This is the regular city commission meeting. It is now 6 pm on Thursday, March 5th, 2026. I implore you, please, please turn off your cell phones. Thank you. If you would like to join us, Pastor Jay
Kokanau, Life Community Church will give the invocation and the pledge of allegian will be allegiance will be done by Commissioner George Aspott. Please join us by standing. Thank you. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this time that we have to come
to conduct city business. We pray, Father, that tonight that you would give each commissioner your wisdom and the mayor. Uh bless each person that's here, protect us. Father God, we just pray that everything would be done according to your will. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. >> Amen. >> Please join me in the pledge to our
right. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> We will officially call this meeting to
order. Christine, is there a quorum present and proper notice has been given? >> Yes, Mayor >> Tom, is there an agenda update? Uh, no, mayor. >> Okay. Then we'll go to approval of minutes for February 5th, 2026 and February 19th, 2026.
>> Move approval. >> Second. >> We have a first and second. Any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call, please. >> Commissioner Azotti. >> I. >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft. >> I. >> Commissioner Hawkins. >> I. >> Commissioner Holland. >> I. >> Mayor Lee. >> I.
>> We'll move to presentations. Tom, would you do that? >> Uh, yes. I'd like to ask Chief Capri to come to the front. >> Good evening. We have a chief chief award for senior detective Cody Wade who does a phenomenal job for us here. Up andr the
organization. Does a great job in multifacets. I am writing to recommend senior officer Wade for the chief's award in recognition of his exceptional contributions to our agency. Senior Officer Wade's dedication, initiative, and consistent effort go well beyond the
expectations of his position and directly support the mission and values of our department. Senior officer Wade has shown outstanding leadership and commitment by voluntarily voluntarily coordinating and scheduling training sessions to improve officer performance and preparedness. He restructured the IST training schedules to ensure
officers receive more consistent time of training throughout the year. He also makes certain that all training providers current relevant practice. In addition, he frequently provides hip pocket training during ship briefings even on his days off. His initiative has strengthened the overall capability
uh and professionalism of of our officers contributing to the safety and efficiency of our department. Senior officer Wade also took the initiative to assist Captain Fanning in establishing the AY's award committee to better recognize officers for their accomplishments. When Captain Fanning stepped away, Senior Officer Way assumed
leadership of the committee and continued moving forward. He developed ideas and helped awards banquet, other recognition programs, including the creation of officers rotation. He's also reached out to other agencies to research their recognition programs and recently proposed two additional awards
for consideration. His efforts have boosted morale and help foster a culture of appreciation within the aids. Senior Officer Wade consistently demonstrates integrity and accountability. He's not afraid to voice concerns when necessary and always advocates for fairness and continuous improvement. His actions reflect a strong commitment to the
success of the agency and the wellbeing of his fellow officers. Given his exceptional contributions on the waiver dedication, I believe senior officer way. Thank you, SIR. I think she got one of me. Okay.
>> And if it's okay, I'd like to ask uh Commissioner Hawkins to introduce Powerhouse Youth Project. >> Uh thank you, Tom. Uh over the course of the last couple of years, I've had the opportunity to uh to to listen to
uh uh our next speaker uh who uh oversees Powerhouse Youth Project. Uh he has he goes into our schools. uh he connects with our kids and the outcome
is amazing. Um I asked him to come in and and do a presentation because I don't think enough people know what he does. Uh and I think with us having uh access to the uh being available on the uh on the internet, I think it would
be perfect opportunity for him to get his message out. So uh please Scott Chevier, please come forward, please. either one. >> Okay. >> Well, thank you, Willie, for an opportunity. Thank you, mayor, for letting me be here. Thank you, city of
Eustace, for letting Powerhouse be here tonight. I don't know who's running the slides tonight. Uh, but if you can go ahead and put up the first slide, I'll go as quickly as I can through this little brief introduction of who Powerhouse is. Uh, Powerhouse Youth Project is not a new organization. It started 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee.
It's been in the state of Florida 9 years. Five years in Lake County. We're currently in five Lake County high schools soon to be in the middle school campuses as well. Um, are there any slides we can show? >> Did you send them over to someone?
>> I'm not sure who >> uh did you get them, Christine? >> I can do without it. It's fine. So, uh, you'll have to believe me when I show you, but I I I had some pictures I wanted to show you because I want to show you what hope looks like tonight. I believe there are two things our high
school students, our middle school students need more than anything else, and that is hope and opportunity. Those are things that have been lost since co. And our students are wandering around our campuses, disengaged from education, asking each other why. Why are they in
the classroom? And that's why we have such an issue with dropouts, with grades, with actually career placement after high school. I want to give you a few statistics so you understand just how big this issue is, not just in Lake County, but across our country. Less
than 30% of high school students across our nation believe they're adequately prepared for life after high school. Let that sink in for just a second. 63% of students who graduate our high schools across this country never
accomplish what they said they were going to do when they walked across that platform. There's a reason for that. I say it all the time and I want you to hear it tonight loudly. Our students need direction beyond the diploma. They need to understand when they walk off a high
school platform, they have a plan in mind of what they're going to accomplish in life. And so when powerhouse comes into a classroom, we start with that concept. We don't come in and leave a class leave a school. We actually have a class room on every campus that we
participate in. And the reason we do that, we believe atmosphere plays a role in this because students come to be tested and to have a grade. We're not interested in a grade. We're not interested in a test. We're interested in prepare preparation for life to help
them understand what skills they need to move past where they are to become the best version of who they are in life after high school. You might notice I just said the best version of who they are because students come into our classrooms not knowing who they are.
Tonight, if I ask you to pull out your car keys, I'll grab mine cuz it's real simple. And I asked you what this is for. Could everyone shout out for me what this does? >> Thank you. It starts your car. If I grab my phone in my back pocket and I say, "What does this do? What do we do with this every day?"
>> Everything. Communicate, Google, whatever we want. We can have this because it's a communication device. But if I ask you, what is your purpose? Rooms get very quiet. We know what our keys are for, our phones are for, our books are for, but we don't know what
our lives are for. And students need to understand that they may have nothing to say about where they were born, when they were born, how they were born, but they have a lot to say about why they were born. And so Powerhouse engages these students over 17 weeks on a
campus. We begin with what we call boot camp, taking them through a new mindset, understanding goals and objectives, getting past excuses. Everyone has one. Doesn't matter where you live, we all have a story. How do you move past that story? If I had a picture here tonight, I almost brought some hard copies in.
Should have went to my truck and got them for everybody in the room because I want to show you what hope looks like. Her name was Zoe. She was 16 years old. Came into Leburg High School, sat in a powerhouse classroom. And if I showed you her face on the screen, that's what I have to look at every day. Our trainers do. We go into a classroom
totally disengaged, looking away out the window, finding out halfway through the semester that Zoe was also a 16-year-old who was pregnant. She finally got the courage to stand up in a powerhouse room and said,"I want to be the first person in my family to graduate high school. What a great
goal." I remember saying to her that day, "I will drag you across the platform myself, but more importantly, I want to know what you're going to do with your life." If I showed you the before picture and the after picture of Zoe, you would swear they're two different people because she did graduate from high school with a smile
from ear to ear. But more importantly, she had a plan for what her life was going to be in the next few weeks. I'm going to end with just one illustration, and it's a magazine. If you've never seen Style Magazine, most of you have it now in front of you. I'm also the Sports Hub podcast for Style Magazine. I get to
interview coaches like your coach for Eustace High School, who just came into the to the the area to be your new high school football coach. In doing so, I get to meet athletic directors like those at Lake Sumpter State College. And what I hear from coaches over and over again is this undying attitude of we
need to prepare people, not just winners. We have to get to the person and develop the person, not just the player. And that's how they find their secret to winning. The reason I bring that up is this month in Style Magazine, if you want to know what powerhouse is all
about, there is a two-page spread, page 64 and 65, should be out on Thursday of this week. It's a young man by the name of Josiah. Josiah came into Powerhouse 15 years of age, wandering aimlessly like many high
school students are today, ready to drop out, ready to give up. Why? Because his circumstances said he should. He had a mom who was an alcoholic. He had a father who was not present. He had three siblings under the age of 10 who were hungry. When mom passed out on the bed,
they looked to Josiah, 15-year-old young man, to say, "Can you help me?" Now, I don't know how we expect a 15-year-old man who has to deal with all those situations. I'll be 60 this year. If I had to deal with that at 15 years of age, I'm not sure I could focus on algebra.
I would be thinking about where am I going to get my next meal for my kids, my my siblings. Josiah came into a session called No Excuses where we literally have students write down whatever their excuses in life and flush it in a toilet. We have a powerhouse toilet that we put in our classroom. You
should come see it sometime because we don't believe anyone should use an excuse for where they need to go. And that young man took his and threw it in there. I don't know what he wrote down, but I know he made a commitment that day that he was going to move beyond it. Let me tell you what page 64 and 65 talk about in Josiah. Josiah stood up in a
classroom. He said, 'I want to own my own mobile car detail business. Sitting beside Josiah was his mentor. His name is Dolan White. He owns the largest pressure washing business in Lake County. He looked at Josiah and said, "Are you serious?" Josiah said, "Yes, I
am." He said, "Then you go home and you show me everything that you would do in this business, what equipment you need, how you would market it, what your sales would be." He basically said, "Give me a business plan." Can I talk about passion, purpose, and profit? This young man went home, put everything in a binder, brought it back the next powerhouse session, laid it out before
this young man, and everything there for his business was laid out in in color and in ink. We were able to put on social media what his need was to launch this business. He launched his business two years ago, living in a ghetto in Leburg where we
dropped off every piece of the equipment he needed to change his life. He is now on page 64 and 65 because this young man has developed a work ethic. He has learned to kill it in business to go out there with customers to shake their hands to smile at them to give them what
they need because he has confidence in himself and he has direction for his future. Powerhouse is about reaching young people and I believe every young person needs it. Can I tell you in closing these three things? Powerhouse believes this. There's not a young person I've ever met, not an adult I've ever met
that doesn't have these two things. A passion and a purpose. Every high school student you have at Eustace High School has those two things. But they also have this need. Every person who has those two things will never accomplish those things by themselves. We all need
somebody to achieve it. Everyone in this room, every council member and the mayor, all of us had somebody in our lives who supported us to get you where you are. Unfortunately, these young people don't. Most of them are raising themselves and they watch screens on Tik
Tok and YouTube and Instagram and they find their value system and what next day life will be like for them. We believe those two things are true. But I also believe what Truick Cathy said. Anybody like Chick-fil-A? You you can be brave and say we all do.
