'm going to recommend that Dante be the new manager at the water
department because that's I'm going challenge the mayor and the city man just sit down in there for one week you'll know what I'm talking about okay next will be Mr ted for Oh good evening thank you Mr hearns for that wonderful prayer you touched heaven
so uh 1700 free to trail Mr four uh I think I sent something in to the city manager did he get a hold of that and get it to Mr walsh about a new route and then I got a couple more new ideas i went down to the housing urban development i did not know I could go
and request the CB how you call it community block grant myself okay there's wheel the wheels are still squeaking i'm still pounding the ground i've hit every entity there is and it is possible but I need cooperation and I need that ship you're talking about I
need some help ship fellowship and to move forward but to see you know down there to the housing urban development said if you know I got to request it if whatever route we decide to take but we're going to have to sit down a minute and get a route where you you see it's possible you know we even got a fourth
option now I I put three options forward now I got a fourth option so you just can't get it here in three minutes but they said if if I can get the community block grant I would need the city of Coco the water department to maintain
whatever development I can get going they will they would the money's there because we're a targeted area over there and that's how the community block grant was got to put the water line down the road i still haven't got a copy of that grant where it specifically spells out i know Mr walsh had it up on the screen
but in three minutes you can't get all that together with your speech and your mind and you know and I think I sent something in to the city manager like cuz Mr you know mayor he told me to send it to Did he get what I requested to Mr walsh do you know of I'm sure he has sir
do you do they have any answer on that or a possibility or um that will be revealed i got you i know we can't do this in a minute but you got to you got to keep the wheels pounding and I thank you for your patment patience i'm a persistent feller i don't give up and you know unless God says no and that's
when I'll stop and I'll give up mr ford let me say you reside at the county correct you talking about working or in the county where you live you're in the county i'm assuming it's the county yes sir that's where the CDBG is located at so correct you have to go to the three i
already been there and I done got all the everything but I just need you know we can't get it in 3 minutes here whatever route I I can get the water line to my road brother i just want to make sure you have the information from the county yes sir i sat down and talked with the gentleman there i can't
remember his name forgive me ryan I don't think it rung a bell but he was he was the one got the same grant to put the water line in he's very familiar with the water line down satellite thank you sir so I didn't know i thought I had to come to y'all and y'all was the only ones allowed to ask for them things
normally you are but more information you get the more you learn so you're never too old to learn but you know that and then the other route I found there is a utility rightway down the burning tree and come in to me so that's a possible but I'm not asking the city you
know to give up any money it'll be from a grant or with the people lives there but I need cooperation but once you get the grant y'all have to adopt whatever we put in and then maintain it i think it's same as a contractor like when he does a subdivision then he gives it to
the city in a similarity but if you could research that and by next time I'll have all the information what we can move forward thank you thank you very much Mr do we have any additional cards
for delegations seeing no more additional cards I thank you moving on to item number five consent agenda what are the wishes of council one more you just didn't fill one out yet sorry
okay thank you sorry about that your name please uh Bobby Britford Jr talk a little louder so you got Bobby Britford yes sir um uh first I'd like to thank you for allowing the opportunity to speak generally um I'll
be very quick um so I represent the Eugene Buckner Youth Foundation we are actually the Central BAR Bengals we're a youth program that just launched about two years ago here in the heart of Coco at Provos Park um we wanted to just uh
come and speak just two ways one we wanted to thank the city of Coco for allowing us the opportunity to actually be what we are a new program standing on its own trying to change the heart of the community uh we're talking directly about the children um and we have
collectively formed a um a full board and we are in the city you know representing and obviously you know few of you understand that because you you were the ones that helped us get there so I just wanted to say that really quick we appreciate that opportunity take your time sir and then um we just
wanted to kind of remind the city that we wanted to uh stay in you guys's agenda and radar if we could uh we are actually involved in the households of these children and there's real needs
real gaps real holes that we're just asking that the city of uh Coco continues to recognize those things uh it's bigger than a football field and a soccer field um but we appreciate that but we are asking that you guys uh uh
can continue to help us uh get into these households and and uh stay uh relevant and changing the lives of the children here um so and with that being said uh there were some things that we were uh allotted given and um inherited
as far as buildings locations and stuff like that that we're right on the edge of Provos Park which is the Fisk and 520 point which we know is a major artery to the Cocoa Beach area that drives all the traffic through town uh we really
appreciate that but there's some things that we haven't had finished that we would like to as we're going into the third season next year fast uh we would like to just make sure that once again the city is keeping those major projects
on the on an agenda that can help us cuz we uh started small but we are growing fast um there's a need for um youth sports and and all that so I just wanted to say that and we appreciate that i'm
sorry about the sounding a little rambled here um uh real quick I just wanted to mention what we're doing u we're part of the Mid Florida Youth Conference um the children are able to participate from the ages of four to about 15 years old and they do
football or competition cheer but what we created is a full enrichment program to where even if they don't play the sports they still have something to do uh we have tutoring across the the whole organization so we can help children get their grades up we have teachers that
are associated with the program so we're giving free tutoring but once again we just want to stay on the agenda of the city and try and just ask for those things so I believe that is all we had uh we just really appreciate the location because it's rich in history uh
me myself I'm new to the city of uh Coco and Rocklage and Vieiraa area uh but I it's definitely home uh I have jobs in each one of those towns um so I've been familiar with it and I got familiar fast so we thank you for that opportunity we just ask that you continue to you know
keep us connected on what we can we we make a commitment to be at the meetings as need be um so you know that's just where we are uh thank you for your time there thank you very much sir um I see Coach uh Fred almost every Saturday or
every other Saturday because they do the car wash um yes sir thank you very much um also I know um you guys I think are you 501c3 uh definitely yes sir yes sir so um we've all had that conversation
about there's a I call it a scholarship sir and I'm sure others will talk to you more about it um stay in contact um I'm a firm believer in investing in our youth because they're today's success but tomorrow's future
and we got a a plethora of coaches behind this ADEA and also Adas excuse me and also members here who has family members participate yes sir in youth services and activities all right um we'll proceed in this order um Deputy
Mayor Weeks and then Councilman Gins I just had a question you he was mentioning about uh things that still needed doing at Provos Park what in particular is it that is in that they're in need of um so the the um
uh Thank you for that question the concession stand is in uh what we would believe is very good shape but there's like a leak uh holes that allow uh large rodents probably at night that can come in and affect all the clean work that
we're putting into keeping that place clean um rain can change how it looks on the inside very fast um so just just small things they they they have fixed them but there's a there from what we understand there was an agenda given to and and and I would like to uh say that
everything is going good uh we are in good communication with the parks and reccks department and everybody is in line but um you know how it works sometimes 3 weeks turns into a month and six weeks turns into you know so we just wanted to ask that we stay on the top of
those agenda lists uh we understand that it takes time and effort from different departments nobody has given us a block but at the same time it's kind of time is kind of going by cuz uh one of the things I do as vice president is I look out for our next goals so I'm already
turning the page for next year and those things aren't finished yet so we need to kind of get those on board just just so we can you know and then there's more to it uh you guys blessed us with a wonderful field but the other field is in really bad shape there's still a lot of uh community that comes out that
wants to be out there but it's in such bad shape that they can't you know thank you so thank you thank you Council Go sir yes sir um first of all um so I've been coaching you football for 22 years now and so um we really appreciate the
Central Boulevard and all you do cuz we know that at the end of the day it's about saving these children making sure we keep them out of prison and that that that's what we all are trying to do across the board no matter what sport it is we know all the coaches are out there for free nobody is getting paid uh and I
know Coach Fred he will wash every car in Bvard to make sure those kids can afford it so um I I I would like to say this so there there may be some things that need to get done but I I will I will say this you must communicate those
things when when when you make that communication with Boulevard Parks and Rex don't just stop there you must communicate that stuff with us because what happens is in the community sometimes misinformation gets spread and it makes it seem like that the city is responsible for some of the things that
may need to be done and so um I I I really wanted to say that about the like the contract for example when when you get a contract Bard Parks and Recres it has nothing to do with the city of Coco that's that's solely between recck partners and your relationship with them and so there are several things that
rules and regulations that we have nothing to do with But sometimes community get is misinformation where people think it's us and it's and it's not and so some of the maintenance things uh as of a few months ago I guess
it is us on some things um but but I I just want to reiterate that so we are here for you guys yes sir yes sir that park was enhanced for any rec partner that comes in that want to bring
positive movement inside of that park and so we want to see nothing but success for the park but I just I just wanted to just to say that when when things are wrong your your president got my phone number exactly call me and tell me what
things are wrong i can communicate those things with our city manager and I promise you we will do everything in our power to make sure those things are done within reason let me say that within reason and so I just want to just to reiterate that communicate you
communicate those things we'll be good understood it just brought about one go back to one sorry it just brought about one thing um so in regards to the city of Coco then um and you know just I might not know it but are there opportunities for us as an organization
to be directly a benefit a benefactor of something you can do for us above the parks and rec department budget crumb wise you know like can we continue to
add structures and stuff that can help these children with you know uh housing and stuff these kids are are watching themselves you know we we need programs that we can say go to sign up here the city's going to take care of the rest
you know those are things that we're just curious about i I I know it's a general question uh but who else can we ask no I I appreciate that uh uh we have not because we ask not but I will I will caution you this at the end of the day
everybody has a budget and right so the city has a budget so it is a limit to certain things but again there's no way to get to those things if there's no conversation about those things and so yes I'm going say yes on the surface of
your question because you did say it broadly but um but but I would I would say that we we are willing to help out as much as possible Okay then we we would love any resources in that way we we'll be in contact appreciate that thank you very much
councilman I'm good good yes sir okay um this concludes this portion make sure you fill out the card sir thank you sir this concludes this portion of um um delegation we will proceed forward to consent agenda what are the wishes of
council got a motion on the floor by Councilman Herm second by Councilman Go chair is going to call the question all in favor saying I i any eyes have unanimously seeing that we have no
public hearings we would go to item number 7-1 council business requests council authorization for the city manager to engage in the Bavar County manager and Bavari County Board of County Commissioners to extend the
sunset date of Diamond Square Community Redevelopment Agency to 2041 request council authorization for the city manager to engage the Bavar County manager and Bvoulevard County Board of County Commissioners to remove the cap of
$150,000 in tax increments funds better known as TIFF imposed on the Diamond Square Community Redevelopment Agency through an interlocal agreement that would approve in 2020 um there's two requests that are
stated here and I will surrender the floor to Mrs nunman thank you Mr mayor yes ma'am um as you all know in 2019 the Diamond Square Redevelopment Agency entered into a local interlocal agreement with the city of Coco and Bvard County uh regarding
the authority of the Diamond Square CRA and the AY's operation and we've been in that agreement now since that time uh at the February 24th 2025 Diamond Square CRA meeting the agency approved a request to the city to communicate with
the county on two provisions that I will note uh these requests were to be noted as two separate requests by the city to the county the first one was the agency termination date currently the interlocal agreement established uh in
2019 sets the termination date of September 30th 2032 the request for the city would be to request that the termination date be changed and amended to 2041 of September
30th the second request is the county t tax increment payment so the county sets a cap of the annual tax increment payment uh not to exceed $150,000 annually in this past year 2025 budget
our budget was reduced by $6,361 due to exceeding the $150,000 cap these additional funds would be utilized to continue our important services and projects within the CRA to affect the positive change in experiences for our
residents so we are asking that the cap be removed in order to accommodate some of the goals and uh obligations that the CRA would like to achieve in the next uh time of their their existence and by moving another
eight years to 2041 that gives them a considerable amount of time to continue those services and and allow the Diamond Square CRA to to do some amazing things thank you sir thank you very much do we have any questions for Mrs noodleman
okay I see your light and I will recognize your light Mr gins but chair would like to make a motion to approve staff recommendation second okay and we're open for discussion do you have that Madam City Clerk yes sir thank you Kylie ma'am Council Go sir yes sir um so