Truett Kathy said this when he started Chick-fil-A and I I'll end with this. He said, "You need to understand it is easier to build boys and girls than to mend men and women." That's what Powerhouse is about, giving
students hope and opportunity for their future. Thank you, GUYS. Thank you, Scott. Now, we'll move to audience to be heard. If you have comments this evening, please obtain a card from the city clerk. And as you
approach the podium, please speak directly into the mic. State your name and whether or not you are a city resident. And keep in mind that the commissioners may not respond, but they will be direct, but the staff will be directed to get back to you. And most
importantly, remember you have three minutes. Thank you. >> Yes. Uh, I have a card from Marie Alberti. >> Good evening, Commission. >> Mayor Lee, Vice Mayor Ashcraft,
Commissioners Holland, Espati, and Hawkins. And this also goes to the whole city staff. On behalf of the chamber and our business community, I want to take a moment to say thank you for your incredible work and bringing the 124th
annual Georgefest to life for our community. Georgefest is more than just a festival. It is a tradition that reflects the heart and history of our city. It takes months of planning, coordination, dedication. It simply could not happen, would not happen
without the commitment of the city commission and the many departments who work tirelessly behind the scenes. The Lake Eustace Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the following GeorgeFest events. the energy of the George Fest parade to the carnival to
Little Miss Eustus pageant, the Chile and Wings cookoff, the George Fest breakfast, the table and window decorating contests, the children's bike parade, the crowning of the George Fest king and queen, the ring drawing, and the always
popular there we go always popular beverage tent in Fairen Park. Each event helped create a celebration that brought our community together. We also want to recognize the city team from the department directors,
the EPD, the EFD, the ground and maintenance crews that help create and promote our city heritage with this amazing annual event. the preparation and execution, the many family activities in Fairen Park, and the outstanding entertainment, including
four incredible headliner acts along with talented performers across our downtown venues created a spec spectacular of sight and sound. These experiences create memories for families, attract visitors, and showcase
the spirit of Eustace. Most importantly, what makes George Fest special is the passion behind it. The shared commitment to preserving a tradition that has now continued for 124 years. That that kind
of legacy only happens when a community works together. So tonight, on behalf of the chamber, our businesses, and our residents, we simply want to say thank you. Thank you for your leadership, your partnership, and your dedication to keeping GeorgeFest a proud proud
tradition for generations to come. We are grateful to work alongside you in serving and celebrating this wonderful community. Thank you. >> Thank you for what you do, Marie. >> Thank you, Marie. >> Me, too.
>> Brian Broomfield. Good evening, commissioners. Brian Broomfield, and I'm a city resident. When I was growing up, you know, for as far back as I can remember, if somebody did something nice for me, my mother
would say, "What do you say?" And I knew it meant to say, "You better say thank you, son." So tonight, I'm here to give out a couple thank yous. And first I want to commend and I and I wrote down this is
you know I'm representing myself my church and my community but I want to recommend I I want I want to commend uh Chief Capri and and and and the Eustus Police Department for what they stopped
during the heritage festival. They stopped a young man, you know, that was carrying a weapon, fully loaded, and it could have been complete disaster. I want to thank the police uh department
for the fine work that they did. Not only, you know, stopping him, but um also giving this young man a an opportunity to learn from the the the
terrible thing that he could have done. I also want to thank the person or persons that called in the tip. I think it's important to note that when we see something going wrong, we need to say
something. So, I want to just publicly make that uh thank you to them. And the next one is I want to thank Commissioner Hawkins and the Heritage um uh committee
for recognizing uh some people in our community that go unnoticed or when they are noticed. it's for uh you know not the best um walk
for in our community. So thank you very much for your work, your dedication and what you've done and recognizing making us aware that even the least of us contribute to this community in this
city. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. Um, I have one more card for the time of the item. So, that's it for cards. >> Okay. And we'll move on to the consent agenda. >> Madam Mayor, >> anyone else? Anyone else? >> Anyone else
>> who would like to say something? This your opportunity. >> Okay. Seeing none, we'll move to the consent agenda. >> Madame Mayor, I move approval of the consent agenda. >> Second. >> Okay.
Moved and second. Roll call, please. >> Commissioner Aspotti, >> I. >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft, >> I. >> Commissioner Hawkins, >> hi. >> Commissioner Holland, >> I. >> Mayor Lee, >> I. >> Ordinances and public hearings. Tom, you
do it over. >> Okay. >> Yes. Thank you. First we have resolution number 2026-24 a resolution of the city commission of the city of Eustace Florida granting approval of a variance to the city of Eustace land development regulations
section 110-5.7 to allow for a 6-foot barbwire fence at 2044 East Orange Avenue alternate key 1792941. Mr. Wilks. >> Good evening commissioners, Mayor Kai Wils Development Services. Uh, as Sasha
just said, this is resolution 2026-24, a variance after the fact request for land development regulations section 110-5.7. The subject property in question is 2044 East Orange Avenue. The applicant is Andrew Patton for Florida Binsness LLC.
Uh, the future land use is mixed commercial residential in a suburban corridor design district. The lot type is commercial. Um the request the applicant is states states that the fence uh contractor which he had hired
assured him that a barbwire fence at 6 ft in height would be permitted as other properties in the area which I'll show you in a minute um have barbwire fences including the city cemetery. The applicant has was cited then by code enforcement after the barbwire fence was
installed and is coming to seek remedy this evening. This shows the aerial and the location of the subject property here on or at the corner of East Range Avenue and Ohio Boulevard. Again, it's mixed commercial residential
with commercial lot type in the suburban corridor design district. Now, barb barbed wire fences are permitted and associated with the following bonafide agricultural uses, conservation land use districts, and general industrial land use districts a top six feet or taller.
This shows the request. The applicant has already installed this fence. Showing the sixoot barbwire fence with the front uh the front panels of the fence or the front front sections of the fence, excuse me, uh having black vinyl
or black uh cloth covering screening the rear. But this shows the side along Ohio Boulevard with the six foot barbwire fence with open facing. This was public publicly notified and advertised as well as sent out and sign
was posted. Um the staff did review this application based on the findings of fact. Um there are barb wires present are barbwire fences already present in the area. Um two fences uh to along Ohio Boulevard as
well as the city cemetery. Uh we believe that there will be no uh hardship or uh or excuse me no hardship or uh negative benefit negative benefits or oh gosh excuse me no negative
adversarial effect effects of on the community. Uh it should not impact public health safety or welfare. Uh it is the minimum allowed to remedy the situation. the applicant um is requesting only a sixoot fence which is the maximum in that
district as well as that barb wire which may exceed a little bit of that six foot uh which is why in the ordinance or the resolution excuse me it does say as type as well as height. So staff recommends approval of this request. Uh we do find that it meets the
findings of fact for the variance request and we are available for any questions. >> Any questions from the commission for staff? Did you um I did you um receive any objections to any neighbors, any other businesses? >> We did not, Commissioner. No.
>> Okay. Thanks. >> Just for the purpose of Go ahead. Are we in the discussion or >> Yes. >> Okay. Yeah. Just for the purpose of uh transparency, I uh I I own the property to the west of there. Uh the the residence that uh is directly to the
west. Um, I'm familiar with that property and and what it has around there and I'm not a fan of Bob Wire Fence, but I think it fits. I think it's I think it's okay. Um, I think the guy acted in good faith. He got misled
somewhat, but uh uh I'm in favor of granting a variance and a neighbor. >> Anything further? >> I noticed across the street that's the same situation. >> Correct. Yes. But that wasn't mentioned >> that. Well, yes, I apologize for that.
There are other fences in the area as I included across the street along Ohio Boulevard further down uh the street there are barbbor fences as well as the city cemetery to the west. >> So with the business across the street also have to request for variance or
there's no problem with them having or maybe they already have. I don't know. >> I would have to check to check into that situation. I don't know. It may be in the county. Uh there are some properties in the county that >> I think they're in the county. >> In the county. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. That is an odd little situation
there because they're the brown trash cans and then right across the street there's a city trash can and they're in the same neighborhood, same area. So I understand. Okay. >> And the fences are on the side the bobwire. I mean so it looks
>> I'm sorry. Did you have some please? >> I I I did. I just wanted to ask a question of Kyle. Um this um this would allow what was built and is existing. This does not allow any additional >> That is correct. That's a great cl. Yes,
it would just allow what is existing there that the applicant had installed um >> with poor guidance or judgment from the fence contractor. >> So this would not allow any additional fencing or additional barb wire. It's just making legal what's already there. >> What's already there? Correct. >> Or if something happened to that one, it
would not be allowed to be reinstated. >> Well, no. I think with your approval, I think if if some is damaged, they could replace it because of this approval. >> Okay. >> And that some of the other properties may also have been grandfathered in. If they're if they're in the city and they
were constructed before a certain date, there's a certain level of grandfathering that allows that. >> Okay. Any other questions? >> Any questions from commission? Okay. Um, do we have anyone in the audience that would like to comment on this resolution?
>> I do have a card from uh Russell Patton representing Andrew Patton. I don't know if you're interested in speaking. >> I would defer to speak because everything I've heard is positive. >> All right. So, you're waving speaking tonight. Is there anyone else that would
like to speak on this item? >> I'm just curious as to why >> you would have sir. um you would have to come up. Please state your name and if you're a resident of the city. >> And you'll have three minutes. >> Hi. Yes. My name is Timothy Wayne. I am
a resident of Eustace. Uh my question would be the importance of the bob wire and why it should be allowed now. And as you said or he said, it's only on the sides. So I'm trying to figure out because I know that some bob wire could be considered booby trapping especially
nowadays and when he referenced the other properties like you said they might have been grandfathered in. They might be having agriculture protection protecting livestock. They could be protecting anything. It could be like you said in the county so the county is allowed to do that. So there's so many
questions. I just think bob wire is tacky and tacky looking if it's not serving a proper purpose to protect anything of value. So, >> well, thank you for your comments. I don't know if uh Tom or you want to have staff respond to that. >> Well, I don't It may be appropriate to
ask uh Mr. Patton if if he could talk a little bit about the necessity of the barb wire. >> It wasn't meant for you not to speak tonight, Mr. Patton. >> I do not like to do public speaking. My name is Russell Patton. I live in the
county. My son Andrew owns that building at 2044. 2044. Is that the address? East Orange. >> Yep. >> And he went down to the uh to the city to get a permit. They told
him nothing was necessary. And he hired our good friend from Little League days, Rembrandt Gray, who went down to the city to get a permit and they told him none was necessary. and uh and and my my son
moved forward to get this fencing because immediately after he bought the building, someone tried to break into it. This building's been there since the 90s, probably earlier than that. I think Keith Shamrock once owned that building
and was the uh occupant >> big time real uh realtor and builder. Leslie Campion's father. I'm dropping
>> I'm dropping references here. But uh the building to the east immediately right across that Ohio is a a tile business with a warehousike
warehouse like uh building with an ugly similar fence. been there for years. His grandfather did. The building immediately behind my son's place is a nice looking facility with
trucks and a warehouse that is in way better looking. And my son's place the he improved the look of the building immensely by paint and due care because that's what he does. And uh
the the uh fencing to the to the west side is I think city property. The >> cemetery. Yeah, >> the cemetery. And that's an ugly fence. It's ugly. And my son's fence is >> beautiful.
>> That's the best I can say. I just think it's just open and shut. And I was so pleased to hear what was presented at the front end. >> Thank you, Miss Prattton. >> Thank you. >> Would anyone else like to speak on this resolution?
>> Okay, seeing none, I'm going to close the public input component and I'll give it back to you, Madame Mayor, for a discussion or a vote. >> Madam Mayor, I move approval of resolution 2026-24. >> Second. >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Commissioner Husb,
>> I. >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft, >> I. >> Commissioner Hawkins, >> I. >> Commissioner Holland, >> I. Mayor Lee >> I next we have resolution 2026-27 a resolution by the city commission of the city of Eustace Lake County Florida
approving the employment agreement between the city of Eustace and Rick Earic as set forth in exhibit A will you be presenting on this Tom or >> I very very briefly uh there have been several iterations of this before you I
think commission uh is familiar uh with the terms and so I'm available for questions. Uh Mr. Garrick's here for questions. Uh if anyone has any. >> Anyone has any questions? >> Questions? >> Madame Mayor, I would move for approval
of >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Just a moment. Yeah, I have to ask for public input. >> Okay. >> Um All right. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to comment on this uh resolution 2026-27? Mr. Garrick, is there anything you'd like to bring up prior to the
commission's consideration? >> No, I I'm good with everything and if you all have any questions, I'll do my best to address them, but I'm excited and looking forward to getting this going. >> Thank you. Seeing no additional public
input, we will close that portion of the hearing. Is there um and back to you, Madame Mayor, for discussion or vote? >> George. >> George. No. >> Madame Mayor, I'd like uh approval. resol of resolution 2026-27
for inim city manager from Mr. Second >> roll call, please. >> Commissioner Asati, >> hi. >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft, >> hi. >> Commissioner Hawkins, >> hi. >> Commissioner Holland, >> hi. >> Mayor Lee, >> I >> thank you, Rick.
>> Congratulations. >> Right. Next, we have resolution. Oh, go ahead. >> I'm sorry. Just very briefly, um I will be in the office uh through next Friday. I will be present uh working through some items um filing, cleaning, wrapping
up some projects. But what I would like to ask is uh is it okay with the city commission if we make Rick acting city manager uh this evening uh so as to avoid any confusion with staff over the next week, uh it's clear that if if
staff needs an approval, a signature, uh they'll be going to Rick for the next week as opposed to both of us kind of functioning. And so again, I'll be present. I will be here for the next week, but I really think it would avoid confusion if you were to allow Rick to
serve as acting city manager uh beginning this evening. >> Good. >> Me, too. >> Me, too. >> I'm good. >> Okay. Thank you. >> So, that's effective at the end of this meeting >> or you move it now? >> I would say effective this evening. At the end of this
meeting. >> Okay. >> All right. If anything goes down tonight, Rick's taking care. All right, we have resolution number 2026-30, a resolution of the city commission of the city of Eustace, Florida, approving and author authorizing the execution of
a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of real property located at 21 North Grove Street, finding a valid public purpose, authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute the agreement, providing for implementation, and providing for an effective date. Uh, are
you presenting on this one, Tom? I I do have a brief presentation on this one. Um so this is a result of discussion from uh the last city commission meeting. Uh we've uh as staff uh we've moved pretty quick on this uh as far as
real estate deals go. Uh this moved pretty quickly. Um we uh were able to uh sit down and talk with uh Mr. Warren, the current owner. Uh come to terms pretty quickly. his representatives were able to put a purchase agreement
together uh pretty quickly using uh previous agreements as a template. Uh the city attorney was able to turn around her review pretty quickly and we were able to get this on the agenda. So the key terms are uh we have a negotiated purchase price of $1,400,000.
Um we are moving forward pretty quickly on the uh due diligence. Um, I'm sorry, backing up. Um, we will have a um 5% deposit or $70,000 deposit. Uh, the uh
due diligence in inspection period will be 45 days with one 30-day extension if needed. Uh 90 days uh to close. Um, we do have uh the ability based on due diligence to terminate the contract. um
we will be using the uh sellers uh closing agent. Uh and then there are some legal terms in there about not waving sovereign immunity and um everything is subject to public record. Um and so uh we are recommending uh
moving forward. Uh we do we are required to get two MAI appraisals. Um the seller already had an MAI appraisal done. Uh we talked to the city attorney. There may be uh some items we'll need to do. We
may have to contact the uh appraiser. Uh but we think it's possible for us to use the already done MAI appraisal from January. Uh so we would only have to go out and get one additional MAI appraisal. Uh but uh staff is
recommending moving forward. Uh it makes a lot of sense as far as um uh it frees up some space here in city hall. We're busting at the seams. uh we need additional office space uh and this building uh provides that in close proximity. So it makes a lot of sense
and we're recommending approval. >> Yeah. Just to clarify for the um Mi appraisal that the seller already has since it was commissioned by the seller. What we would need is a letter basically from the appraiser just saying that the city can also authorize it that it's not
changing the appraisal value that there's you know it's the still valid for purposes of um your consideration and then it would come back to you for you to accept it. So it would so it would satisfy one of the two that we have to do. >> Would that include him certifying it to
us? >> I'm sorry. >> Would he then certify it to us? >> It would be certainly yes. Guaranteed that the city can rely on it as well. That was a conclusion that I shared with Tom. Um, but it would come back to you guys and you would have to accept it formally by resolution.
Any questions um for Tom on the contract? >> I know the mayor asked me to to help with that and we um I was really impressed with the with the staff and and everybody put together. Everybody was there from the building. Uh Rob was
there quite extensively, our building official, obviously. Rick, um the fire department did some testing with their radios. I mean, they really covered everything. And we looked at that building. That building is solid concrete. It's a bunker. That thing will
outlive all of us and our grandkids. Um I think the oldest building we have, Mike, is what in town? And it'sund >> the iron block. >> Iron block, which would beundred and almost 40 years. >> Yes. And this this would uh would keep up with it. It's across street. It's on our gateway. And really the best part of
it is the two parking lots. We have two parking lots behind it that we're getting that nobody's really paying attention to on Orange Avenue. Those things are worth a fortune by themselves. So I'm I I was thrilled by and I was happy that u this opportunity
came up when the other opportunity was on the fence. And I think we're blessed that we somehow some great power led us in that direction. But it's a beautiful building and I think we all should be proud to put it into our city. Give the staff some breathing room and uh it's a
good day. It's a good day. Anything further from the commission question wise? Do we have anyone in the audience that would like to speak on this resolution? Okay. I'm seeing none. I will close the public input portion of uh the resolution. Madame Mayor, back to you for discussion or vote. Madame Mayor, I
move approval of resolution 2026-30. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Commissioner Asody. >> I. >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft. >> Hi. >> Commissioner Hawkins. >> Hi. >> Commissioner Holland. >> Hi. >> Mayor Lee. >> I.
>> For second reading, we have ordinance number 2026-05. An ordinance of the city of Eustace, Lake County, Florida, approving a conditional sign permit for the existing freestanding sign located at the Burger King restaurant at 1909 State Road 19
North, allowing for a maximum height of 42 ft and an 89 square f foot sign cabinet, authorizing the city commission to establish conditions of approval at adoption, including but not limited to beautifification or maintenance commitments, providing for conflicts,
providing for severability, and providing for an effective date. This is second reading. We had first reading and presentation at the February 19th city commission meeting. Will there be anything additional this evening, Mr. Lane? Okay. Um, does staff have staff, I'm
sorry. Does the city commission have any questions for staff on this particular item? Okay. I see none. Would any >> That's great. >> Yeah. >> I love how we took something that was kind of negative and made it into something awesome. So, I like the way
the commission thinks most of the time. >> Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak on ordinance 2026-05? >> All right, I'm seeing none and I will close the public input portion. Madame Mayor, back to you for discussion or vote. >> Mayor, I move approval of ordinance
number 2026-05. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Commissioner Asody. Hi, >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft. >> Hi, >> Commissioner Hawkins. >> Hi, >> Commissioner Holland. >> Hi, >> Mayor Lee. >> I.
>> Now for first reading, we have ordinance number 2026-12. An ordinance of the city commission of the city of Eustace, Florida, amending the previously approved conditional use permit, CUP, for the Orlando Health Eustace campus located at 15719 US
Highway 441 to allow additional building mounted emergency identification signs, providing for conditions, providing for conflicts, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date. Mr. Lane, >> good evening. Mike Lane, development services. Uh you guys have seen this
presentation before. I'm going to run through it real quickly, but the u the previous discussion back in August did not include the the two proposed signs that they now feel like they need to have. So, real quickly, we we all know
where this one's located. It's a Dillard 441. Uh just as an aside, uh the 441 traffic count right there is at 50,500 a day, which is really impressive. Um obviously it we're looking at suburban corridor design district. It's
actually a a general commercial property. The applicant is requesting two new emergency ID signs. Uh here's the campus. One of the things that we haven't shown on on the the campus here is their their phase two. I mean, they
have talked about an additional building on the west side close to the the storm water pond. Uh and uh of course, uh as a true campus, they're really they really will need wayfinding signs. So, the the wayfinding signs that were previously approved are obviously going to be more
important once that that second building comes online. So, this was one that you saw last time. This is the one that has all the way finding signs and and we're going to basically um move toward the the the building that actually is currently under construction right now. 11,000
foot emergency room. You may note in red there's two little dots that are there. These are are really one sign, but they really have they they share the same cabinet, but they're really two faces. That's really what they're requesting here. And this is is really kind of what it's
going to look like. It's it's it's really a rooftop sign and our code really doesn't allow rooftop signs but in this case these guys are requesting that because of >> you know why right there's two other ERs along the same road. >> Yeah
>> that's okay. >> Yeah they they want to stand out so and actually they've talked about making sure that the red the sign will be red so that the ER is is very noticeable. So again, we we looked at that at the findings or or the actual uh code uh
portions that that talk about what uh special conditions allow and we talk about, you know, special conditions, circumstances. I mean, in this case, it is a medical campus. Uh so we recognize it is a special circumstance. As far as special privileges in this case, because
of of uh of the circumstance, there is no special privilege that that's there for this particular sign. And uh as far as being compatible with the environment, yeah, with the uh the actual way finding signs, it really should be pretty compatible with that.
So, at this point, we recommend approval for this. So, >> okay. >> I I mean, I don't know. I think it actually that that's a that's a marketing thing that they're doing right now and UF and HCA they didn't they didn't get the same benefits so why
should they? >> Well again uh as far as staff is is concerned I mean we we don't really see that it's any you know in in some communities the the actual uh emergency rooms are are really kind of grandfathered in when it comes to signage. Uh but here we're not. I mean,
we they >> And isn't isn't there isn't that a height requirement as well if it's on top of the roof? >> Well, yes. I mean, the the code the way it it reads, it says no uh rooftop signs. So, in this in this case, yes, it
would be a rooftop sign as you can see. I mean, that that's definitely on top of the roof that's there. >> So, it's highly visible. >> Why not? But why not just put it on the side of the building >> at this point? You know, we we did have discussions with them. I mean,
obviously, this is something that they they they want to to seek a approval from the commission forward. I mean, we did explain that you're opening uh this whole issue back up and they were adamant that they wanted to go this route.