uh we all know that uh there there's two uh bills out there right now and I want to throw this out there to uh anyone who's listening or anyone in the audience um to and I'm encouraging you to write your representative um because there two bills that could
hurt our CRAAS and could sunset them and not allow any CRA to have any future projects um and so um even if we we pass this and I know we will um we have an issue and with our state representatives
and so and this is House Bill 991 and Senate Bill 1242 so those two bills can absolutely destroy our CRAAS our CRA is vitally important for uh especially for the city of Coco and so
um we really really need help uh from the community to get word out to our state reps to let them know to vote no on both of these um items and so uh I just wanted to say that and and so I I really I really appreciate it because Diamond Square without without these
projects could be a major major issue not just for the community um but also our schools so we right now we got a school that's in jeopardy based on housing and thankfully uh the city of Coco and the council are bringing in over you know 40 50 homes coming into
the city of Coco and Diamond Square and we wanted all of this to continue so um just I I want to throw that out there um just to hit your light for me Councilman Go during our meeting on legislative day at there at state
capital I know for a fact uh at length conversation we all had with representative Tyler Soy he sees the big picture he used Diamond Square as a prime example he's on board in reference of protecting and preserving our our CRAAS or RDA's redevelopment whatever
the term you want to use it's imperative and it's important deputy Mayor Weeks ma'am I'm going to reiterate some of what I said last night because I feel like we have a bigger audience tonight but um our uh when I uh joined the
council six months ago I was uh I learned a lot about CRAAS i knew of them but I did not know uh all the inner workings and I have to say it has made such a huge difference to the city of Coco we would not have the riverfront that we have now if it wasn't for the
CRA um we are like the gold standard the way we have run our CRAAS here and uh so I do encourage people to please reach out there are a few bad apples out there a few cities that have not done well and they've given CRAAS a bad name but you
don't uh you don't kill all of them because of a few bad apples so uh I encourage everybody to please reach out i know I am so that's all I have to say um we have two Diamond Square agency members raise your hand please or you can stand uh Jack
Ism thank you Larry Brown so definitely we've seen the increased value of all CRAAS throughout the city of Coco okay all righty we have a motion on the floor and a second chair is going to call the
question all in favor saying I i any naysay eyes have it unanimously proceeding on to item number 7-2 request the city council approval of changes to the agenda due dates and publishing
dates and direct the city attorney and city manager to prepare for the council's consideration changes to the city council rules of procedure now there's a couple of things seeing that I
have the most longevity and most senior member on this day is I recall going back to 1998 when we received our agendas on Friday even though I know it's scribed into law um for Wednesday but they were
always rep prepared by Friday occasionally Thursday that goes back to Joan Clark when she was a city clerk so I know that there's two issues here that we need to address and
the first issue is to uh make a recommendation for about when the agenda should be approved and I'm thinking um in all fairness and being realistic about it the agenda should be ready by
Thursday and then no later publicize a posting on Friday for city halls bulletin board and that's what I'm asking you to consider strongly okay um Mr city Manager I will give you the
floor sir and I will listen to others as well yeah and so Mr mayor I think you hit the two of the two of the three points um there are other um changes that we we're going to have to bring back to you and so it uh the the second
half of the request is for uh the council to give direction to the city attorney and the city manager to bring back changes as a result of uh changes in law perhaps and then just other uh changes that we see necessary but the
most immediate um action items and what I'm asking for today is is that we simply um we simply uh as a matter of your resolution it does say that agendas are to be presented to the city council and
the city attorney by Wednesday and it says Wednesday evening um I don't know what that actually means Wednesday evening but historically you all have not received agendas on Wednesday i can tell you from a workload perspective it
would be very difficult for staff to actually um have those agendas prepared uh go through the uh review and approval processes and have them out to you by uh Wednesday and so we're just simply asking for a realistic date that we can
all uh hang our hats on that we can all shoot for uh that's uh doable and that is Thursday by the close of business to actually have the uh agendas through the review and approval process and uh in
the council's hands and then um as a part of that to actually have the agendas posted um by uh no later than Friday noon and what I mean by posted is um the language actually says that the posting the old
language says that the posting occurs by simply putting the agenda on the uh on the bulletin board that's mounted on the outside of city hall where well in 2021 you know it's the internet now and so and so again you know because of
workload uh issues because I want to set a realistic date so that we can all be comfortable and and uh and and knowing that that's a date that we can meet and get the agendas in your hand uh so that again we don't have uh additional
add-ons after the agenda is printed we don't have walk-ons after the agenda is printed and again you know I I always had in my head that the date was the due date was Thursday um I've asked the directors uh in their recollection have
they have they ever recalled actually getting the agendas to the council on Wednesday and so um to their recollection that's not never really happened and so this is about the practicality of the deadline for getting you the agendas which we think is more
practical more doable uh uh less of a workload issue that they the agenda deadline is Thursday to get it to the council uh and then to have it posted to the public by no later than Friday noon
okay thank you sir do we have any questions for the city manager or city attorney or any staff members uh council okay everyone's good okay so this is
Wait I just wanted to say um that I believe um I was the one that on Monday brought the brought this to the city manager's attention because I knew that I'd be leaving Friday morning and uh
wasn't able to get the agenda so for example now I don't have the agenda although I did get the chance to look at it in the airport because it posted around noon I think on Friday but I would be fine with Thursday i know
early on it was Wednesday or Thursday we would get it but Thursday evening at least giving us one additional day to be able to peruse the items in the instance where we aren't able to in other days before the
meeting i'd make a motion to approve second i'm good has to be a threeprong thing then we have to give direction Oh to the city manager and city attorney to bring it back to us
yes so what you what what you're approving tonight is the the the deadline for your receipt of the agenda is by 5:00 p.m on Thursday before a regular scheduled meeting um and then it
is the posting by Friday noon before a regularly scheduled meeting and then your and then included in the in this action is we're going to make a number
of other changes and bring those back we being the city attorney and city staff and we'll bring those changes back to you so So again the three prongs are Thursday close of business for the agenda to the council Friday by noon no
later than noon for the posting of the agenda and then direction to bring back additional changes okay does your motion reflect that Councilman Go yes sir councilwoman Cost does your
motion reflect what the city manager stated yeah had uh Councilman Go already made a motion no you did it was her motion it was your motion you just Okay i can't hear very well and I don't have anything
I also don't have anything written in front of me so um No she made the motion yeah I'm a little I I am um Thursday Thursday is good for my receiving it i'm a little concerned that we're only giving the public an
additional couple of hours because previously they were getting it at close of business on Friday and there are times when I mean I've just gotten complaints from people that they weren't able to have access to it uh with enough
time to really think and prepare for it like I stated I've talked to past mayors past council members and it was okay for me to use their name but um this is what we've traditionally done always in the past and this is the same thing that
we've done in the past now it's official and it's been a motion chair's going to call the question all in favor saying I i any nays i eyes have it unanimously all right we're proceeding on to next item all
right items number three and four um is going to require funding and it's going to require just like you all are sitting in the audience now it's going to require participation and it's going to require for you to participate in budgeting time too as well because money
is the issue let's be honest and and and my thing is um as they stated if you're not sitting at the table you're on top of the table so um number three and number four we're going to do number three consider the approval of the creation of a citywide beautifification
grant modeled after Diamond Square program to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the city's community councilman Hearn Sir all right so um in regards to this
item here um of course it's inspired by the Diamond Square uh grant program um I wanted to see that citywide we know there's other areas in the city as well that could benefit uh from this beautifification initiative um so my ask
to the c obviously we talked about this a while ago i went back and looked at the records um it seemed at that time that the council was in agreeance but um I guess that falls on me we never made a motion on it so that was my mistake so I'm asking the council tonight to uh
approve this initiative however I do have some slight changes um according to the Diamond Squares grant program uh there's a $1,000 for paint and 500 for the beautifification part which is
plants and supplies um I'm asking that we make it 500 for each um currently the Diamond Square allocates about is it 15,000 or 20,000 uh annually for that it yeah it's it's 10 for paint and five
for the beautifification and and we expend a good portion of that throughout the course of the fiscal year so due to that um obviously that's not a huge amount um that's why I wanted to keep it at 500 each I figure we can squeeze in
about um if we do it that way 15 homes could possibly uh benefit from this a year um so that's my ask um I'll leave it up for council now to debate if you guys have any questions on that
okay council Gins and Deputy Mayor Weeks yeah I don't um I don't mind this being um um a potential program but only thing I I would the question I would have is
how do you select who who those um potential houses go to what does that process look like and I just I think for Diamond Square is a little bit different because it's a small number of homes inside of Diamond Square that we have to choose from
citywide is you know quite a bit of homes so I just I just don't know maybe you answer that question for me like what is what does that look like another important aspect sorry um I was also going to suggest that uh this program only be allocated to home owners with
homes built uh before the year 2000 um that way it can focus on homes in a in that area that really needs it um as time goes on you know rather as this council or future councils can elect to
move the uh age of those homes up um that way we don't see homes in a brand new subdivision you know applying for this grant uh so that's another aspect there also um I think we staff can figure out a uh selection process to
where homes that if you get all the homes that apply uh the homes that have the most need for it um which you know if you're looking at the outside of the home that's pretty obvious to see which home would have a more need for it so
yeah I I think I like that idea um I I I seen in Diamond Square when one house gets painted even if the home next door is not a part of the program we always end up seeing that neighbor painting their home every time and because and I
think what it does is become contagious or you feel a little guilty too about your own house and so um I I don't I don't mind and I think that that cuts down the number of homes when you say homes built before the year 2000 that that could help and that I just that was
my main concern is that so uh we have some of these neighborhoods you know we want to beautify the whole city of Coco um when neighborhoods look better property values go up that's a benefit for all of uh Coco um obviously some of these neighborhoods there's only
so much you can do other uh but if you allow the homeowners opportunities to enhance their properties as you said it's it's contagious sometimes so um I think this would be a great idea and I think it's worthy and as I say I think it's a benefit to the whole city that's
all yeah um I was going to um say also about the uh choosing who gets it um and with paint prices the way they are $500 does not buy a whole lot of paint uh much
less having it painted um and I would say homes I I would go all the way back to before 1980 because homes uh built after 1980 or younger I mean older than 1980 are normally the ones in the older
neighborhoods with the older folks who may be the most in need but again it's going to be hard to determine who because um I there's got to be a better process
than looking at the outside of the house here's my Are you finished ma'am i'm sorry i am done yes sir yes ma'am i'll come back um my concern is where are we going to get the money yep that's the question that's the ultimate question um because see Diamond Square had they have
a CRA so the tiff funds comes back and replenish that area do we have a CRA in district three do we have a CRA in district 4 do we have a CRA in district
two i like the concept i'm down with it i I support it i'm just saying where do we get the funding now I can tell you a quick answer and that's something that no one wants to hear increase your millage rate see but where are we going to get the
funding and and and and my thing is I support it don't get me wrong but Mr city Manager do we have the funding mr rebecca do we have the funding now let me say it this way i know cuz I want that light bulb to come on now I think
we may have something here though hold tight you know how we give certain organization $1,000 at 501c3 yep right we all give 250 or whatever we have up to a total of 5,000 think about that utilizing some of
that funding is that permissible Mrs bowman or No yeah that's that's more city manager city council question because remember the way this happens is is that I bring back to you a balanced budget proposal based on the direction that you give me and so and and
again I mean as good as Rebecca is none of us know what the what what what's going to come into the coffers for next fiscal year and so and so you know to take a vote on and say fund this then
it's a matter of is the funding going to be there without cutting something else or rep prioritizing something else um and so you know again as we sit here on on April 8th we just don't know what the
funding is going to look like um and again that is thrown against all your other priorities uh your builtins uh your commitments and the union contracts and and all those other things and so so again if the direction
is hey this is part of council's priorities or considerations for you Mr manager as you go and build the budget that's a little uh more um that's a little easier to handle than to to say
we've approved this for funding because again I got to throw that against all your other needs and the revenue stream that comes in so I hear all of that but um I'mma go out I'm going have to make that sacrifice and and and make a motion