>> So, not taking any signs away? >> No, sir. >> Okay. Is there an alternative to putting it on the roof? >> Well, that's really what they're doing now is is they're they're seeking so that it will basically stand out above
the the roof line itself. So, it will be highly visible from the roadways, you know, in all directions. >> Sorry, Willie. Go ahead. >> And a monument sign wouldn't do the same thing. >> Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously in in the the
the previous >> approval, I mean, they did have plenty of of signage that was there and it was visible from the roadways. So, >> did this replace anything else? >> No, sir. This is >> So, this is an addition. I thought I
heard you say it, but I missed that. I don't I don't know. I don't really like that. I'm sorry. I don't >> Yeah. And why didn't And honestly, Yeah. Um, my question is why didn't they >> I mean they knew what the building was going to be like. Why not why not ask for this when they came the first time?
>> People fight people fighting in municipalities to try to keep signages down to monuments and stuff. >> Well, >> and they got enough signs on there. I don't I got a little bit of a heartache with it. >> It's marketing. I can tell you that.
That's all it is right now. and and and UF and HC didn't get the same benefits. So why should Orlando help? >> They didn't ask for it. >> Well, they could have come here and asked for it. I think that's a good point that Commissioner Holland made, but my angle
on it is that it it it doesn't match the new look that signs and signed ordinances have, which are more the monument and everything. This is who's going to who can do the next biggest sign. So, the next guy is going to go higher and higher and higher. So, yeah,
I'm not >> I feel like we're setting a precedent. >> Yeah, I'm not in favor of it, but I'm just telling everybody what I think. >> Any additional questions from for staff? Do we have the applicant here today? >> I don't know.
>> Looks like we do. Um, all right. We'll hear from you first. Um, I'll open it up to the public, sir. And then if they have um if we have comments, then I'll have you come back uh if you want to address those and address any. There's no questions for commission. >> Sure. >> So, if you can state your name. Andrew
Macau with GI Consultants here representing um Orlando Health for this project. So um if you could put the uh image back up on the screen. So uh the the the
feature that you see sticking up above the roof line of the building is actually an integral part of the building. So it is a it's a structure. It's not a signed cabinet. So it is part of the part of the actual structure of the building. And um Orlando Health has
been since the last time we were here for the overall uh campus wayfinding plan. Um Orlando Health has been implementing this change on all of their ERS AC uh across their entire system. Most of their ERS have that kind of
architectural uh feature at the entrance. And so the the purpose of that sign is actually to guide someone to the physical entrance of the building which as you see is there on the corner. So it's it's not
actually a cabinet that was stated previously. It's actually two signs on each face of this architectural feature that is integral to the building. So the the sign the uh the uh this architecture feature I think it's usually it's just
kind of concrete gray to blend in with the rest of the of the surfaces of the building. But in this case and in other ers across their system they are painting them red so that they stand out more from a distance. And so the whole purpose of this uh sign idea is so that
it will stand out the entrance from a distance. Andrew, do you have pictures of any other buildings, any other Orlando uh health buildings where they have this already? And you all came before us with
this two, three months ago and if it was an integral part of it, how come it wasn't presented at that time? >> So the the specific sign was was not part of it at that time. those changes
had been made sometime between uh when it was approved when the sign plan was approved last year in August. Uh so it's been it's been six or seven months since then. >> Do you have any pictures of any others? >> Uh I don't have an installed picture,
but this is a rendering of what it would look like on on a similar uh emergency room building. >> Well, that's what I was going to ask. It would be nice to see another angle of this. It looks kind of different, strange like this. And maybe another
angle would have presented a different look to it >> in my opinion. >> Yeah, I I can definitely um see if I can get some photos if any of them have actually been constructed. I'm sure across their system it's been constructed somewhere.
>> I would rather see that in a monument close to the road if it's emergency for them people to see it. I don't want to start the higher the sign and the sign wars in Eustace. Let that go somewhere else. I I I don't want that here. So,
sorry, sir. With all due respect, >> Commissioner Holland, >> I'm just looking up pictures of Orlando House around. I know one of their newest ones is in Lake Mary and that big red signs not on it. >> Not on it. Okay.
>> Vice Mayor. Um, I mean, I really like Orlando Health. I mean, I do. I think >> them and UF are great additions to us. It's just that the height of this sign and
it I'm worried about I'm worried the same thing. The bigger the bigger sign, the better sign. We set this as a as a somewhat of a precedent and we kind of already did with the Burger King sign with that height. So, um I don't know. I'm still undecided.
If you would, if you're able to defer so that um I have time to get some pictures uh of built signs, I'm happy to do that. >> I don't think that changes the way I personally feel about it. It's about the flow. It's about what's good and what
looks best for Eustace. And does it look best for Eustace up there or more in a monument and a better eye flow? I think it does. So, >> I mean, I'm okay defering. We can we can see some different >> see some see some pictures from the from
Astro 441. And >> yeah, >> I'm sorry. >> No, go ahead. No, I'm good. >> You know, I I'm with George. I I I prefer the monument. I think it it's it's a nicer look uh for people coming
through our city. Um I'm not I'm not sold on this. And really, if you bring pictures, I mean, we can go grab pictures of every facility that doesn't have one on the sign. So, that's just started opening a whole can of worms, you know, going in a different direction. So,
>> and so you said they hadn't been constructed on any other Orlando Health building. >> No, I just said I didn't have any pictures. >> Oh, but there have there are >> I I would have to consult with Orlando Health as to whether >> Okay. >> There are others.
>> Gotcha. When I look at it, it reminds me of people standing with a sign like this. It looks that's in my mind I I'm not a fan of it. >> I think Gary's right. It's a marketing thing. When you pull up there, you're not looking up that high. You can't see past that awning anyway to see up. So,
yeah, I'm I'm not a favor. I'm sorry. >> I'm I'm not either. You're driving down the highway and you look up and you see a red sign that says >> So, I'm No, I'm not. Commission, I'm hearing some monument sign favors from some of
you. Um, is it something you would like, if the applicant is willing to consider to come back with different renderings and then you can kind of look at what the options are? >> I'd like to close this part of this one for the roof sign and if they have the
right to come back, so so be it. You'll have to determine that what the process is, but I'd be willing to make a motion to uh when the time comes. >> But if we vote no today, then it has to wait a certain >> Yeah. Well, um it would have to be
substantially different. So, in this instance, the the er component uh on the roof >> would not be an option, but if they brought back a monument sign or some variation, that would be a different um option for you to consider. So, they
could come back before the nine months if that's something that they wanted to do. Um, but before we go down that road, I I do need to get public input. Um, since we have it. Okay, just a moment. Does anyone in the audience uh wish to speak on this item?
>> All right, sir. If you could same thing, just come up to the podium. Name uh we know you're city resident. You have three minutes. >> Hi, I'm Wayne Gladman. I am a useless residence. Uh oh, sorry. I'm looking at myself. All right. Uh that er sign is
terrible. It looks like a business. It looks like one of the old Walgreens or Raid signs. And if it was a concern, like you said about marketing, if it was a real concern, then why is Orlando Health bigger than the emergency word anyways? If it was a really concern of
people seeing it and going there and knowing where the entrance is, why is your name bigger than the emergency? Why is that something? Because it's a business. This is healthcare, but this is business in America. is big business. That's why they come
into these little towns and they take over and they push us out. If we give them a sign, we we're giving them an inch now. We give them more and more and more. They're going to take all they can. >> Thank you.
>> Yep. Thank you, sir. Would anyone else like to speak on this item? >> Okay. Seeing that I'm going to close public input, but I would like to give the gentleman Would you like to readress the commission? >> No. All right.
>> Well, I go ahead. >> Um, I was going to give it back to you, Madame Mayor. >> Any discussion >> for discussion? >> Well, I mean, I'm I'm I'm about giving them the benefit of the doubt. So, if we This is just me, but I would I mean, if they can do some other some other
renderings and maybe come up with some other possible um uh choices, um I'd be in favor not to not to uh vote no on this tonight. >> But that right is already there. We're just voting on the on the rooftop. So, if they come back with a monument, we
can we can do it without a delay. >> That's correct. Yeah. So, this this one the uh this ordinance specifically addresses a building mounted emergency identification sign. So, if they come back with anything different, you can reconsider that prior to the 9 months.
It has to be substantially different. >> Where Sorry, one one follow-up question. Where was there any plans to have this on the side of the building? >> Sounds like it's >> I mean you you would have you would had you would have had this somewhere on the side of the building, correct? Or no?
Uh not not that exact sign. There are other there are other signs that display other wayfinding like there are other emergency signs of ambulance emergency Orlando health on the building. >> Okay.
>> These would be completely new signs. >> Okay. All right. Thanks. >> Hey Marissa, can you go back to the one that that Mike had with all of the the signs on it? Uh yeah,
>> if you Google Orlando Health, the uh F2 or uh FS2, the tall one is the one that's prominent through all of their designs. And that would still be sitting out >> outdoor 40. Okay. You miss it if you tried.
>> You see I that's what I was thinking after you made the comment about >> Mhm. if the name of the hospital or the word spelled out would make more sense. But it it once you said that it clicked with me just eer I know people most people know what it means but it would
be more attractive if the word was spelled out or something but it would still be tall and it's still different from anything that we have and maybe creating a precedence. But this this goes up what? 14 almost 15 feet. Is it
>> 14.76 ft? >> And what's the difference in height between this and what the other one would be? 10 ft. Oh, do you have any idea?
>> I'm sorry. Can you restate your question? >> Uh the 14 almost 15 foot uh F2 that you see up here. >> Yes. >> Uh what's the difference between the height difference between that and the
rooftop? Do you have any idea? >> So I believe we have some building elevations. We have to have this sheet here. No. Okay. So, in in the packet there are elevations that were provided. So, the
the top of the uh the very top of the architectural feature is that's small even on 11 by7. Uh let's see. So the it it's roughly about four feet
tall from the roof line to the top of the architectural feature the which will be red. So it's about it's about four feet. >> Okay. >> The thing too I mean let's be honest there is one Oops. Can you get that back
live? There is one 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 signs that say emergency on one single building. And they've put Nobody's going to Nobody's going to mess this. >> There's a monument by the front road as well. There's just
>> it's >> Yeah. >> Seems like I've seen this emergency sign like on a pole, but it sits out in on the property. >> And And I think that's what this would be, right? And the bottom right one too by by a monument. It sticks above the monument, too. So it's it's everywhere.
>> That's what they have in white. >> Okay. All right. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you. >> Anything further for him? Thank you, sir. >> Madam Mayor, I move to deny ordinance 2026-12.
>> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Commissioner body. >> No. >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft. >> Wait a minute. Wait a minute. George, >> I voted to deny. >> Deny. >> And you second for >> Oh, so yes, I want it denied. I'm sorry. My fault.
>> Yep. I second to deny it and then I vote yes to his resolution. No to the one that's in paper. Yes, >> Vice Mayor Ashcraft. >> I really I really really like Orlando Health, but >> I do too. >> They can always come back. I think uh the gentleman has heard. >> It's a It's an eye for me. Sorry.
>> It's a what? Sorry. >> I >> Mr. Hawkins. >> We're moving for denial. I >> I for no >> I >> mayor Lee I >> thank you. That's all I have.
>> Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay. So we'll move on to other business. 7.1 discussion the city's evaluation appraisal report. Is that yours, Tom? >> Uh well, Mike Lane and and then I um I
can supplement as necessary. >> Okay. >> Yeah. So, uh we actually did receive back a uh a letter from the U. Florida Commerce and uh it basically is their objections, recommendations, and
comments letter. They call it the ORC letter. Yeah, they they love acronyms. Um, so we'll we'll be talking about this what the the state letter actually says and what they they uh include to identify,
you know, how to correct the uh the objection that they have and basically outline some steps for um moving forward. Uh here's the letter. We received it on February the 9th. And uh obviously I'm not going to it's so tiny
you can't read it here anyway. uh but um you know they they had one objection and two advisory comments. So what was interesting is that um the uh the objection was that we forgot to include the capital improvements plan when we
submitted it to them. I don't want to say big deal but we we'll we're going to submit it when we actually submit the adoption ordinance to them. the advisory comments that um that they included in the letter uh basically referred to a
letter from D- which was what was interesting is they in the letter it said that they've included the the letter which they didn't so uh we had to reach back out and say what letter are you talking about we didn't get that attachment and uh this was the email
that they sent us and obviously the comment that they made was that the wastewater facility ility analysis wasn't included in all of the utility elements of the comp plan. Now, what's interesting is after I read that, I
called our planning consultant and I said, "Okay, what what are we talking about here?" And so our our planning consultant called D and said, "Um, look, if you'll look in the back portion of the submittal that we sent, you will
find that we included this language there. So D said, "Well, let's we'll check on it and get back with you." So the email we got back was yes, the sanitary sewer information was in the data and analysis
section. So the two advisory comments disappeared with that comment. So, at this point, all that we're we're dealing with is including the capital improvements program into our advisory
or into the actual um adoption transmitt when we send it to them. Now, I will go back and and say that our consultant uh has indicated that in the since the passage of 180, they've had zero zero
comp plan uh ear projects that have been approved by the Florida Commerce. Ours is the first one that seems to be able to make it across the finish line. So, at this point, we need to talk about next steps.
we we can go ahead and prepare the uh the material and we can bring it back to you guys. Uh we have a from February the 9th uh began that 180 180 day time frame. So that's a six-month period. So
we we have I guess now we probably have five months left to do that. But I mean we we can certainly have that prepared all that information prepared and brought back to you uh in upcoming city commission meetings. So, um, at this point, we were just kind
of seeking guidance from you as to, uh, how you want us to proceed. >> What's the alternative? >> Well, you guys originally had talked about maybe having a workshop, but we don't need to have a workshop on this. >> Keep moving. >> Keep moving. I agree.
>> Okay. >> Good job. >> Yes. >> Thank you, Mike. >> Thanks. We don't have to do anything on that one, right? >> So, we will we will bring back um an adoption hearing. So, that that will be a public hearing. Folks will have an
opportunity to uh comment. Uh but it'll be scheduled as an adoption hearing and it does need to be done within 180 days. So, we'll get moving on it. >> Okay. >> And thank you to everyone. Thank you to the consultant and to staff. Uh as Mike
said, uh these have been difficult as of late because of the because of Senate Bill 180. Um but uh thank everyone for u the smooth process. >> Okay. So next we'll go to 7.2 discussion. City commission attorney.
>> Yes. So uh Karen and I will be working together on this one. Um just as an introduction uh this is on the agenda at the uh request of commission. Um we um as staff have uh pulled together some information. Um
so just to start um Bowen and Shroth uh as Derek Schroth and Sasha Garcia have represented the city uh for about 18 years now. Uh we've got some info in the presentation about uh their current uh
agreement which uh started in 2023 and uh it's an annual agreement that auto renews every February. So we'll talk to you a little bit about uh that current agreement uh the retainer agreement uh what's covered uh under
that and the services being offered. And then uh Karen has done a lot of work looking at uh other jurisdictions, what they do, how they do it, uh whether they do it in house versus um do it privately
um under uh retainer agreements or uh service agreements. Uh so at this point I will uh turn it over to Karen and I will chime in as necessary. So thank you Karen. >> Good evening Karen Crouch, HR director.
Um the first thing that we did was we sent out a email blast asking surrounding cities about their legal services and what um h how they handle it. We asked if they had in-house attorneys or if they had
retainers. Um and so what we found uh out of all those that got back with us, three cities that had in-house attorneys on staff. Um, and so the three that you're looking at is the city of Okala, the city of CMI, and the city of New
Samurai Beach. Um, I included um the the members of their uh legal department and what I could find on their uh what they were willing to share on their salaries. Um I also included their budgets. The only one that I didn't have a complete
budget for is Okala because they didn't return our calls. So that's what we found online. Um, and so it has the their legal budget and it has their staff and what their salaries are for their staff. >> And I, if I could chime in briefly, and
I'm sorry, Karen, I'll pipe up uh periodically. Uh, what you'll notice is these cities are a little bit bigger than us. And so, is it really an applesto apples comparison? And what I would say is yes, these cities are a little bit bigger than us, but it was
difficult to find cities of similar size with in-house attorneys. Uh it's just not something that cities of our size uh traditionally do. But because it was brought up as uh something of interest, uh we wanted to give you these numbers.
Again, is it a direct comparison? Maybe not because these folks are a little bit bigger than us, but it was difficult to find good information. >> The next slide um is a list of cities that responded to our request that um
where they shared whether they have a retainer um what their their legal budget is and some of them don't have retainers, they just pay a flat hourly rate. Um so you have the city of Taris, Mount
Dora, Papka, Lake Mary, Ovido, Sanford, Delia, Deltona and Winter Garden. Uh those are the cities that uh gave us information and you have their total budget in column two. And then the third column is whether they
have a retainer or whether they just um charge by the hour. And some of course some of them do both. Depends on what's under the retainer. And and again, I'll jump in. Um one, and again, this is um it's a little bit all
over the place and it's difficult to directly compare because the retainer agreements are so different. Um you can see a $15,000 a month retainer is very different than a $3,500 a month retainer. Now, uh, our
agreement that we'll you'll see in a couple of slides, um, we have a $3,500 a month retainer. That retainer covers certain things. Uh, but it's very different than say OVO, which is $20,000 a month. So, the what's included in that is very different than what's included
in ours. And again, it's it's really um there's a lot of variation on this list as to what's included and the cost. Yes, we did not get a copy of the retainers for these cities. Um, one of the part of the discussion was what public risk management PRM
offers us in free legal um, advice. There was some discussion whether they offered, you know, um, if our water customer service could use PRM for legal advice and we can't. The only thing that they offer is they have a labor attorney
that's available to us. um that helps us with any labor issues and then they have a law enforcement division attorneys on staff that help with give free legal legal advice for our police officers for our police department. Those are the only areas that PRM covers
>> and and the reason they cover those things is they are our insurance company and say they are giving legal advice to protect us but also protect themselves. Uh and so that's why their legal advice is restricted to these areas. It's really them protecting themselves.
>> Um the next slide shows you um what our current retainer covers for the $3,500 a month. It includes the attorney availability to the city commission and authorized city staff for all hours
every day. Any and all phone conferences with the city commission or authorized city staff and the attorney attendance at all regular commission meetings. Um all other services through Bowen and Shroth um is is at a cost of $250 an
hour for the attorney or $135 an hour for a parillegal or law clerk. and they bill in increments of a quarter quarter of an hour. >> Excuse me, Karen. What are all other services? What does that include?
>> Um, what are you looking at >> under B? All other services 250 250. >> Oh, anything. So, in the next couple slides, we'll show you some examples of the other things that they've done that they do. >> But in effect, if it's not in one, two,
or three, it's all other services. >> Yes. So, we're being charged for anything outside of uh number one, number two, or number three. >> These are the general legal services outside of the retainer. Um, ordinance and resolution drafting is needed,
litigation, and then cost, court filing fees, and such. Um, I don't know if you want to go through the entire list or >> so that might be a good um answer to your question. uh these are the items that would not be included uh and are
charged at an hourly basis. So the next thing that I did was projected what it would cost us to have a city attorney on staff. Uh I used the benefit sheet that we would normally send out to employees that have have the
um percentages plugged in already. I took an average of those attorneys that are on staff uh with the three cities and I took an average of the salary. And so the first column there shows you the first two columns show you what it would cost the city approximately to have an
onstaff attorney. Um with benefits and salary, we're looking at right around $290,000. That's a very rough estimate. And then of course you have additional costs for having an attorney on staff. If you have the operating budget, they would need a
parallegal or legal assistant. And we're talking about salaries and benefits there, training, certifications, licenses, and litigation costs. So that's in addition to the $290,000. >> And I one thing I'd like to point out there is
in most cases where a municipality has inhouse attorneys, those in-house attorneys don't handle litigation. And so if you were to hire or bring in an in-house attorney, you would still have
external legal fees because there are certain uh certain things that an in-house attorney wouldn't either wouldn't have the capa capacity or the ability to handle. And so uh you would still have litigation costs if you were
to bring um the attorney uh inhouse. Does an in-house attorney cover like police up everybody or it's just the the city commission? >> I Well, you PRM would handle things that are police
related. Um, so if you were there are certain things that you wouldn't ask the in-house attorney to do and that would be things that PRM is willing to to cover or uh if you bring someone in house and they just they have certain
expertise they may focus on those areas of expertise and not in areas where they don't have any experience. And I'm sorry Commissioner Asbat you had a question. Yeah, I was just going to say your point of bringing up that if we have outside litigation, it's not included in there, but it's not included in our current
retainer anyway. So, they wash themselves out. That's not part of one, two, or three. So, it would be an hourly either way with the current situation we have or with a an in-house. >> Yeah, that that's correct. Um, we would be we we're paying hourly for any
litigation costs through Bowen and Shroth or we're paying another attorney if they have to bring another attorney in. I think the point though was it wouldn't be included in the salaries and benefits of an in-house attorney. >> But for the sake of comparison, it's not
in either one. Right. >> Correct. >> Yeah. >> The next slide I wanted to show you is what the city of Eustace uh legal expenditures have been. I um for the previous two fiscal years and then the
current fiscal year um so 2324 the total cost was $296,410 the uh 202425 $310,679 and those costs also include the retainer
and then current year to date uh 38,8 $79 and that includes $7,000 in the retainer >> and may if I could clarify the response to your last question. So it as you can see it's broken out separately. So it is
included so litigation costs are included in the total annual legal fees but it is not included in the retainer. So I don't I hope that clarifies. Yeah. Okay. >> Any questions? Can you go back to that
last screen? I'm sorry. I I'm um Why does it say monthly retainer 42,000? Um >> it's for the year. >> It's for the year. >> It's that's not multiple of 12. Okay. Well, I mean, I don't see I don't see any reason why we can't at least explore
if there's a if there's a cost savings to either getting an in-house or an outside an outside council. We've uh we've not re reviewed this for a lot of years and we're reviewing a lot of things right now um because money money is going to get tight for us in the
future. So, I think it's a I think it's a good idea. Yeah, I I you know I I look at what the other cities are paying uh and
they're they're without a doubt they're head over heels uh ahead of us in cost. Um, I think it all comes down to me is is the quality of work, you know. Um,
has has our attorney been responsive? Yes. Has our attorney kept a side of trouble? Yes. Um, you know, that's that's the big thing for me, I think, with losing a, you
know, uh, losing a city manager, losing a fire chief, having an in to me, it just seems it it sends a message to the public that we're kind of disjointed. or that we're sharpening our pencils.