on this because uh we we discussed this a year ago um in a budget meeting um and it didn't go anywhere and as I said that's a mistake on my behalf because we never made a motion on it um I believe that money will come back to us as
property property values go up that money will come back to the city um some of these neighborhoods that's going to benefit from this have been neglected for years and uh in so many ways and there's only so much you can do
uh for these neighborhoods so you know as a representative of that district I'm g I'm gonna go out on that one and uh make a motion for it make a motion for what help me understand a little bit more to approve
uh approve for the city manager to implement this program um I think we can find it in the budget i I made a couple sacrifices to it that's why I've went from a th000 for the paint to 500 even if it's just helping a homeowner out you
know to just to buy the paint um I think that does a tremendous help to those homeowners um I cut it also so more people could benefit uh from it um I'm even willing to go down as uh coun or
deputy mayor week stated to homes built no later no uh no later than 1980 um as you stay because many of those homes were built back in the 60s so
uh can I ask a question yes sir um how much are you talking about allocating to this program 15,000 uh that's for three districts or four districts for four i I won't exclude
anyone from it um however I know most of those homes are going to benefit from district two um you know obviously I can't do it just district two only um but but the district one has a CRA program that they get funding for it already so it's like
a you get what I'm understanding it's a double whammy that's a good point so we just exclude exclude the Diamond Square from that um exclude the Diamond Square district from that obviously that's all district one um and make it available to the rest of
the city um homes built no later than 1980 uh 10,000 for paint uh 5,000 for the plant and supplies debutation program um that's my motion council don't have to agree with it but
you know I'm throwing that out there i believe in the program and I think it'll be a benefit to the whole city okay do we have a motion on the floor for by Councilman Hearn let me make sure I comprehend it correctly 10,000 a total
of 15,000 10,000 for paint 5,000 for plants and shrubbery is that the correct interpretation now the once who's going to get what remember you're a father you have children daddy
you love me more than you love the other one you know that's going to happen now I'm just I I just I don't want to rush it y'all i just And I know they're waiting and yeah I'mma get I'mma get the mean looks and I and I understand but I'm just thinking I think ladies and
gentlemen I'm not knocking where we going to get the funding that's all I'm saying that it's easy to sit out there and be in the audience when you're not uh and I know you're not privy to it but I'm not going to entertain that um what I am going to entertain we have a motion
on the floor and we have two lights on for still discussion second discussion okay second by Councilman Goins um Miss Morgan I don't want to say what I'm
going to say but the question that I have I know we increased our paving to $500,000 what would what would that do to our projects or potential projects
if we reduce it by 15,000 what is that a detrimental situation like what does that look do we go over 5,000 if you reduce if you reduce it annually if we reduce it annually yeah i mean I
don't I don't know that she keeps the the uh the projects uh at the tip of her fingers there but but she can she can give you the answer to that the So she has a recurring reoccurring
recurring amount in the road program we have some fund balances there you know um so we have significant amount of dollars built up uh for one year you know that's not that's not going to hurt
because we have probably close to a million dollars or maybe a million plus built up in the road program so that that would address it for one year but let me let me give you the difficulty of being a city manager because I would
also suggest to you that uh we we have bulk uh yard waste and bulk uh garbage issues and so Waste Management has told us that if we want to pick up bulk yard waste on
a regular schedule i.e you don't have to call in anymore that's about $5 and something a month Samantha um yes sir i think it was right about that yeah so it's about 375 a month was it Was it 375 i I forget how many
households we have on the account Rebecca so so if if you're if I were going to suggest to you that you move dollars around it may be that we defay the cost of doing that for homeowners
for a one-year period by moving some of the dollars that we have saved up in the road program because you know that's been a significant issue now I don't want to prolong the meeting because we can do we can do this all night about priorities and what you can move from
what to what but again the 15,000 in terms of the recurring uh road program she can get that answer back to you she can tell you what project would actually drop off of that uh that annual um repaving program
so my my my recommendation to you Councilman Hearn um if you um want this to be a successful project at least for a year make it make it where we reduce um
possibly uh paving projects by 15,000 or some other means where the city manager may come up with and staff um for a year and make it a year program maybe we can see does the city even want want the project right and maybe see what it
looks like for one year one calendar year and and then come back to the drawing board um once we get all the numbers back hey look we got 65 applications for 15 homes and then that shows us that the community is
interested in the program so that's that's what I would consider based on what the city manager just kind of allotted to so um that's just my opinion no no that's a good suggestion um to try to make this work uh I'll amend my
motion uh to reflect that this program be a one-year pilot program uh direct city manager to find the funding and uh so does that mean it has to come back to the council one more time
we got another budget workshop we got the presentation of the budget there and so I may come back and say well I couldn't get there you know you will I I couldn't get there and here are my recommendations within the balanced budget proposal because
again at this particular day and time I I don't you know we know what we what the obligations are in the union contracts we know that insurance is going up we know that uh the electrical bills are going up um we have capital needs there and so again if if you tell
me go away and this is a priority of the council uh make your best effort to fund that in the in the fiscal year 2026 budget then I'll do that um obviously I always run the risk of you not being happy with the balanced budget proposal
but once I give it to you it's yours and you guys can you guys can u slice and dice it any any way you want to so let me ask you this when when is the next uh budget meeting i'm sorry i don't have that date the workshop the workshop i'm sorry do we come back in July june or do
we come back before that is it June yes workshop is in July so yeah we have one regular council meeting in June and then we come back into the budget workshops in July okay
yeah i got you so is it possible to have uh have that polished up before that budget meeting you you'll get the balance budget proposal in July and that's when we get our funding from the county to as well is that is
that when we get property taxes a form of it yes sir see okay i'll amend my motion to uh as I stated a one-year pilot program and direct the city manager to find the funding and bring it back to us at the
next budget workshop um we get there we get there if not you know we look at other plans okay we have a motion on the floor by Councilman um Hearn and a second and he
amended his motion um Madame Clerk you have that amended motion yes sir and Councilman Go you amend your motion correct yes sir okay um we have the light on is that it for right now because I have Coun uh Deputy Mayor Week's light on
is that it for right now council you have the last one okay all right deputy Mayor Weeks yeah um a couple of things one I know that there are churches out there that have programs where they go and uh will help folks with that need to
fix up their home but I my part of the process that I'm concerned about is the application and then followup to see what was done with it uh because when you're talking an applic you know they put in application who's going to
determine who gets decided on and then who's going to follow up to make sure it was used properly uh that they didn't buy the paint and turn around and sell it so um I mean there there's got um and most people who are going to need the help are going to need somebody to paint
it and you're not going to be able to buy paint and have the house painted for $500 i mean it cost me 6,000 to do my house so um and and I don't have a huge house so those are the things application who's going to determine
from those applications and the followup on it i mean realistically I like I love to be able to help people i really do but there are processes to all of this that I just feel are not there at this point
i think uh those Those are reasonable ask um I think those there's stipulations that could be put in the plan as the city manager has to bring it back anyways but um I I trust staff with uh coming up with a process to verify um if you know obviously if you don't have
a plan to paint um to to get the project done i think that could be uh one of the factors that's taken in account when you apply uh but um I think that's simple stuff that we can get to
and uh I I think staff can we got the right staff that can verify those factors so um I I still stick with the motion the amended motion and uh we wanted to hear from the audience
or not on it i'm done okay you done um if you would like to expound on this particular item come forward to the podium you must submit a card anyone in the audience yes sir my name is James Carrier and uh
I want to let you know something western Waste has free paint all a person has to do is go up there to the section where people turn in paint at and a lot of people that do professional painting will you know they'll get a five
gallallon uh uh container of paint and maybe only use two gallons of it they don't keep it they turn it into western waste and all you have to do is drive up there and look over all the selections of paint they have and uh pick it up and
off you go you're not being charged for it it's free paint i painted the interior of my house with free paint and uh I it's top quality you know it's everything from uh Sheron Williams to bear the you know all the top qualities
of paint and they'll even mix it up for you if you have a certain color you want made so it's there for the public thank you sir make sure you submit a card please yes sir i did but but that's not the
same card okay yes sir thank you i will do that okay thank you sir um Councilwoman calls yes you have any input uh I would say that um we'll be looking
I'm I'm willing to I would be willing to vote on this today and then when it comes forward examine it more closely with all of the staff's recommendations the one thing we did include in the amendment was the CRA area inside the village because there are homes there
too that are older so I'd want to include that but all of that is in the future when staff brings it back okay okay well I'm I'm going be straightforward and upfront with you and
I'll probably be that person adam the 290 pound man on this 10 pound branch um I think we're rushing it i do like the concept but I don't think it's well thought out in reference of time how are we going to equitably apply this to
every home that qualifies for this who we're going to select for that committee to make it happen um and that is the reason why um if the city manager like I said if he can't bring back that balanced budget it it dies there um I
think if um if it was done fair and equitably across the board um and not being rushed then I would be in favor of it but I'mma call the question come forward ma'am
church yep my church member i had my card ready but I was waiting on the next one but I'm going to say something about the paint then you need two of them i I'll fill out Please ma'am please okay go ahead ma'am my question about the um home
beautifification uh I'm sure it's anything that you want to do you make contracts with people they give you discounts you can make things happen that way it's I feel like he's shutting it down before it even gets started if
it's a pilot program you got to work with what you can do and make it work but right off I I can understand about the money i could understand about us just doing it but it's not the first time it's been brought forth
so instead of us just shutting it down why can't you just give it a try money i understand about the money but I know the city must have some con contracts or contact people that they'll they'll work with you they'll
give it some some grace we're going to put it to a vote your request may come to fruition thank you ma'am i I just had one thing mayor go ahead sir um so I I wanted to to back to to kind of uh piggy back on
what you said um the the Diamond Square board does not vote yes on every single house that comes forward they vote no and Mr brown is one of a lot of nos that I've heard the last few years so so sometimes people don't get approved and
that's just how it is so if they have to come back to us or we say no then that's just part of the process and we'll be following the same process that they go through um voting yes or no on that particular home so I just I'm not saying it's a perfect process i'm just saying
I'm just letting you know that they don't vote yes all the time okay yep thank you all right we have a motion on the floor by Councilman Go I'm sorry Councilman Hearn and a second by Councilman Goance um chair is going to call the question all in favor by saying
I i I I any nays i'm the descending vote let the record reflect 41 and I'm the dissenting vote do you have that Mrs madame city clerk yes sir thank you
ma'am okay moving on to item number four consider the approval of implementing traffic calming measures including flashing stop signs pedestrian signs reflectors in areas of concern such as Park Drive North Carolina Avenue North
Georgia Avenue Bristol Drive as well as a curve on BR Bristol Drive council her all right now I know there's a cost associated with this initiative as well but this is this has to be in it's
inexpensive um this is necessary this is if if if something's not done on this matter somebody's going to get killed and and potentially a kid and I witness this every day every day in this neighborhood um this ask is simply just some traffic
uh safety measures um we I've been seeing the blinking uh the flashing uh stop signs all over the city we got them over off of Michigan um district one off of uh over in the
Diamond Square area um so I I know we have a good we can get a good cost on that as far as what that costs um I will leave it on to staff to figure out what's the best location to put these uh possible flashing signs or reflectives
i've already showed you vid well I don't think I sent you the video but I showed you uh pictures of the car accidents that's occurred in these areas that should be low speed um I've personally witnessed two vehicles flip over in these areas um so I'm asking council
please support this initiative and and as as I state I know there's a cost but there's not a big cost to this and I'm almost certain we can find this in the budget council Gins yes sir i say anything i would like I know community members came
for this item specifically um can we do the same thing that we did on the last item please yeah I'll give them a chance to speak as long as they submit a card okay yes that was his
previous on item number four consider approval of implementing traffic calming measures including flashing stop signs please come to podium and submit your card this is where persistence come in i've
been fighting for speeds or bumps or anything on that street i'm the one that lives in the curve at 1050 Bristol i've had mailbox knocked over down the years and um my thing is if I have another one I'm not paying for the next one because
I've been here several times asking for something to happen in that area they did um I guess you know how you tell somebody something kind of shut them up for a little bit when they were working on Panita they came through they gave me