>> Um, >> well, >> it's subjective. >> Subjective. I'll give you that. >> I I Go ahead. Are you >> No, go ahead. Me back. >> I I I think I don't agree with Gary that we should
look at um an in-house council only. I think it's wise financial responsibility to go out there and take a look at what we can uh what's out there. Uh what's
their representation look like? What's their credentials? Uh we're doing a lot of growth. We're doing a lot of land development. We're doing a lot of those other things. Um I'd like to just see what's what's out there for inhouse. I do like the thought of that, but that
might not be the best route. I would also like to see just a global look at proposals that any law firm would like to make to us for either in-house or outside. And of course, I certainly encourage our our existing partners to
to be part of that. And uh I have faith in the five of us that we'll we'll pick something that's best for us or stay where we are or learn and continue to grow. But we'll be financially responsible uh in doing our due diligence. We got two main jobs, you
know, the city manager and the city attorney. So, I I see no harm, no harm, no foul. Um if we can make ourselves better, good for us. >> So, I did want to point out um the current contract, what it says as far as
duration and cancellation. Um, so the current agreement was effective February 1st, 2023 and the agreement automatically renews each year. Either party can cancel the agreement. The can uh to cancel the agreement, written
notice is required at at least 60 days in advance of the renewal. So you would have to notify them 60 days prior to next February 1st in order to cancel the agreement. So, you're saying it'll go at least a year before we
cancel? >> Is that what you're saying? >> Yes. >> Tom, I have a question. Tom and Miranda, uh, with with uh with our current uh agreement with with
the attorney's office, is it do all the calls go through the city manager and the uh the deputy? Uh, who who sets up the calls or or
>> you know what I'm trying to say. >> Sure. So, um what I will say is um the u the system has been a little different under me than it was previously. And what I mean by that was there used to be
very tight control over uh who could contact the city attorney. And um my philosophy has been uh if we need to get uh legal questions answered, let's do that efficiently. Uh but I will say that
what that's led to is uh one uh difficulty in prioritizing what's going to the city attorney. Um, and so what that means is, um, if the various departments are free to contact the city attorney about their bonafide legal
issues, I mean, they're real legal issues, but who is prioritizing what's important to the city attorney? Uh and so there's been um it there's we probably we definitely need to do a better job of prioritizing what's
important versus um what is something that uh doesn't need to be done immediately. Uh the other issue that um that's created is the meter is running. Um meaning if the various departments are free to contact the city attorney,
uh those are uh billable hours. And so I I don't want to necessarily um put words in Rick or Miranda's mouth. And so maybe Rick, you can talk a little bit about your philosophy moving forward. Yeah, you don't have to put words in my mouth
very often, but um no, I've I've looked at this and and went through and looked at the invoices and you know, monthly u we get a monthly invoice and it lines out basically each of the tasks that Sasha's asked to do.
>> Historically, as Tom said, I know as a director, I never reached out to the city attorney without city manager approval. that has kind of gone by the wayside. Um, tomorrow that's changing. So, in our morning meeting and we're
going to run stuff through the city manager's office. That doesn't mean we're going to micromanage everything >> where they're going to tell us and then we're going to communicate, but we want to be involved. And I think a big part of that is adjusting some of
the priorities. And we may have global priorities or you may have priorities that are set, but some of the the staff that's reaching out, their priorities may differ than ours >> and we need to trump that. So we are
going to have a different level of of control of the communication, the open communication to Sasha. In >> in doing that, Rick, do you see the the cost going down? I know that the turnaround time uh >> I I think in in some cases yeah the cost
will go down. I I also think the this will help the quality of service that that uh bone can can also give to us. >> So it's we need to help them be successful. >> So why why weren't we doing that all
along then? Because that's really what this is is a is a cost savings. I am going to take a different approach why I'm here in the interim role and that's all I can speak for is what's happening tomorrow >> and I I can speak to that. Again, I
think my goal was if a department has a legal issue um I'm I was okay with them reaching out to get that legal issue resolved. And so I in in my eyes uh it it made us more efficient, but in some ways it didn't. um if if a if a
department had a legal issue, reach out, get it resolved, and get moving. Uh but again, it it led to it led to priority issues and it led to cost issues. And so I um again, there it it was an
attempt to uh accomplish city business. Uh but it may have had the opposite effect. >> I if our if our goal truthfully is is cost savings thing. I think we need to let Rick and Miranda put the guard rails up. >> Yeah.
>> And bring things back to the to the city manager's office before we just allow staff to contact because a lot of things that go I think go to the attorney's office probably are misunderstandings or things that could be settled within the office and us talk about them. One thing
that the mayor has asked for since she was elected, and I am firm believer of this, I find it very hard to get rid of anybody on this staff or our law firm without us having any annual reviews
that we're doing of these organizations. I know Lake Sumpre State College is constantly reviewing their attorneys, and I think if we could get a hold of that, I think we've asked for that to be voted out. Actually, >> I I I think that that we need to be
doing and maybe it's six months that we review these, but we really need to take a close look at it. Um, and I also have really big concerns with our police department hanging out there with just our insurance company being the law the
the attorney for them a little bit. I think that we need to take a look at times having an attorney for our police department. So that's just my opinions. And >> you know, Mike, Mike, you know, you're right. I think for the last two or three
years, uh, uh, the mayor has has has said that we should be be doing this, and I don't know if we've ever done it. >> Uh, I know the >> last 16 years, we haven't. So, uh, so I I I personally I think that we're
we're holding them accountable for us not holding them accountable, >> if that makes any sense. >> Yeah. Well, here's I heard two things. Last meeting, I heard let's look at possibly having a
full-time attorney. But then tonight, I hear uh automatic renewal. um like we're letting her that person go because we're gonna find somebody else. Which one is it? You know, is what I'm saying. If it is intent that people are not satisfied
with the current um legal services we're getting, then we're doing a disservice because this is I asked numerous years. I believe even when Derek it started with Derek and Derek told me that he thought it was a good idea. It has never
ever happened. We have the the we have this paperwork which I brought in and I'm not the one to implement this. So I think we've done a big disservice and I hope going into the future that we
everybody else is evaluated then I think the um attorney should be evaluated. If you have some concerns you put it on there and then she knows what she has to correct. If she doesn't we know what we have to do or he. So I I guess I'm a
little concerned on on that note if that's where you're going. I'm not sure what other than you know looking at what other possibilities we may have or services we may get from someone else. I think we need to clarify where we going.
Which one is it? And if not then we and we're talking about adjusting some things but we have to do this. We have to have the evaluation done. Everybody else has it. And so this the only person who doesn't and I think it would be
great to have this implemented. If there's an issue, if there's a concern, you have an opportunity for the attorney and us to correct it. So, um I I think we need to know where we're going with this and what what is it that you really want?
>> I I don't know. I don't know why this has come up. Um, a and and I haven't heard anyone say that they had any issues with the the services that
that we get. Um, so if I missed something, if it happened the day that I was gone, let me know. >> Well, I thought it was to look at getting a full term. >> It doesn't have to be, it doesn't be in-house. It can be outside as well. But we, you know, as we've found out over
the last year or so, there's a lot of things that haven't been evaluated in a very, very, very long time. So, this just to be another thing that we either say, hey, we've got something good or can we get can we get it can we get it a little a little less expensive. And
that's really part of our jobs is try to save money for the taxpayers. >> Well, you know, that that that sounds good. uh that that we're saving money and we all want to do that. Uh I I just
I I don't like it that we springing on them at the last minute and say this is what we're doing because it doesn't sound like it's just a cost savings to me. >> I I mean I can jump in here. I didn't really want to go down this road, but I
do have some concerns about some of the leadership and the legal side that we have. Um, we have had discussions about multiple things that I I I don't think should be a surprise to us all where we might have some differences in what our
attorney's suggestions might be. And we've had some determinations by our attorney that then were reversed after being pointed out. So, uh, and then we have a lot of land use issues coming up. And when
it's not a surprise when when I first came aboard the one one of the too many things I asked for I admit was a uh better land use attorney and more knowledgeable
um and uh all this legislative stuff coming up you know there's only so much can be done but I do have some concerns um with some of the decision making Um, and I think that is a factor for me as
well in taking a look uh at at what's out there. Be it more aggressive, be it less conservative, be it um more wider thinking, but no, there is more to it. And I don't think
it's fair to fire any shocks across the bow. I think at this point I probably already did uh with a couple things but that leads to looking at the money which leads to let's put it out there let's interview
some people and if what we have is the best and that's what we're that's what I'm I have the faith that the five of us will at least end up by majority but there are some other more aggressive ways I think we can improve our city
going forward especially in development You know, I and I and I hear what you say. U I think with the land use and we we've run into the land use in the past because we have the land use attorney that we use out of Orlando.
>> We never use them. >> Have we built them? Who pays that Karen or is that you Lori? Have we built anything to uh His name is Derek too, isn't it? Yeah. Have we built them out in Orlando at all last year? >> Uh we haven't used them. uh since the
map 19 question came up, we that was the last time we used them. >> So um what's the harm is really what I say. What's the harm? The best thing that can happen is we can
advance our uh thinking and our ways. The worst thing that can happen is we can reaffirm that what we're doing is is right. and we and we just made the same decision with the city manager's position. >> We we know we know Rick is good, but we
owe I think we owe it to the people to to go through that process to make sure. And if we find out that is great, but I think I think we I think we should I think we should do it. >> Please re reiterate again what you would be looking for.
I well I'm just one but I would say we should look at everything. Um I know Gary said and he's already said uh it's okay to look at everything. I think we need to just look at the global knowledge experience of what else might
be out there. I'd like to ask them some questions about some of the development agreements that we keep coming up with and things and and and see what's out there. Look at pricing. Look at in-house versus out. Uh just spend some time on that. it's the most important thing uh
the two most important jobs that we have to uh hire or or and uh put that out there. It's been a long time. Um some decisions were made that that you know uh I think stunted some of our growth. So um let's just see what's out
there. So, we're asking for I I'm in agreement. I prefer that we look at both in-house out anything that will help our city be better and grow. I um
I'm comfortable and confident with who we have with the firm that we have. Uh I think that Sasha is uh more aggressive than and this is nothing
against Derek uh uh than Derek. Um I can't see any time that she's gotten this city in trouble. Uh I can name a couple of times where she's I think
she's saved us. um looking at the prices uh and those and granted those were inhouse. You know, I don't know if we're going to
be able to to find and then two, the historical, you know, that's a big thing with everything that's going on with us now. the historical knowledge that that firm has. Uh I think that's big as we continue to
to grow, as we try to grow. That's that's a big one for me. I know this is judging up the past, but I think we missed the opportunity when Derek could no longer do this to at that point do a search and um it wasn't done.
And um so I I it just seems like um it was a missed opportunity. Can you Karen whether it's you or purchasing or who can you send me a copy of her contract and a copy of those itemized things that that Mr. Garrett talked about um
so that we can look at the historical past 12 months uh and her contract and what other provisions might be in there. This is clearly more than four four lines in her contract that we see up here, but um I'd like to take a look at
that as well. We we can definitely get you a copy of the contract. I will let you know that I think the contract is only a single page 8 and a half by 11. So there's it's not very complicated and there is not much in there. But uh we're happy to get you
a copy of that. >> May I offer a suggestion? How about Okay, so what was it? uh February 1st the the the the um um the contract automatically renewed. So we do have a
year. Why don't we do set up evaluations and then come February of next year we know what we want to do? I think that's a good idea because then that allows uh Rick and Miranda to to do what they're going to do and we get a
true cost >> and I think it's fair to to Sasha um for her to understand what is it that you are not pleased with, why, and how she can correct it. I think she needs information too. >> And how many of us have actually sat
down with Sasha and had the conversation? >> I have. I have had several conversations with her where we've been at dispute. >> Um they got pretty aggressive. Um and I've asked her to call me and we can talk about it. I'm not going to talk
about it here outside the door and uh I never got a call from her. So I uh to answer that to you, sir, all due respect, but I don't really feel this is a place to dwell into that to her. I think uh your comparison of her and Derek is two very different things. Uh,
I have to say uh that Derek is a phenomenal attorney and he has done us well >> and I think she has done us well. Um, I don't want to make a decision on Sasha because only one of us had that conversation. >> Sure. Well, one vote doesn't make it.
One vote doesn't make it, but I would like to take a look at her contract before um but either way, if the contract ends with that, it ends with that. But I think there's probably some some other things I want to review before I can't make a decision on a contract based on
four lines. And if if the law so says what it says to that effect, then it the mute the conversation's mute anyway right now. >> Actually, I have a copy right here. >> I'm not ready to make a decision on this tonight, but I will um I will say I do
want uh the annual review implemented immediately. You know, I I I like, you know, the mayor I like the mayor's uh suggestion. You know, it it autorenewed in February, then we we go till next year and we we
do the evaluations. And again, that gives him the opportunity to do what they do. And then Sasha knows, you know, and and and I think that again, we're doing her a disservice by making a decision without having a conversation with us.
Madam Mayor, >> I see I see in the contract it says where we've appointed Sasha and Derek. Um I have reached out to Derek and he gave me the impression that he wasn't
that we had to deal with Sasha and that she was a partner and we and uh he would not uh talk with us in it. So that that's my first scene of difference of what I'm seeing here. But anyway, I agree with you guys. Let's chew on it and and and
go from there. But there is more to it than just money to answer what what you said. And I I go back to what's the best for Eustace, what's the best visionary, what's the best um of several things. So
I I think >> okay we need to draw closure to this conversation please. So >> we really need to with all due respect madam or do we are we just continuing this? >> I'm sorry. >> I mean do we really have to call have a conclusion for this? >> No I'm not drawing a conclusion.
>> I thought you said that. >> I'm saying we've been talking and talking. Sasha, do you have something? >> I just wanted to make one comment. Um I am of course thrilled to hear feedback from from all of you on how our services can be improved or areas of concern. Um
you know we have served the city for for many many years and we've uh tried to do so ethically of course and um if you do choose to ultimately go another route I under the agreement I'm committed to of course uh continue representation until and help with the smooth transition for
that to occur. Now, of course, the objective is to ensure that the city um the city business is completed and and continues to be well served. As far as the evaluations are concerned, since I'm not an employee of the city, when it comes to feedback, one-on-one sessions,
um I have um asked I will ask that I meet with each individual commissioner as well as the um city manager and the deputy city manager at the same time because I am not an employee. HR is not involved.
So these um evaluations it would be important and appropriate for there to be someone else in the room. Um and again I don't want to >> Yeah. Are you saying Sasha that if we
well if we if you remain and we agree to remain I guess it's mute but if we have a majority of the commission that would like to make a change are you saying that you would object to that and defend and and I guess get uh hold us to this
contract's uh yearly renewal? What I'm saying is that I if in November because of the 60-day clause if you wish to or before that start that process then I'm of course if there's a transition period that needs to take place with the new
representation I'm happy to assist with the transition. >> Okay. But what I guess I didn't say it clearly. If we if we want to end our relationship sooner, are you going to object to that and hold us to the automatic renewal uh
of your contract? >> I if the will of the commission is that to be the case, I would not object. I would not fight you on that if that's the the concern. >> Okay? >> If you want to get rid of me sooner, but I'm saying you obviously that's why I
needed a third person, four three and four people. poor people to have the evaluation because I don't want to make anything about any personal but you mentioned aggression and I don't want them >> but with all due respect to to >> I'm not sure I understood what you said.
You said you wanted them to be present during discussions. Is that what you said? >> Evaluation. >> So you don't want a one-on-one evaluation. You want >> a one-on-one with someone >> else? Yeah. >> Involved. >> Yeah.
I mean, there was a mention of aggression, and I'm not going to get into all of that, but there's that does concern me because, you know, I'm not aggressive physically, so I'm not sure what that meant. And I can't >> Are you referring to my comments?
>> Yes. The aggression, >> but we never had any aggressive physical. >> I don't want any misinterpretation. I would prefer to have someone else in the room. >> No, no, no, no, no, no. Neither I hopefully to you or you. No, absolutely. not aggression in the form of physical.
What I meant is probably maybe that was a bad choice of words. Passionate conversation is that better. >> Well, okay. >> To avoid that, it's just good to have um like I said, city um management available since you know I'm not an employee of the city >> and that would apply to every every one
of the commissioners as well. >> So, what's the will of the commission tonight on this issue? >> I I say since it's auto renewed, we go to next year and and we do the evaluations.
>> I want to see an evaluation done. >> Yeah, commission. >> Same thing. >> Well, there's your three, so I don't have to say anything. So, it I would like to see us go out, see what's out there, and if
Sasha is the best choice, then that is our best choice. Uh, but we don't have the other side of the book. We're looking at a cover. We can't read what's inside. Um, we've clearly had some concerns on on on land use and making development
agreements and some other stuff. Uh, what's the harm and seeing what's out there. >> Actually, George, you're right. Why can't we do both? I mean, really, why can't we do both? Why can't we go out and look and then we have evaluations and then we we circle back and we
re-evaluate it and see if it's really what we want. I don't see any harm in it. I really don't. >> What Sasha said, not holding us to it, it would be your will. That's a very honorable thing. That's a very confident thing. I'm really happy to hear that from her and I give her kudos for that.
So, um, >> you know, I I'm not going to say what I think. Okay. >> Emily, it looks like you got a split board. So, you you tell us what you want to do. >> I um
I guess I'm of a belief that we really do need to give Sasha the opportunity to be evaluated. Even if you um talked to someone else how we were getting what do we have to compare her to? We don't have anything
that we have accumulated um as to her performance. And so what are we going to compare it to? What are we going to what what do we have? We don't. And so for me I definitely feel that we should she's already in a contract. We follow that
and we we go through and do the evaluations. Um and with what what in six months we could do this and then decide we got to do. Yes. >> Versus now trying to go out and see what's out there and then making the comparisons and knowing we're in
>> I would have thought about that, but I feel like right now we're talking about the city manager and looking. We got a lot on our plate and so I would rather look forward to six months from now and then try to see where we could go from there. >> Okay. >> And I'm not opposed to that but I do
believe we need some time. >> And you're saying a six months evaluation? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> So an evaluation now? >> No. >> Or in six months? >> In six months. We Well, we could do an evaluation three months and then three months. >> Why not now? >> Well, yeah, we can do it now. We can do
it. >> Okay. I can I can go with it. >> If we want her to address some issues that we don't feel she's addressing, let's tell her now. >> Yeah. And then in 6 months, we could be evaluated. >> Let's sit Let's all sit with her each now. >> Okay. >> And see, you know, this could end very well for her and us. >> Yes.
>> But we're not communicating, so it's not going good. >> Well, in my opinion, >> do you want to use this? I guess it would be Rick who would answer that and and and Miranda. You want to use this or you got one yourself to um to use to evaluation? and we might all look at it
and see if we think that this >> is it. When we did the when I did the city manager's evaluation, I expanded. I added questions. I added answers and comments. I think we can expand it. I mean, just put your heart out what what your concerns are, if any, or none. >> You all in agreement with that?
>> 30. How long How long do you want to give us to get you an evaluation done? >> Okay. If they get the evaluation done and we'll work from there and then Yes. And then we could do in >> one ones. We could even do three or six months and kind of
get some feedback on it and in six months and then if you want to still feel like it's not going to work then we could go from there. >> Well, do the I think we ought to do the first one as soon as possible. >> She's willing to do sit down one-on- ones which are great and let's see how we go.
>> Okay. It's up to Miranda and I think that's >> done for us. I think that's where your tiebreaker is coming in versus going out and bringing someone forward, which is what I wanted to do. But if if you're the tiebreaker, if you don't want to do that, then there's our there's the
>> I think we should do the evaluation and immediately and then in six months, we we go for it again. If it's not there and what we don't want, we at least have a base for comparison, >> okay? >> And and uh and go from there. We've accumulated some information. Right now, it's all willy-nilly. We don't know what
everybody's thinking about her services or what she's doing >> because we don't have anything to compare. We haven't talked to someone else. >> We're trying to build that now. >> Well, we're going to build our relationship with her and our concerns, but we we don't know what the open market has
>> in six months. We can decide. >> What do you think? >> Okay. So, are we in agreement that we would immediately do it and let's go review this in in six We'll immediately review do the review the evaluation and then in six months we
>> and do a one-on-one with her. >> Yes. And a one-on-one. And then in six months, we'll review everything and see if this is what we if there's something somebody disagreed with or does not agree with and Sasha has that information and she can repair it or fix
it, then we go from there. But at least we have we've accumulated something. But right now it's kind of a gray area as to what our concerns are. >> Absolutely. >> That's that's how I would propose to um
end this conversation. >> I think you just ended the conversation. >> Okay. All right. And we'll move on then. And um Okay. Future agenda items and comments.