reflectors and I'm grateful for that but I could sit in my living room and hear people riding all over those reflectors i back out my yard there's a curve cars come around blind there's a lot of kids
in that neighborhood now when I started fighting I was fighting for my my kids are grown now so but there's a lot of kids in that neighborhood i see they just put speed bumps other places because of a church and homes there's a
church their schools and their homes over in that area so I understand your policy about the main intersections but that doesn't take away from cars flying in the neighborhood there has to be something that can be
done i'm done anyone else would like to elaborate on this particular item do I need to fill out another card it's a new item yes sir yes sir okay i live on 1208 Cambridge Drive west
Point Drive does an intersection to a T intersection there's three stop signs and people don't do a California roll they just drive on through i've said to previous uh police officers please park
in my driveway you'll make so much money in the in one day alone i mean they're doing 60 miles an hour through that intersection i have to back in to pull out or otherwise I'd be hit and I already went through that last year i'm
not going to get hit again so amen and I'll fill out another card but seriously you'll make so much money it'll make your head spin everybody everybody i mean everybody zoom zoom zoom and then and
then they're heading down to the corner that's behind like where Save a Lot the back of the theater there's no sidewalk there and there's children that's 15 miles an hour i've seen cars go around that corner up almost on two wheels and they're kids their kids doing it flying
can't go any faster than that and we got I got children right across the street from me right next door to me and just down the street from me and they all most all of them play in the street because there's no sidewalk to play on in that area it ends right on Cambridge
just prior to Cambridge hitting West Point and it's they had to walk down the road very very dangerous very very dangerous and even tech place that stop sign there they don't stop at that one either they zoom on around so seriously
just put a police officer with a motorcycle so that way they don't see the car and the money will flow into Coco believe me it will in one day alone you'll make over a thousand easy rock do it speeding rock
can I make a comment certainly ma'am and then we'll hear from Councilman Goins do I have the floor yes ma'am okay um was that James Carrier that was speaking yes
in Pineriidge yes i I just wanted to affirm his comments i and I first of all I would support any sort of safety measures that we can afford and put in
in those neighborhoods we have particularly where there are a lot of children and the one that Mr carrier was referring to is Cambridge most of the calls that I get from constituents are in regard to
speeding in neighborhoods the ones that concern me most are the ones that are located near that school where on most blocks they don't even have sidewalks so um and you have a lot of children so I
am in support of more traffic calming measures i would like to see us come up with some criteria so that we can not only apply that in the area that Councilman Hearn
is requesting it for but in other areas of the city as well where it's needed council Go yes sir um I I am elated that you brought this forward sir um thank you for for bringing it and I'm asking
for something from you to add to your motion um so we have similar situation and I don't want to bring this back again another day and so I rather say it now in this
Var Avenue which is two streets Home Street and Count Street that street is similar to the Blake situation where people use 520 and VAR to shoot to Fist Boulevard and again park is on that
street um Provos Park for example football games and all these things going on and I'm I'm asking for the same thing which is flashing um it is working great on Stone Street which we know everybody don't follow the rules and
people break the law um but I'm I'm just asking for it's two stop signs that's on uh homes and and two stop signs that are on uh counts and and sim similar issues and so I just you just say VAR right yes
sir yeah var Avenue var Avenue and then the connecting streets is homes and counts and so I got a got yelled at a few times by couple residents over there so they've been on me for the last three months and be honest with you I forgot to bring it forward and so I appreciate
you for uh bringing this forward anyone else got a wish list go ahead ma'am the one I'm getting yelled at uh is uh actually there's two spots um one is on
the corner of Talbot and Microoft where the school bus stop is we have had more people run through that right when the school bus is sitting there they drive right past we've had four-way stop signs put up it has not stopped them one iota
um uh I know a father who stands out there in the middle of the road to stop cars from driving through and so they have been after me non-stop asking me can we do something with a flashing stop
and also we need a couple more and these are streets that are owned by Coco um in the phase one there um and also right at the front there at the four-way stop by the swimming pool of Talbot Talbot and
uh my craft um at that four-way stop nobody seems to stop and that's another one they would like a flashing something at just so people will stop there because that is where the high schoolers get the bus which is ridiculous because
it's right on Adamson but that's where the high school They're actually sitting right next to Adamson Road with all those trucks going by in the morning but anyway so yes those would be two that I would like to add to the list if possible ask ask him to amend his list i
mean his request so at this time there's no one else to speak on this item i'm going to amend my motion to reflect all of the streets named in the original item park Drive North Carolina A North
Georgia A Bristol Drive and the Bristol curve along with the streets that Councilman Goen's name which was bar which was homes counting bar and along with deputy mayor
Weeks MR and Talbot and Talbot there's two intersections yes and uh it and that's the motion a and Westchester Cambridge westchester as
well pineita and Westchester we got it we got it we got it okay i'll second that motion yeah now I just want a point of clarification you're talking about just stop signs or you talking about speed tables cuz you stop signs stop okay i
just want I just want a point of clarification i didn't want to do speed tables because I didn't want Chief Lamb to look up at me no red face oh chief so yep i already made a mad once this year so Mr mayor let let us take the list and
let the uh the traffic engineers uh bring you back the what we feel like are the most appropriate traffic calming devices without naming those as a table as a speed hump as
anything there so she just give us the broad category of traffic calming devices and we'll bring you back recommendations for Park North Carolina Avenue Georgia Avenue Bristol Drive the curve and
Bristol Drive uh Talbert and Microoft Microoft and then you mentioned two other there are two intersections of Talbert and Micro two two yeah they're like a mile apart but yes okay so we we'll get the details on those then
homes count var west and uh make sure it's north Georgia you know we have multiple Georgia pineita north pine north pine I think that's an
intersection here yeah cuz some of pineas in the county well paneita the intersection is being addressed so that's a project i'm not talking about Pineita and Dixon i'm talking about in the neighborhood of Pine Ridge all right
i can um if that's on the list we can discuss that when I come back and identify the student all right that's the motion okay we have a motion on the floor i second it right
chill's going to cause a question all in favor saying I I I have unanimously thank you thank you okay right oh I'm so sorry and again M I'm I'm going to be very honest we're going to take those
uh and the recommendation would be to fund those out of existing um paving dollars so it would be the fund balance that we have for the paving dollars okay moving on to city business item number 81 accept the annual
comprehensive financial report for fiscal year 2024 2025-322 mr joel Mop am I saying that right that's right thank you Joel you have the floor for your presentation sir thank you Mr mayor um I
would like to present Mr joel KN partner of Forvis Mazars which is the city's auditors um we have completed our audit for the fiscal year i'm pleased to tell council that we did receive an unmodified opinion again this fiscal
year which means that we complied with everything that we needed to do followed our internal controls recorded everything correctly and got audited on it and um passed um so uh Joel Mr knop
will present to you the um findings and wrap up the audit for this fiscal year and could you use that term one more time again when it's clean and pristine for unmodified is this number eight now ma'am or we still on number seven i
believe we're on number eight thank you ma'am job well done and your staff Joel great well good evening Mayor Blake council members pleasure to be here and thank you Miss Bowman for the introduction um I do have just a few
slides to go through to kind of summarize our audit results u there's also few communication items that are required under our standards to communicate to council um first off our responsibilities were to audit the city's financial statements under
generally accepted audit standards as well as government audit standards and the uniform guidance of that overseas federal grants as well as chapter 10.550 rules of the auditor general
management's responsibilities were to take ownership of the financial statements to provide us with the documentation we requested for the audit as well as maintain appropriate internal controls throughout the fiscal year and um we did receive representations from
management that we did get all the information we requested that nothing was withheld from us as we completed our audit and uh that was also provided as part of the required communication letter um that was included in the pack uh the agenda packet i do want to
highlight there were no audit adjustments that's a big deal uh because that indicates that the numbers that the city prepares and and as they close out the books for the uh at the end of the fiscal year there were no changes that we identified as we did our audit that
needed to be made to those numbers they were fairly stated um in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for governments also there were no significant issues we encountered with management we got full cooperation and no difficulties encountered and so I
just wanted to highlight that as well that uh the city cooperated in all respects with our audit to highlight the audit opinion letters you'll find our opinion on the financial statements on pages one through three and as Miss Bowman
mentioned that was unmodified meaning a clean opinion for the city um you'll also find several compliance reports uh towards the back of the document an important one is the compliance on major with uh for major federal programs and
state projects uh that's also a big deal because there's a lot of funding at at stake as it relates to those grants and it's important that the city shows compliance as well as internal controls over compliance and there's also a report on
internal controls over financial reporting and on compliance that's significant to the financial statements and there were no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies that we noted um as part of our audit to highlight the specific grants
we looked at of the assistance listing 21.027 027 that's the Corona virus state and local fiscal recovery funds we tested those those those totaled u and the expenditures 1.9 million for 24 as
well as a hazard mitigation grant of 2.4 million um that represent approximately 92% of the total federal dollars spent by the city we also tested the statewide water quality restoration projects which
is a state grant of 1.1 million that what represented 87% of the state dollars spent so pretty high coverage um as it relates to the testing performed on this city's federal and state grants
received and then the last two reports relate to the rules of the auditor general there's a management letter which we had no additional comments or findings as well as an examination report on investment compliance and that was also a clean report for the city
just a few financial highlights uh did want to point out fiscal year 24 ended on a pretty high note as far as um you know the the city's liquidity it was approximately our current ratio which is current assets over current liabilities
of almost 13 a ch positive change in net position of 19 million for governmental activities and 29 million for business type activities um and a key liquidity measure is also the unrestricted net position as a percentage of total
expenses and uh for governmental activities it was 43% and 81% for business type activities so those are both very high marks um as it relates to the city's financial position at the end of the year
the general fund also looked very healthy for fiscal year 24 a $20 million unassigned fund balance um as well as 20 million in in assign so um while not fully um available for spending the
assigned is still um subject to council's discretion and uh so that's also very healthy uh fund position at the end of the year unassigned fund balance was 48% of total expenditures um with a $12 million positive change in
fund balance for fiscal year 24 budgetary wise um also uh positive results here 12 million received in excess of what was projected for revenues um expenditures were under
budget by 13 million um so an overall uh change in fund balance of positive 12 million and a $25 million positive uh budgetary uh fund balance difference water and sewer system just
want to highlight this fund as well since it's a primary business type activity of the city um again good liquidity at the end of the year and a operating income of 25 million for 24 compared to 22 million in 23 so very
good financial results again you'd expect that to be um you know a business type activity to show a positive operating income and uh you know that was evident from the audit um any questions on those numbers or the our
results of our audit okay great job great no great job by the city um and the city management uh team as it's a it's a team effort um on be you know as far as the city's departments and everybody complying with the budget that council adopts so so well
done um with that I'll I'll turn it over to you all as far as uh approving it but uh those were my prepared remarks thank you i think it's com I commend you Mrs bowman ma'am you and your staff let's give them a round of applause i'll be straightforward and
honest that's eight consecutive years now ma'am correct yes so there's no need to I mean it's great to be acknowledged by your peers and the independent audit right here as well from uh Mr joel he himself
um and his staff so on that note I would like to make a motion to approve and accept the annual comprehensive financial report second we have any questions or discussion seeing none chair's going to call the
question all in favor saying I i hi so if anybody out in the audience ever question your your abocus style of teaching learning and promoting ma'am just eight consecutive years in a row that's all you have to do just show them
the documentation just going to call the question all in favor saying I i i any nays eyes have it unanimously proceeding on to item number 8-2
okay and thank you for a clean and pristine report the applicant James Carrier is requesting a reduction on the current code enforcement lean of a 500,910 for the property located at
1208 Cambridge Drive be reduced to the city's cost of $2,274.72 now this duration for this Yeah yes sir yes sir yes i'm just going to ask a question so this duration goes
from October the 17th 2009 to July the 5th 2023 is that correct ma'am so we're talking about 14 years yes of violation yes sir mr mayor never contacted sir sorry okay ma'am you have the floor uh yes Mr
mayor as you noted uh this Mr carrier who is in the audience tonight uh has requested a lean reduction on his property at 1208 Cambridge Drive as requesting a reduction to the lean cost of staff for $2,274.72 at the code board meeting the
code board enforced and recommended a lean reduction amount of $1,333.33 at the November 21st 2024 code board hearing so the above stack staff recommended motion is to approve the current code enforcement leave for the property located at 1208 Cambridge Drive
to be reduced to the city cost in the amount of $2,274.72 i'm available for any questions and I also have uh code enforcement manager Tom Wilkinson here to answer any questions well the first thing we're going to ask is mode of um contact how do we reach out to Mr carrier i see your
leg Council McGence that's That's my That's a good question how do we I mean going back for 14 years you mean to tell me this man never received how do we reach him Mr wilkinson sir take that vacant seat over yeah
somebody's cell phone is going off mr mr mayor the reason uh how the property owners uh reached by the code enforcement officer and the previous code enforcement manager at the time was via cell phone conversations prior to the notice of codeboard hearing the code
enforcement also also posted the property twice that I know of according to their notes in the file okay council yeah so when you say so so you talking about 14 years so it been only two
postings and you said telephone calls no is there any documentation as far as text messages or anything of that nature not in the file but they have the code enforcement manager also did send two letters to the property owner on an annual notice not notifying the property
owner of the file and and the addresses that do you do you have that currently with you right now i want to put you on a Yeah because this this is a heavy reduction i just want to see what that address is that the letter was sent to two
letters $100 a day that's what I'm set for that's a long time but you paying your property tax according to the file it was at 1208 Cambridge Drive 1208 Cambridge Drive addressed two times and what are the dates of
that if you can get that paint bridge drive i have one in 20 19 okay and I know this is before you as well so I want to let everybody know that too uh so they won't think that you
are at fault i don't have the letter the date for the second one okay all right um Councilman Goins uh the very first letter was sent by certified mail September 17th 2009
the very first letter September 27th 2009 certified correct yes sir card sent back no no cards sent back okay thank you is that it um Councilman Herms and then we'll hear from you Mr kerry
my question is uh with with it being 14 years you know if if the homeowner was made aware of it um is is that our current policy by code enforcement just to keep finding by the day even if it's 14 years go by there's no abatement
process i don't know if that's the correct term or not unfortunately M uh Councilman that that the burden is on the property owner once they are found in violation by the code enforcement board and they're given a compliance date it's their responsibility after we go and check the compliance date to
notify staff that they're in compliance okay deputy Mayor Weeks um I just have a a question um I didn't sit in on his i've sat in uh u attended the other code enforcement ones but the board uh you
know reduced it to $1,333.33 so um I did not know what our process was because this is the first time as a council member that I've voted on this so do we um go based on what the board uh that heard all the evidence or
do we change it and do it's optional ma'am yeah we have options okay that's what I didn't know so okay thank you mr carrier you have the floor sir yes sir uh my name is James Carrier i live at 128 Cambridge Drive Cocoa Florida in
2009 I put up a garage and I enclosed my carport and I had submitted paperwork the to do the uh um what is it the uh the building permit yes the permit and uh it
was denied based on my drawings and I had gone to architect school so I actually drew up the drawings of 14 ft showing where all the uh uh everything was poured in as well as the rebarb and as well as the only hurricane straps that are on that house because the house
was built in 1958 block house so uh that was turned in uh but I was denied and the lean was $100 a day for the first 30 days and I fell into depression because I had I have diabetes real bad and they
hacked off my toe my second toe of my right foot and uh uh I fell into depression i live home alone and I didn't get out of bed for 30ome days and but I had all the paperwork done i had another architect draw it up and all
that but that architect after the 14 years that that was the only time that I was contacted and it was because I had a a hurricane took out one of the post not post but slats on my fence and uh I was contacted on that and at that point in
time I received a letter saying I owe $486,375 and I go what and they're going to take my house and and so I go down to code enforcement and say "What's this about?" And not one person contacted for me for 14 years i thought the thing the
lean stopped at uh $3,000 i didn't know it was ongoing nothing was ever given to me i did receive the letter from Mr wilkinson in 2023 so right off the bat I went to him i said "Okay what do I need to do?" He
said "Well not only the garage but we need everything else on your property." So I proceeded to paint the house i tear down a building in my backyard that would have been a grafted in because it was my father's house but uh I took it down anyway i did every ecut uh
everything I could do to that house upkeep as well as uh it install new water heater uh I had a leak in the wall and I had that fixed repaired that was $2,000 i don't make that much money i really don't i'm only got 50% disability
from the federal government and I don't even make enough money to pay income tax but yet I promise I pay my property tax every year the day as soon as I get that receipt I take it down and pay it i save that money i'm a saver and uh so anyway
uh even to drop back a little bit I had uh um this meeting here i didn't know about this until uh I Mr wilkinson had uh sent uh me a uh officer Wilkinson sent me a voicemail uh not a voicemail
but a uh a email and uh uh well let me not it was an voicemail but I didn't receive the voicemail and then when I did see it I read it and so I called him back immediately and I called him back twice and then uh he sent me a another
voicemail while I was on the phone and uh when I read it it said uh if I don't get in touch with you I'll see you at six o'clock and I said six o'clock what's six o'clock about so I called him up and he says "Yeah well we're having the board meeting tonight."
And I said "What happened about giving me fair warning you know get myself together?" And uh because I've been in and out of the hospital three times with congested heart failure because all the water I'm retaining in my body and uh so he said "Well you don't really have to
come." And I said "Well back of my mind says "Yes I do uh I'm a a veteran disabled veteran for over 16 years 2 months 23 days active duty yes Army Airborne Infantry." And yeah I'm going to be here and so I came and uh I I
didn't mean to interrupt you sir uh I'm just letting you know but the money you know it just boggled my mind the only reason you guys couldn't take the house is because it was uh given to me by my parents and until I died and then you could take it
from me but uh we're not in the business of taking an individual well I I hope not because I hope not i I I everybody around me is from from other foreign country and I'm the the black captain so believe me I'm in touch i'm in touch
with everybody I can to try to stop the uh vehicles swinging by uh the drug dealing right in front of my house the throwing of dope across from one another yes I used to go out there and then a good friend of mine named Pastor Jenkins said "Jim quit doing that or otherwise
you're going to get shot." And uh so I took his word on that and uh so I'm I'm trying my best i really am but I go from one extreme to the other property tax car insurance it all ow can I collect any money or keep anything no I can't
because I gotta give keep giving it out thank you sir yes sir thank you very much for your question carrie we have any questions go ahead council question the recommendation of the code
board is that 133 i didn't quite catch that $1,333.33 ma'am okay i'd like to make a motion that we approve the code board's recommendation i'll second ask for a second one
discussion are you planning on selling your house no sir i'm staying there i just want to make sure because we've had an individual yes sir no I have no intention that was a lesson learned well I want military personnel too that's
right well my electric bill is about $100 and my water bill is about I just want that that's sufficing okay we got a motion on the floor for um council member for um recommendation for the code board and a second by deputy mayor
weeks all in favor of saying I i any let their record reflect you said no council Goins yes sir here's my problem $500,000 sir that's a half a million and I'm going to be a No and I respect our government and I respect my military
personnel but it's hard for me to concede for 14 consecutive years not a I'm just I'm just I'm just stay my my my concern and if you pay your property taxes it's hard but it costs the city to properly inform not only just
you but everyone else that own property because let me make that mistake and trust me and I'll be advertised and they're watching us cuz they watch my tax roles they say how much property taxes I pay so that's the only reason
why sir and I I'm I'm just only asking do a better job so let the reflect excuse me let the record reflect we have three yes is that correct yes and two no okay we got So so the only reason why I said
no because I don't want this to get spun like I am attacking a combat veteran right and that's what normally happens um the reason I said no is because I believe that um 14 years is a very long time but I was going to vote yes for the
staff um paying the the staff bill off that's why I was with the 2,000 whatever that amount is so my no wasn't to no on the reduction as a whole it was a no for the recommendation by councilwoman cost and so just to let you know that I was
going to vote for the reduction but not at what was requested i have that money on me oh you well you got 500,000 too then huh no sir i had 1,300 uh and question all right thank you yes sir go ahead sir so uh for code
enforcement I just need further clar clarification so or to further clarify my question so if we got a property owner and he decides to turn his residential property into a junkyard there's cars all over his yard it's just
junk all we we do as a city is just find them for the next 50 years that's all that's the only consequence there are other uh avenues that we can go with as far as abatement
but then at the same time it it goes to budgetary items mhm i mean we can tow some of the vehicles but then it like again that lean goes on to the property owner but as far as abating it and cleaning up the junk and debris that that towards heavy on the budget and you
kind of have to you know not pick and choose but weigh your apples and oranges which is which is going to be better is it better to go and come to the code enforcement board and place it on the property owner or go ahead and debate it um thank you for that answer i don't
know if you uh Esquire Gargani you can expound on that too as well esquire yep um I mean the the code enforcement prosecution and the lean is is really like the first step right that that
hopefully provides an incentive for the property owner to bring the property into compliance otherwise the lean continues to run the problem in many cases is the property owner doesn't even reach out um to have the compliance determination made by the by the code
enforcement board and and the code enforcement staff so then the run the lean just continues to run and run and run till one day it becomes a necessity for the property owner right to take care of the pending lean you know the the other alternatives that that the
city has to gain compliance are things like um initiating code and um a foreclosure against the property um you know to ratchet it up um so and and there are other legal means to try to
get compliance dependent on the severity of the violation um many cases you know it doesn't warrant you know the city expending a lot of uh resources to um go after um a small violation you know those violations that
are you know have a a tremendous impact on public health safety welfare right danger to the public you know the city has taken more proactive steps but it's just a matter of degree of how long how much you have to put into getting compliance
okay and and I asked that question because you know with 14 years uh yes you should have responded a lot sooner however my concern is um I don't I don't want to see other properties i I know right now there's a property that looks
like a junkyard and I I was wondering to myself how this property owner has gotten away with this for so long so um as a representative of the city I would love to see uh when you have extreme cases like that where these violations have gone on so long I'm not talking
about a matter of a year or two but for years I would love to see other means addressed uh those ma those matters addressed so that's why I brought that up and needed clarification so proceeding on the next item you may have a seat Mr carrie thank you thank you
very much um item number three the applicant Equifrist Properties LLC is requesting a reduction of the current code enforcement lean of $281,720 for the property located at
1112 Myrtle Lane be reduced to $5,000 also this particular home and I'm sure they're out there in the audience as well um duration went from
04 04 of 2009 to 09 06 2024 total fine $281,000720 $281,720 excuse me now that if if you
add 9 plus 15 gives us 24 right that's 15 years again now and but but this just and I and I will listen and I'mma hear from Mrs um Mrs nudman but I'm just saying for 15 years
you all you go without paying the bill for 15 years and tell me what your credit score is go ahead Mrs newman and then now we'll hear from council members that's all I'm saying go ahead thank you Mr mayor uh as you noted this is the
code violation at 1112 Myrtle Lane uh previous owner Patrick Badget was found in violation of chapter 6 section 6105 of the building permit required for work and the code enforcement held the public hearing June 8th 20 2009 at which time
they found the owner in violation the lean reduction quest request made by Equifers Properties richard Kerry is the current property owner is requesting a re a lean reduction to the cost of staff of 3,074.43 the code enforcement board
recommendation at the March 20th 2025 code board hearing is $5,000 staff recommended motion is to approve the code enforcement lean recommendation of $5,000 made by the board at the March 20th 2025 code board
meeting we're available for any questions if you have yes ma'am we will proceed in this early deputy Mayor Weeks then Councilman Goins do we have a representative from this particular organization in the audience not to my knowledge okay seeing none they're not in the audience deputy Mayor
Weekes then council goes and I'm ready to address this right away i mean Okay go ahead okay so the code was against the previous owner not the current owner yes yes ma'am yes so when did the current owner buy the property i didn't see that in
here i the the home was vacant i believe this was a recent purchase um could have been a foreclosure i don't have the information in the um packet i would have to go back and look at the details mr wilkinson may have that so
all these years it was racking up under the previous owner and now this person has bought it and wants the reduction because that it was not their code i mean they're it was not their problem is that correct uh yes ma'am
oh I I agree they but not everybody does that so I'm just trying to get clarification on that so take Okay that that was my my question excellent questions all the way across the board excellent questions from all parties here behind that desk councilman going
yeah it it but it it seems to me I love the our reduction process but it seems to me when we when we talk about um say we when somebody wants to change their zoning you have several several members of this council andor uh maybe planning
and zoning and other things we we battle and and fight against people purchasing a lot and and coming in looking to change variances or change the zoning we say that that person is responsible they should have never purchased that lot because they knew what the zoning was