Commissioner Holland. >> Well, something I've been thinking about for a long time and I think some of the things with the police department just brought some stuff up. I would like to see our finance department go through a full forensic audit. I think it should have
been done when we brought the new leadership in for our finance department. I think with some of the things that are going on in Tallahassee, um, looking at property taxes, we need to know exactly what's going on. We need
to have a strong grip. We also need to make sure we have clean books. Not that Karen's doing a anybody's doing a bad job. Lori, not and this is not aimed at at Chief. It's not aimed at at Lori or
her department. I think we we owe it to the taxpayers that we have a clean system before we turn something over to a new city manager. So, I would like to see us have a full forensic audit done of our finance
department. Um, what that looks like, I'll leave that to Rick and Miranda and Lori to bring back to us. I won an outside firm that we have not used before looking at our books. I know we've got a long history of winning awards for our finance department.
>> Have you ever done that before, Mike? Have you ever done it? >> Never done. >> Never. >> What if something like that costs? I hate I guess I'm a numbers guy. >> So me and me me and Commissioner Hawkins would like to know, can anybody comment as from the staff as to what a cost like that? Forensic is a word. I did a
forensic audit on a private business and it was six figures on a municipality. Is it a million bucks? I want it deep though, George, because >> No, I don't disagree with you. Does anybody know, Lori? Do you have have you ever experienced with a forensic audit? Or maybe forensic is the wrong word, but
>> maybe it maybe it is the wrong word, George. >> There's multiple levels of audits, but >> can you come up here so that we have it on the record? Can you give us some range? Are you qualified to give us anything? Okay. I I just think we need to start looking
and exploring some of that. >> Uh that that's my opinion. Um then I want to thank the African-American Heritage Committee for what a great job you did. Um and then uh the city with George Fest. Um looking forward to the
125th next year. Um Tom, thank you um for your leadership. Thank you for um feeding us to good over the years. um and wish you the best of luck in your new endeavors. Thank you. That's all.
>> Commission Bobby, >> um are we did we finish our agreement with our consultant Levy? Is that all wrapped up? Is that is that you Rick or is that it's all just need to know? Is it >> that's me? Uh yeah, we have a we have a
continuing contract over to him. We've got some comments back. Um, I expect that to be signed today. He's working on uh insurance and stuff like that. The normal customer. >> So, you got it's done. You got it >> right. And then we've also negotiated the first work order that gets him kind
of acting as our program manager for downtown a workshop date that he we have I've had my whole month of April. In the beginning, we said the first beginning of April >> and we had the doodle. >> The doodle never came that we were supposed to get. Uh, so do we have a
workshop date? >> Uh, he got back to us. Um, he can make April 7th work and I think that works with everyone that had responded back to the doodle poll, >> I guess. Let's look, right? I see everybody looking. April 7th. That's a Tuesday.
>> Yeah. >> Yes. >> What time? >> 1 to 3. >> 1 to 3. I'm good with that. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Great. Thank you, sir. >> Yes, sir. Um, >> let me see. Is that good for you, Mike? >> You said April 2nd. Was it Tuesday?
>> 7th. >> Oh, sorry. >> April 7th, 1 to three. >> Okay. >> All right. And um >> I I probably can ask Tom or Rick this, so I'm not going to bring that up now. Uh we've
One second. I'm sorry for the uh Okay. No other questions, Madame Mayor. >> Thank you. Sorry. >> Um, you know, I I I want to second what what Mike said. I think the the heritage
and the uh uh the George Fest uh festivities were outstanding this year. uh with George Fest, you know, with this being Sherry's first first year and being down people, uh they knocked at
our department. Uh I was concerned about some of the entertainment and she told me, "Ah, it'll be fine. It'll be fine and I doubted her and it was fine." Uh she did great. So, um all departments
were going at 150%. Um, Brian was right. Uh, kudos to Eustace, to our guys. Uh, you know, they got the call and within
probably a minute they were on it. Um, they did a good job and they talked to him, they treated him, uh, they treated him fair. Uh, they had deep conversations with him and found out I think he was a troubled
young man. So, u but kudos to that. Uh the heritage festival was outstanding. We moved it to a new location and I think it was the largest ever. Um uh the city was uh as always a great
partner uh in that and and I appreciate that. Um Tom, uh I was looking for what I uh um I was going to say to you, but uh I figured I
probably shouldn't. Um but I want to thank you for uh being uh I thought a great city manager. Um a lot of times you were the calm in the storm even when you want to jump ship.
Um, and I I appreciate it. You were you're honest. Um, you're thoughtful. You're considerate. And I think you did this city well, and I appreciate that. And
Port St. Lucy is lucky to have you. So, >> there. >> Oh, yeah. Quickly. Um, >> wait a minute. Is that those two pages are all >> No, they're just here. >> Okay. Um, so I've been getting a lot of calls about Lakeshore Drive again. Can we can
we have some serious discussion sometime about what we can do for Lakes Shore Drive with the county? That means us maybe considering taking it over. I think it's something we can consider. So, we are we we know what already happened there. Um, it's it's a sore spot. These
are our citizens. So, can we can we try to reach out to the county and see what they're willing to do traffic-wise calming for Lake Shore Drive? Um uh secondly, um I'm in talks with Lake County and the
Greater Orlando uh sports commission about bringing the major league fishing here to Eustace. They need to evaluate our facilities. I know one of the things that was brought up by a bunch of anglers before was there's no light at our ramp. I I brought that up before.
Did anyone have a look at the light? Did we get one installed? So, we can look at that, please. Um, and George Fresh was was great. I I enjoyed everything about it. I was so sorry to hear about Cherry's u um um
parent. >> Yeah. And you know that actually led me to thinking, you know, park parks and wreck and and events work so closely. You know, when something like that happens, shouldn't we have maybe some someone
cross trainin from parks and wreck to jump in with events when something like that happens when they're down? So maybe could there be someone appointed from park and recrecks to be crossrained for those big events with events in case
something like it happens they can just jump in and help. Just an idea. >> Just an idea. I mean I really I think >> just said they have an events team that >> Yeah. But the is parks on that on the on the big events team though
>> the So parks and recreation are involved in the George Fest logistics meetings, >> right? Um, but we I mean we we do have I mean so Christine and an and Marissa all um
all filled in and did what they could to cover Sherry. >> No, no, it's not Yeah, it's not a um it's not a criticism at all. Um it was just it was just a thought since they worked so closely together that somebody from parks could totally be, you know,
cross. But um >> I would say just about every department stepped up as >> No, it's not No, no, no. It's not a criticism whatsoever. >> When when and I I had conversations with a number of folks throughout the city, we knew um that we were going to have to
fill in the gaps with Sherry and I I thought uh the various departments >> No, they did. No, it's fine. Okay. Um, and then lastly, um, I'm glad to see some more events coming to, uh, Eustace in our downtown. Um, March 13th and
14th, there is a Shamrockenfest coming to downtown. It's the lot across from, uh, City Hall. Uh, looks like, um, lot of live bands, uh, barbecue, tastings,
um, kids zone. So 13th and 14th in uh the lot across from us there's going to be a Shamrockfest. So and more more information it's shamrockinfest.com. >> That's it for me. >> Thank you. >> Mayor, one more thing for me if you
don't mind. Uh over this next week, keep an eye on Tallahassee. Session is supposed to end on the 13th, which is next Friday. You're going to see a lot of activity. I don't foresee them closing session on the 13th. I think it's going to go into the following week
and then I know there will be special sessions. Still at this time there is nothing in the state senate uh for property taxes. So we need to just watch that and be very proactive and get on the phone if something does come up. Um
if I get any alerts from the Florida League of Cities, Rick and Miranda will have it. They can get it out to you as quickly as they can because we're the ones that are going to have to hold their feet to the fire on >> and on Friday the 13th. Absolutely. >> That's it, Mayor. Sorry. >> Okay, Tom.
>> Yes. Um, we have uh Amazing Race coming up. Um, that is uh on Saturday, March 21st. Um the um the staff has to pivot quickly uh from George Fest to Amazing
Race. Uh but they're doing a great job. Uh so that event is upcoming. Uh, as has been mentioned, our thoughts are with Sherry as she's going through a difficult time. Uh, and then George Fest, I just want to thank everyone again. Uh, everybody stepped up.
Everybody um did a great job. Just about every department touches GeorgeFest in some way. Uh, so I just want to thank everybody for everything they've done. And I I I've kind of done this already. Uh, so the cat's out of the bag. I am
really excited about next year's theme. Next year's theme, it's our 125th George Fest and next year's theme is buck and a quarter, which I think is a great idea. And George Washington is on both the dollar and the quarter and so I think folks can do a lot of things with that.
So, it's going to be a really exciting um milestone Georgefest for us next year. Uh and that's all I have. Thank you. I I did not mention and I'm sorry but I I did not say and it's not for lack of
appreciation that I do want to thank Tom for the years of service. Uh I have worked with him in the private sector for many years before uh coming up here and I truly um am thankful for his
commitment. We had differences clearly that's not nothing to doubt but uh I am grateful that we had the opportunity to have him part of us. So I I don't want to not make that statement so that it's assumed that I don't but uh thank you Tom for your uh your your contribution
to our community. >> Thank you >> madam. >> Yes. I just want to thank the commission uh for your time deliberate deliberating this evening and I look forward to hearing from each of you on how I can better serve you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay, I have a few comments. I um my condolences to Sherry on the death of her father and the timing I know was even made it even more hurtful for her. Um, I um want to thank if you look around
the city, you'll start seeing all around the city that Tim Howard has been refreshing all of the flowers that has been um destroyed and it's beginning to look really nice. And so, uh, I I really appreciate what he's doing. And all the
flowers that you see, he grew them in the in our greenhouse. So, that's pretty special. Uh, and I want to thank um Lee and Michelle from public works with the butterfly signs. Um, they're refreshing the one at the library and the Methodist church has asked to have one and they're
going to do a park there and do a monarch garden. So, it's going to be very, very nice. Um, kudos to the events department for what they did in George Fest. It was really great. Uh I think that last band um the the last night
Saturday night people were coming up to me and asking me could we have them back next year and fortunately I could refer them to Sherry. So um but they were really good and people were really enjoying the music and uh thank you thank you thank you for your group and
African-American heritage and the I have that's probably the largest parade I've ever seen. We were complete and the parade was still back to Prescott down Prescott. So, um it was it was amazing. Thank you for that. And um let's see
what else. Oh, I want to also say we had great fireworks and thank you, Tom, for your work and what you've done for us. I always called you a servant leader because you led us, but you also served us and you served us well. And um I
don't know if we can train up Rick in the way she should go, but we thank you for that and for all that you put into it. And I know many times your family um you were not available to them because of what you were doing here. Thank you Tom. >> Thank you. >> Anything else for the good of the
commission? >> Okay. So it is 8:13 right now. This meeting is adjourned.