and then now we we go into a reduction conversation someone purchase a piece of property they know what the lean is before they purchase it when they walk away from it now now they may pay it eventually or they may try to do a reduction process in whatever city they
bought a lot but it's is I don't know i just I struggle with that sometimes um because again we we kind of contradict oursel on certain things depending on what what it is we are discussing and I could be off base but that's just how I
feel about it but um I'm not against reducing but I think it got to be case by case basis for sure and so I just wanted to make that uh statement that it yes sir okay here go i would like to approve current code enforcement
lane for the property located on 1112 Myrtle Lane to be reduced to amount of $5,000 as recommended by the code enforcement at the March 20th 2025 and I support the code board on this decision second we got a second by
council just going to call the question all in favor saying I i let Okay we have one dissenting nay all right the dissenting nay is Councilman uh Hearn um city clerk yes sir okay
that's all i just want to make sure you know who is the dissenting vote vote okay u moving on to item number four the applicant SAI Property Investment is requesting a reduction of the
current code enforcement of lean of $27,450 for the property located on 1203 Alamanda Lane be reduced to $1,000 um also um let me make sure I get this
correct this started in May of 20 May 21st 2021 through May 23rd of 2024 um do we have the owner of this
particular person in the audience okay Mrs nudman ma'am thank you Mr mayor uh as you noted the property location is 1203 Alamanda Lane and the property owner is Sai property investment and they were found in the
violation of uh permit required and rental business tax uh receipt was not uh applied for the current violation was June 17th of 2021 that was held at the code board hearing the lean reduction request uh applied by the applicant is
in the request for $1,68516 at the code board meeting on January 16 2025 the code enforcement lean for the property located at 1203 Alamanda Lane be reduced to the amount of $14,000 is recommended by the code board code
enforcement board at the January 16th meeting staff recommended motion is to support the lean reduction to cover the city's cost of $1,68516 we are available for any questions okay you say code board wanted 14,000 yes sir
okay boy I sure would like to see why they wanted 14,000 and I know minimum to cover cost for administrative cost for excuse me cover administrative cost for the city itself is that the city asked
that it be 1685 decimal point6 correct yes sir okay do we have any questions from Mrs nudman okay okay well we'll proceed in this order councilman Goins and Deputy Mayor Weeks miss Charlene I got a I got a question
so when how do we how do we know or do we expect property owners to come to us and designate a rental property like is that something that we say we we just allow them to do that process they are
required by city code to apply for a business tax receipt for a rental property within the city of Coco and failure to do so is subject to fines through the code enforcement and and normally how do we find that out if if maybe the water bill may be different from the owner name is it a way to kind
of find out typically there's a complaintant from a neighbor um I got you uh that's that's the usually the way we find out about it for individual cases like this okay all right thank you okay um Deputy Mayor Weeks ma'am um I
was going to ask can I ask the code enforcement gloss okay thank you uh so what was the reason why the code board wanted the 14,000 it was a uh new owner but he still also
uh was renting the property out and let the fine run so they took it that he was acrewing an income and not taking care of his property or his tenant at the time so that's why they went to a higher they recommended a
higher amount thank you thank you that answers my question yes ma'am so they they were der for three years pretty much yes sir um gentlemen um someone speaking on behalf of this particular item please come to the podium state
your name for us please right good evening excuse me good evening my name is Steve Spyro i'm an attorney for SAI property investments and um like to discuss the uh the issue the the the discussion uh at the code
enforcement board hearing revolved largely around rental income and um there was a presumption of rental income for the period of years um uh at $2 to $3,000 a month for the
property um and that was part of the basis for uh their recommendation of 14,000 um SAI Properties purchased the property in May of 2020 uh just after CO had started um it was
vacant um it remained vacant until a lease was signed in April of 2024 um the principal didn't realize that a business permit would be required if there was no rental if there was no tenant he did pay the mortgage taxes
insurance water bill maintain the property while it was vacant um if you I think in the record it said that the compliance was in May sometime in May of 2024 so as soon as he put a tenant in he uh that's when he thought he needed to
comply and so he complied and it was within a month or two of putting the first tenant in um that the violation came into compliance unfortunately that tenant paid one month two months two months and an eviction was started in June of 24 was vacant again um until
just recently till January of this year so the presumption and I think Officer Wilkinson can uh can verify there was a lot of discussion about the rental income from the during the whole period of time of the violation and we subsequently determined that that was
not in fact accurate okay is that it sir unless you have any other questions councilman Goins yeah did you did you u provide any lease information to show you know if anybody was a tenant during that time did you provide that to to officer Wilkersonson
at all i was at the time of the code enforcement hearing yes no I to be honest I was surprised that the question was asked because I've I've attended a number of these i've never been asked about rental income for a lean reduction hearing so I was surprised at the request i know that Mr gandhi the principal one of the principles at SAI
has brought the leases that he has he's brought the water um to show that it's been it was vacant um and so he does have that information and as well as the eviction from the clerk's uh web page okay i I think I think the reason why cuz I probably would have asked the same question because what happens is really
had nothing to do with him sometime we get uh property owners who rent it out and we and and the code um board's mind is that he's still receiving um rental um money from those tenants every single month but also ignoring the code
enforcement violations and that happens a lot so I'm not saying him I'm just saying in general it happens so maybe that's that's probably why they asked that question so understood thank you can you lay off what are the wishes of council
what's the midpoint between $1,685 to 14,000 seven seven okay chair like to make a motion that the tenant uh the owner property owner of 1203 Alamanda Lane pay
and you say 7 $7,000 and I'm looking for a second second okay second by whom okay council do we have any additional um concerns or discussion seeing none chair's going to
call a question all in favor for the cost of $7,000 all in favor saying I i any nays couldn't hear okay eyes have it unanimously thank you proceeding on to
the next item applicant Nicholas Cretelli is requesting a reduction of the current code enforcement lean of $110,310 for the property located at 1043 Olive Street be reduced to the city
cost of $2,130 decimal 53 um this went on from June the 20th 2021 to June 27th 2024 um the there were violations stated
in 2020 excuse me a August 19 2021 the code found the property owner in violation of the above mentioned sections as you can see in your notes is the owner here Mr kitelli okay just have a seat in the front chair
there sir mrs nudman ma'am the floor is yours uh thank you Mr mayor uh this code enforcement case is at for 1043 Olive Street and it's for multiple violations that occurred uh in the month in the
year of 2021 and it went before the code enforcement board on May 20th 2021 and the board found the property owner in violation of the abovementioned city code that was in the agenda item the lean reduction request by M Mr nicholas Gretelli the new property owner is
requesting a lean reduction in the amount of $2,13053 as the city's cost at the code enforcement board meeting the code board recommended a motion to uh the amount for the code enforcement lean to be
$1,80.50 50 cents which was uh voted on at the February 20th 2025 code board meeting staff recommended motion is to be reduced to the city's cost of $2,13053 and the applicant is in the
audience okay um I get to take over for um Okay uh I have my light on but I would entertain hearing from any of you all first since I'm now running it okay my question was I see uh I see in the
documents that uh the owner stated that he was informed that the violations a year after he purchased the home and uh as stated the violations occured in 2021 yes sir and the home was purchased were you did you purchase the home in 2022
i believe because I see that the if you look on the property appraiser the home was sold in 2022 there was a sale in 21 then a sale in 22 so looking at that it it you know it
seems like what the owner stated sounds to be true or possible at least so I just wanted to make that fact known okay thank you um uh did you have anything no no you're
good you're good my My question would be um as far as when you purchased the property did you not do a title search or have close with the title company where they check for leans come to the microphone i'll come to the microphone sir sorry
so when I purchased the property I I I found the property on the MLS the uh the multiple listing search where you know um everything's supposed to be by the book like you said you get a title search done when you uh put the property
under contract and stuff like that and uh I had sold my previous house so I had cash to buy this house so I didn't have a mortgage so I contacted the realtor i told her I was paying cash um put it under contract the realer took like uh
it was supposed to close in 30 days the real took like over a month and then she contacted me saying that oh the bank that owns the house they have to see you they actually have to come here and uh and talk to you about whatever leans or
whatever they had for the previous owner and the way the the realer presented it to me is she told me that the previous owner had shutters on the house that the that was racking code violations so I'm like "Okay don't sound like a big deal." Um and and I'm not in a a real big rush
to close we can prolong it for another month and so another month goes by and the realtor calls me up and says "Okay we're ready to close." And and I didn't use my own title company i used the realer's title company and um and so I
wired them the money uh we closed on the property and uh and that was it so I just assumed everything was good and then uh I guess like a year goes by after I buy the house and I seen uh the code enforcement officer he was in the neighborhood for a house down the street
or something and I was talking to him and he was like "Oh yeah your house is racking up code violations." And I was like you know I'm like I was surprised by that i didn't I didn't I didn't know that and then he told me how much it was and then I was like in shock and then um
and then it took me some time to take care of the violations and then once I did that then I started this process okay yeah i I do remember um I was here when he spoke uh before the code and that's why they reduced it down to,080 so thank you that's all I have
mayor you're back no ma'am go ahead and finish up oh okay finish out anybody else have anything i'm good lorraine do you have any questions no I'm good okay uh then I'd like to make a motion that we approve the
reduction down to the,08050,80.50 that the code enforcement board recommended second one second okay thank you um uh all in favor say I
i i any opposed motion carries let's keep that street yes sir i appreciate it okay moving on to item number six the applicant so if you don't mind that's what I wanted to uh uh talk to you about
real quick so I think item number six is actually the house that the code enforcement officer was you know talking to um for some reason they they I think they made a mistake and they put my address for item number six as well so my address is correct on on five3 yeah
yeah i got you brother okay i appreciate it i just want to make the record show that that way that way when I go to pay you they're not like "Okay and you owe 30,000." Is Glenio all right is Glen Barios present
so what do we need to do pyano so do we just need to table this one and bring back the correct address so that we're No Mr mayor um the the short agenda had the incorrect address but the actual agenda item is the correct address oh
10:49 it's 103 this one is 10:49 10:49 okay gotcha okay I see it now all right here we go so we're on number six yep yep but I'm ask a question is Glende in the audience or Glendy Barios nope nope
okay a request of reduction of the current code enforcement lean of $97,030 for the property located at 1049 Olive Street be reduced to $3,000 okay and that is a request of the
code enforcement lean and I'm pretty much with their request i will turn the floor over to you Mrs newman yes Mr mayor uh the address of 1049 Olive Street the
lean reduction request by the property owner was $2374.25 the code enforcement board recommended at the February 20th 2025 meeting for $1,293.50 and staff recommends approving
the city cost of $2374.25 okay uh Deputy Mayor Weeks your light is on yes sir i was at this I heard this one as well i made notes on all of these so I try to remember and um I've got down here that this was not the current
owner's fault it was um uh it was from a previous uh somebody previous they I believe they were renting and then bought the building or bought it and did not realize about the code uh violations and they brought it up to code um and I
think it was a mother and daughter but anyway I actually wrote should be nothing because they actually had nothing whatsoever to do as soon as they found out about it they worked to rectify the situation and that was Mike's take on it okay okay
10:49 well so what are you saying ma'am is there's only like a $600 I'm not being hard i know there's a $600 difference if I take uh deduct $3,000 minus $237 that's all I'm saying
um hey um uh help me understand something Mrs nudman please or even Mr wilkinson sir um you said there was a different property owner is this they were they
buying to own the it appears that there was a different property owner there was a Mrs cardona who was the property owner at the time and now that the bariosas own the property and I'm trying to find out
exactly when they purchased the property i just remember it was absolutely nothing okay yep that's why I wrote should be nothing because it had nothing to do with it whatso I know but when you buy property you got to do your due diligence like I
said you got to do the title search so the property was purchased in 2018 but they I believe they bought it directly from the owner i know uh there is no sale since then that's showing on the property appraiser site okay well then this is what I'll do um I
I I know the cost between So I tell you what I'll split this baby down the middle so it's about $600 difference right chair would like to make a motion to charge the individual $2,674 decimal
point.25 and I'm looking for a second got a second okay all right any discussion council Gins is your light on yep go ahead sir once we're done with our vote I would like to make a suggestion about Make your suggestion now man all right
so um we we just had a conversation about our um paint program and we are collecting revenue right now thank you dealing with code enforcement that that that those violations collected could be a part of that program and it and it
cannot okay not for that type of paint program no I don't believe it can be i'd have to check the code but I'm not sure you can use those funds for that it has to be Okay in that case can you check on that and just bring it back enforcement staff operations okay okay only reason I said
something about it because paint is also a lot of violation that we have too and maybe that that be a way we can help residents so right yeah man everybody need to step up their aame bottom line cuz I'm I don't want the city of Coco we don't want the city of Coco to be an
eyesore man and we're going we're getting around that curve or that edge we're going around the block we're enhancing our communities and all property owners should be held accountable even I because you know why just like y'all talk about Bristol Drive my front house got decimated you
remember they ran that light that car accident and my front property got waxed right and I fought tooth and nail it wasn't even my fault with my insurance company and I'm still fighting okay I'm preaching chair's going to call the question um you have my motion down
there madam clerk yes sir okay our chair is going to call the question all in favor by saying I i any nays nay that the record reflect we have one nay that is deputy mayor weeks okay that's number item all right now we're going to item
number seven the applicant uh Johnny Mr johnny and Miss Lily Dennis is requesting a reduction of the current code enforcement lean of 9,400 for the property located at
1235 Home Street be reduced to 2500 2025-292 i think they said 2002 ma'am did I say it wrong yeah on the 2025-292 yeah okay 22687
okay m Okay mrs nman ma'am uh yes Mr mayor this is for the address located at 1235 Home Street and staff is recommending that the code enforcement lean be addressed to city cost of
$2,268.77 the fine was held at the public the codeboard heat code board meeting at a public hearing on September 21st 2017 and the lean reduction request was made by the owners Johnny and Lily Dennis for
$2268.77 at the code enforcement board meeting on February 20th 2025 the the code board recommended a zero amount be imposed on the property located at 1235 Home Street the staff is recommending that you approve the current code
enforcement lean for the property located at 1235 Homes to be reduced to the city cost of $2,268.77 okay any questions for Mrs newton mr dennis sir or Mrs dennis ma'am who's
speaking please i will yes ma'am i don't have any questions would you please state your name for the record oh Lily Dennis okay help me understand something here um Mrs
nman help me understand you're saying staff stated one thing and the code board stated something else is that my correct interpretation that is your interpretation sir okay they have recommended a zero fine be
imposed on the property owner okay that's staff recommendation no sir that is the code board recommendation staff's recommendation is $2,268.77 is that the cover for um services um for the city services city staff cost yes
yes ma'am okay deputy Mayor Weeks ma'am uh yeah I was here for that one as well and they did recommend zero for this couple um after they heard uh briefly heard their story so they wanted Is that a motion ma'am yes i move that uh that
code uh violation be zero for this couple second we got a second by Councilman Hearn just going to call a question all in favor saying I i any nays i Okay you may be seated last item
applicant James Yoder is he in the audience is requesting a reduction of the current code enforcement lean of $117,550 for the property located on Belmont Drive be reduced to the city's
cost of $258716 mrs nudman ma'am but before we even get started on this one this went on for six years i'm just asking from 2018 to 2024 yes sir yes ma'am the floor is yours and
then I'm sure we will from the liaison thank you Mr mayor this address is located at 312 Belmont Drive and staff is recommending that the code enforcement lean be reduced to the city cost of $2587.16 at the code board meeting on February
20th 2025 the code board recommended a fine be imposed of $100 on the property staff is making the recommendation to go to city cost of $2,58716 we're available for questions sir okay ms deputy
Mayor Weeks yes sir sorry ma'am you got two yeah uh this particular uh this I guess he's not here uh this particular case um I believe it was the gentleman um uh just never had the money and then he inherited some money and was able to
fix up his house to finally bring it up to code and um which he did and uh so that's why they opted to ask him or reduced it to $100 because he said he always wanted to be able to fix it up he
just simply did not have the the means the financial means to do it and they showed pictures of before and after and it looks very nice now got a question and is he Mr y is not in this room right no sir okay my here's my
concern i'm I'm going to try to be fair and equitable across the board my only fear if we reduce his cost um James he turns around and sells the house he was quite elderly i don't think so
other than maybe to move to a home but he was very elderly okay he's Well he's lived there for a long time mr yoder has owned that house since 1975 okay what is your request ma'am what is I I move that we approve the
$100 fine for Mr yoder second i'll second it uh I'll second it okay all right we have a motion on the floor by deputy mayor week second by
chair it's for staff's recommendation right right no I think this is this was the code recommendation staff is to cover the call yeah and he was here mr young was just going to call the question all in favor saying I i
okay eyes have unanimously our last item for tonight for um under code number nine is that correct yes sir hello is that correct yes okay thank you the last one okay this is for the applicant realy
gyms KC LLC are you in the house yes sir you might as well make your way to this podium is requesting the reduction of the current code lean enforcement of $14,330 for the property located on 3645
Longbo Road be reduced to the amount of zero staff made a request for $100 they did Wait a minute i'm Did I miss it be reduced to the amount of on my paper says zero but I know here right here
right but I'm right here then staff made a code loan made a request that 3645 will be reduced to the cost of the city of $1546 decimal point.88 cent Mrs nudman thank you Mr
mayor uh this address is located at 3645 Longbo Road and the fines were imposed from May of 2023 to March of 2024 the lean reduction request by Kevin Martinez who is the new property owner is requesting a lean reduction to the cost
of $1,546.68 at the code board meeting of February 20th 2025 the code board recommended a fine of $100 staff is recommending the cost be reduced to $1,546.68 to cover staff cost leaison
may I hear from you then we'll hear from you young man um well again I heard this one as well u I I not sure exactly uh what so I'm glad he's here so he can explain exactly his
pro what happened um I did put that it was not this homeowner's problem but uh when the mayor says feel free to um Okay tell us kevin Martinez correct yes new property owner correct yes sir when did you inherit this well when did you
purchase this piece of property uh November 2020 um three so almost going on two years ago did you purchase it through a title company no you just reached in your help me
understand how you what was your process or your protocol yeah it was an investment property uh the property had burned down um it was my first investment property so I really did not have any experience on doing title uh search and um it's my understanding that
these properties as I are sold as is so there is really no title search um I was just trying to buy the property and as soon as I I I purchased it I did I got all the permits required and got it up to code as as fast as I could
are you planning on selling this property yes it's actually under contract right now mr wilkersonson sir yes sir enlighten me sir the code enforcement case was uh from the previous owner Victoria Tucker
she uh apparently uh fell asleep and lit the house on fire it was had no roof no windows in it previous owner uh the current owner now he is got a contract and uh I have actually spoken to the potential buyer
he's a retired military veteran that his uh family want to make coco at their home so the current value of this house is $103,830 yes sir courted property pays your tax rules yes sir and and Kevin is and the
the the the request or the city administrative cost staff administrative cost is $1,546.668 correct sir yes sir and you're going to sell this house for how much uh I think like 360 i'm just
I'm Here it is man i'm just cutting straight to the chase no like 360 but um I mean they I can you can't pay $1,5468 Kevin no I I sure can i mean if that's what you wish yeah i mean I I'm not making any profit on the profit you
dropped it to 100 again i could not remember that's why I said I'm glad he was here okay i just put it was not his i need to cover my administrative costs i ain't going to lie to you sir i'll make a motion i'll make a motion that we go with the recovering staff administration cost yes sir i'll second
it because I was getting ready to make that motion i'll second it okay okay that's fair all in favor saying I i any nays eyes have it thank you for your honesty thank you because we're going to be honest with you thank you sir thank
you sir y All right thank you very much look forwarding uh seeing you soon again my friend yes okay uh we're going to move forward Mr city manager long meeting yes but we did it city manager yes sir mr mayor we
have three reports tonight we have three reports go ahead sir uh I'm going to let police chief go first and then it'll be Mrs singer and then I have a short short report yeah Mr mayor mine is pretty quick so I just have two things so um tomorrow
April the 9th we're having our award ceremony to honor um all our police officers and civilian staff and volunteers for the great work they did in 2024 uh we have sunnies that's going to be uh providing the meals so we just
have our award ceremony we like for city council to attend if possible and it's going to be from uh 11 a.m till 100 p.m tomorrow at the police department the second thing is the we have our annual um chief's breakfast uh April 29th going
to be here at the civic center from 7:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m and uh you have the uh the flyers um up there at the podium at the the dis uh so we like for you to attend as well to that and and make the public aware so that we can uh in you
know raise money for our community is what we're looking at doing so those two things I have thank you yes sir thank you sir thank you sir who's your other one Mr city Manager sir
um I'm going to go next sir um ma'am so I just wanted to um thank everybody who came out and volunteered at our trash bash event this past weekend um I am proud to announce we actually already posted it because KBB posted it early
this year um we did win again um the city of Coco took the top prize with 303 volunteers uh collecting trash on Saturday and we collected 84,000 pounds of trash um so I just wanted to give a
big thank you um to Nadasha and the team at at Leisure Services for all of their hard work with that event um they did a fantastic job and also to public works and their staff for supporting they go around and and pick up the trash that um
the the volunteers collect um and they also were handing out free trees during our Arbor Day event uh which was also on Saturday so um thank you again to our leisure services staff and all the volunteers that came out great job once again city of Coco um there's nothing
like u cleanliness is next to what holiness uh godliness oh yeah okay yeah we all got it yeah yeah yeah yeah okay who's the third one Mr city Manager um I am doing this on behalf of Mrs jamani so
we are uh currently taking applications for our our summer youth uh internship we do that every year and we start uh the interns at $15 per hour uh applications are uh you can go online by
scanning the QR code the applications opened on March 1st and they are closing on April 25th and the employment uh would happen between June 9th and July 11th
fantastic summer youth that's it for us sir thank you once again thank you all uh city manager city attorney and staff for investing in our youth summer employment i too am a product of summer employment summer job uh we used to call it seed a long long long long long time
ago when I had hair but it was summer youth employment that's great that teaches character responsibility and accountability esquire Garganise no report okay all right may I go first please
um remind me make sure I hear from Councilwoman Call ladies and gentlemen you like the video first yes sir that'll be whatever you like sir where's Okay here I'm happy to say I'm um to my
your left the lady in green is um um she's the president of the Florida League of Mayors Mrs nancy Miller the lady to the right is uh Mayor Lois uh Pariski from Pon Inlet uh the Ms miller
to the left in green um is the mayor of North Daytona Beach Shores we were at Tallahassee where everyone was located at at this time and we're celebrating they're coming to the city of Cocoa i'm
happy to say for one of their mayoral meetings here and I look forward if staff and council could attend to they will secure the um civic center i um the date eludes me i think it's it may be uh
uh April the 25th i think it's 24th sir 24th okay i'm not positive but it it's either 24th or 25th yes ma'am so we're there at a location where they invested in in a hard a tough area a challenged
neighborhood at Tallahassee right down the street from and we've all passed up and down there and I'm happy to say we had a great turnout um for the first time 125 attendees attended the largest ever from the under our leadership as
presidency and the greatest turnout ever in the league's history on legislative day right out of us straight out of Coco happy to say us not I but us this is the mayor John Daly from Tallahassee phenomenal man he opened up our doors
where all council members were there i'm happy to say that that we're able to attend and we're at that facility just like revitalization you all know the impact of the CRAAS um this is the um icon statue of
our fallen firefighters who have lost their life on duty and I felt compelled to acknowledge all of our employees both police and fire but this is right there at the state capital this is myself taking a picture of
that great um statue there bronze statue this is uh myself at the National League of Florida League of Cities City Hall where we all are quite familiar this is our illustrious industrious CEO Mrs jeannie Gardner
quite naturally we had our dinner there at the seminal Florida State uh capitol but also Florida do s Campbell Stadium and um this is our staff myself our
first vice president Holly Smith from Santael second vice president Mark Franks from Shalomar Florida and you see Chief Oyola um this is our delegation here at
um Orange Beach Alabama we um under the National League of Cities the Southern Municipalities League pertaining from Alabama Texas Georgia the Carolinas both
North and South and Arkansas Kentucky and Mississippi um this is where we're at our conference and these are the members of our executive staff and myself and Mr
i believe you Mr beach i've got no [Music] audio it's all good brother um as you can see this is the video we are on um state capital meeting with our state legislators
this is a video from the 411 okay good morning Florida League of [Applause] We have a common cause a common goal and that is local voices making local
choices viva La so as municipal leaders we are directly connected to the people and we can bring the voice of the people to Tallahassee 125 firsttime attendees and the greatest number of participation from the 411
cities in the great state of Florida i am a newly elected council member so this gives me an opportunity to speak with other elected officials across the state we're just collaborating and learning from each other it's really empowering because you know often you're in your silo in your own
city with your own issues and then when you come to an event like this and you talk to other people and they say "Oh we're dealing with that same issue too." And then another one says "We're dealing with it and this is what we've done about it." So what we do is take that story from our citizens and present it to our state
legislators and it's important that we have that rapport that positive rapport with our state legislature so that they know the issues and concerns that affect us directly we were just meeting with representative who who said to us literally when we sat down teach me tell
me what's on your mind i want to hear what's going on with you it was great seeing the hallways maxed out the corridors populated with people who are concerned and are fighting for the citizens of their community so I'm extremely ecstatic and proud and it was
a great day a great day for the state of Florida and local officials so I'm happy to say we are uh we meaning the city of Coco um first ever for the Florida League of Cities but the second one from Bavar County mayor the great late mayor Larry Schultz
um did a phenomenal job he was the first mayor from our league the Space Coast League to be president of the Florida League of Cities so I'm happy to represent all 410 because I we represent our 411 our city itself but throughout
the entire state of Florida so kudos to all staff members to our city manager city attorney 400 plus employees of the great city of Koko and our council i thank you and I appreciate your support thank you very much okay so now I would
turn the That's okay okay um Councilman who's next councilwoman calls thank you sir okay councilman Goins you need the remote sir i don't
know robert robert you didn't get No she's there i mean uh the call's still active oh I don't know if she's on there but the call is still active she's sleeping are you there sleep okay go ahead Council she may come
back mr beach you didn't get mine correct all right uh so it's my fault i sent it at 520 so um so ju just kind of I want to let the the council know so you you you're probably going to uh see my face and or names um on a few things
which is uh one of the key things is McNair uh middle school and and so it came about where several principles um called me and teachers um about potential conversations
um regarding the consolidation of Ky and McNair Middle School and so u and I got wind of this maybe 3 weeks ago i didn't really say anything until this week we found out today that it was on the agenda now now granted it's just a conversation about different um
recommendations but I felt it was a need to allow the the citizens to to know exactly what is being discussed and and so um just to let you know that's what you'll see and so uh it's nothing nothing bad uh some people may make it
bad because um they don't like in a sense certain communities advocating for things inside of their community and so I will always try to fight as much as I possibly can to give information to um our citizens so um last night we had a a
awesome meeting over 100 people showed up at Zion Orthodox and let me say Zion Orthodox Primitus Baptist Church um and and and thank uh Suhan with the relationship of our city manager uh she contacted she showed up and gave a lot
of great information to um the people that just wanted to know and so again I I never told anybody that they were going to close it down but anytime and we know this being where we are when there's conversation there's potentially
a vote could be taking place in sometime in the near future could be one year could be two years but we got to make sure that our citizens are awake and understand what's going on so um again let's go back to the CRA conversation uh we have a lack of um citizens uh in the
Diamond Square area or MNET area some of those students the student population has gone down and so but I think with a lot of our um our building that is is coming into the city with downtown hopefully um Diamond Square area we have Michael C blake
subdivision uh is so many different citizens are coming to the city of Coco it is vital that they they know and want to go to school at schools like McNair Middle School so um I just want to let you know that and so the um Tallahassee
trip I mean great trip uh great job to our our our mayor president um one of the best um that I've been a part of and so I want to give a shout out also to Commissioner Diane Cox Bay from City of
Tallahassee and Dr kimell Thomas um they gave me a lot of information about some of the things revitalizing just like what the mayor was talking about and they broke down a lot of things that we could possibly do in the city of Coco i'm not prepared and I was not prepared this week to bring it but that's something I'll bring to the city manager
in the near future um so I wanted to give a shout out to them um and but pretty much that that's really all all I had i just want to you know just want to let y'all know that when you see channel 9 and other things you know sometimes they love stories right so my my my goal
uh was simply um to ignite the community and and I'm telling you we have shuck up a lot of conversation um some people don't like that some people don't like like when they get certain emails from certain individuals um but I believe
that it was it was just due and and the conversation I heard today at 1:00 PM at that workshop lets me further know that our community did a great job of getting information now some people feel like it was too early but a lot of times our
community shows up too late and so I just want let you guys know um and and you know what the situation is so that's right yeah I'm a firm believer uh like you alluded to um reaching out to the school board
members because we reached out to several of them the city manager and myself we've had conversations both with um Superintendent Randelle Dr mark Randelle and also COO um Rashad Wilson
uh my thing is to talk with our elected officials the school board members they're accessible they're easy pick up the phone and call them um and you can get go to straight to the horse's mouth like you said well you didn't use horse's mouth but go directly to the
person who will make that decision based on the vote because you're right knowledge is power and we should have the open line of communication three of the five are up for reelection or Yes so that's going to be a a voting block that means something yes indeed but you're
right cool heads always prevail so stay cool stay calm stay collective and make a well-informed decision because knowledge is power great job thank you very much no ma'am oh you know it's your turn okay
um obviously I've not I missed the last meeting i I hit the right button correct yes ma'am i'm so untenical i went wrong first okay uh I've been wanting to bring this um in conjunction with the uh Cocoa
Conservation Area when I talked about doing the pavers these are what our church did and you can see grass grows in between them and I thought that that would make a good uh good surface to put down when we get to that point and I was
hoping Oh let me show you up close there you can see a little better the grass grows in there and a wheelchair could roll across it or anything so they it works really well and that's what they what we did and ours to cover up the dirt um but I also wanted to see if we
had any update on that i know it was before the city attorney trying to figure out where our rightway is or something along that line i just have to put that report together okay but I have it I have the right attorney office
okay wonderful thank you i just wanted I've been wanting to show these because I I just thought that that would work well there and then uh I did a Saturn uh readin um and this was back in March uh and all that there were 16 ROC students
who also did the readin where we read uh for uh Black History Month and we all read books to um the students there and this was uh some of the group that was there in the library and we read uh books that were um and Lorraine was
there as well or Councilwoman CS uh but we read books either by African-American authors or about African-Americans and I I was paired up with a lovely young ROC student um and uh we read to a uh first
grade class and uh those kids had so many questions [Laughter] they were they were adorable anyway we had a great time we finally managed to get through the book because we had so many questions but that was well worth doing and then I represented you mayor
uh at the boot camp for success and did the welcome that morning and hear some of the students that were there and um that they had a huge lineup of speakers it was it was a really well attended event and kudos to the people who put it
on here you can see more there was a I can't remember the coach's name up front but um Huh yep yep that's where it was and so they had a full day of events including lunch they had had breakfast before this and
uh so they were very well engaged and then I did the police walk through Cocoa Village um and that was awesome uh uh because and I didn't take as many pictures as I should here i was trying to take a picture of some of the police
officers but we went into the businesses and talked with them about their issues uh you know homeless all those kind of things and they were so appreciative of the uh police chief and all the police
however the visitors to Cocoa Village thought there was a raid going on so anyway but it was it was really good and I'm so glad I attended that kudos to you Chief for doing that i mean I've you did the one in my neighborhood and then
I've attended this one but uh everybody I so appreciate your putting yourself out there like that so thank you to you and the police officers i said it was the safest place to be that day and then I got to attend when the governor uh was
announcing the new hund00 million for uh septic to sewer and water uh the Indian River Lagoon and it was I got told the night before I was invited there by the chamber uh but there was a lot of elected officials there and um and of course I thought of us with the septic
to sewer that this additional money I know I don't know what the timeline is on all of that i'm sure the city manager is working on on all of that but how are we coming on that process yeah so that was the announcing previous grant award
i don't even think that was the current fiscal year uh award amounts if they were um if they if it was then it for the fiscal year the state fiscal year that will close in June so the the
the Florida water quality grants will open up in July mhm um we applied for 319 grant that was leftover monies um and then that that will open up that
grant portal will open up also in July so everything opens up in July again I I will caution uh the neighborhood that and I'll send this out that normally the
funding occurs between 12 to 18 months after notice of award uhhuh so you open up in July maybe they award in October again what he's announcing here opened up last July and he's just now
announcing it in uh that was in March right late March yeah this was in late March this was down in Palm Bay he announced it sounded like they were doing 100 million more no no that that was that was what was opened up in July
um u this past July so So it's not more it's it's whatever the whatever the grant dollars that were available that again is being awarded um so it's not on top of anything that's out there again
the new the new cycle will open up in July um my I and again I because I'm new to all this I thought it was when he announced it that it was in the budget that they're in the process of doing that it's going to be in the next budget no that that's that was the announcement
of again the current fiscal year budget which for them started July 1 of uh 2024 okay I got you um so as far as so that's what's out there currently because I got all excited over it thinking we you know
there was going to be more which it sounds like you know it's obviously a priority for him yeah and there will be more there's another grant cycle of of dollars so they they've re they're they they will reappropriate in the fiscal year budget that they're working on the
upcoming fiscal year thank you and um and where are we at i mean again I I feel like I've been on on another planet but um are we anywhere with uh the I don't know what the process is as
far as uh RFP yeah the the the Well I'm glad we're talking about this so so remember we have to come back to you with the ordinance for the mandatory connection so the mandatory connection ordinance will come back to you in
probably May city attorney's been working on that uh staff has been reviewing that so that comes back in May and then some things can can fall into place so there's a mandatory connection ordinance there's an agreement with the
county that you have to sign for the funding there is the bid there's the permitting uh there are the grant applications and so I don't want anybody to think that this is going to happen overnight because again uh the grants the the
funding isn't provided to you until approximately 12 to 18 months after notice of award and so and so um I don't know when they got the notice of award for what he's announcing there but but it's a it's a a long drawn out process
with many questions that have to be answered um you know beginning with a mandatory ordinance in place uh and and like for instance the application that we submitted on on uh Monday of last
week asks that question you know do you have a mandatory ordinance in place and so and so it is a it is a process um again the the the permitting um I got chastised for for uh not answering the
question of the permitting well the permitting uh and I talked to Jack about this earlier tonight the permitting probably takes him 20 minutes to fill it out and he gets it back within a week but the permitting doesn't doesn't doesn't occur until concurrently with
either the bid is out on the street or just prior to getting the bid back well that's a that's a step down the line somewhere making sure that you're getting the grant applications in and that you know what funding you have in
hand prior to actually again putting it on the street and then doing the the uh the assessment for potential overruns i I know it's getting late i just I I'm trying to understand the process and I haven't had a chance to ask you that so
yeah no I just thought after seeing this I Again I was excited because I thought there was more money and so at some point you know it'd be good to hear all the steps that have to be done yeah and thank you and again I'm trying to we're trying to make sure that we know all the
steps that we're putting those all together i had another conversation today with uh with county staff about their approved plumbers list you know um so so there there's you know I mean
there a lot of steps in the process a lot of nuance to the process and and so the the best thing that uh Mr walsh and I could ask for is that ultimately when it comes back all the grants come in as they come in the project comes in at or
below budget and nobody has to to pay out of pocket there and so and so we're getting a lot of pressure we're getting a lot of pressure uh from uh uh certain individuals with regards to that uh but but again we're we're trying to make
sure that we're doing this thing um um cautiously and correctly okay i I appreciate that and uh like I said I just this triggered or hearing him triggered it so while I was going
through my slides uh the last couple of things I have um as y'all know my father-in-law passed uh March 19th and uh I wanted to share this he was a uh 33-year Army vet two terms in uh Vietnam
um blue or uh Purple Heart shot down um uh 88 years old and um this I think I sent this to you all uh that was him in his young days but uh he was very proud um Army vet and he got full military
honors he's buried in the National Cemetery in Buxy um with my mother-in-law and so I thank you all for excusing me while I was gone for this um and then of course my final thing is the district town hall which happens to be on the same day as your mayor thing um
which is uh April 24th and uh so I and I know we we're working on the agenda and stuff but um it's my first town hall and I'm holding it at the library from 6:00 to 7:30 um and I wanted to uh tell the chief I'm sorry I can't attend tomorrow
but I have three other things I'm supposed to attend tomorrow and one of them takes all day so I won't be able to be at your thing tomorrow um but uh anyway so I invite you all if if you have a chance to come i can't remember what time your mayor thing i think it's
during the day isn't it correct yep yep so but we'll get more details yep so anyway that's all I have uh I think that was it yep thank you all very much appreciate it mayor Mayor the 24th
oh yeah yeah go ahead ma'am i'm sorry i said no no i'm that that was all I had i want to thank you all okay um thank you very much buy local spend local keep it local thank you for investing in the great city of Coco chair entertains a motion to adjurnn move to adjurnn got a
motion on the floor by Deputy Mayor Weekes second second by Councilman Hearn go in peace all in favor saying I i i have unanimous