It's not mine, but it's Being 5:30, I'll now call to order the regular meeting this July 14th, 2025 and the government center of the great town of Lake Placid to order. If everybody would please rise, make
sure your phones are either off or on vibrate. We are pleased to have with us tonight a local government minister leader for Capitol Ministries in Highlands County, a pastor from Sunshine Christian Fellowship Church, Coulson, I'm sorry,
Jason Canol, who will lead us in our our pledge and our invocation. Just one word of thanks to be here. I'm new in town and uh the place where I came from didn't pray before town council meetings and pastors weren't
invited. I appreciate the honor to lead in prayer. Before I pray, I would read from James chapter 1 very briefly. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding
fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt. Because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a
double-minded man, unstable in all he does. Let's pray. Lord God, we begin this meeting with thankfulness, recognizing that you, oh Lord, are the source who created the
world and everything in it. We also remember that wisdom comes from you. It is for this wisdom that we open this meeting in prayer to you. Please grant this council wisdom to make wise decisions regarding our town.
We also ask for a spirit of unity in our town, both in our ideas, but also in our shared goal of enjoying a safe and prosperous community. Please guide the discussions today that they may be thoughtful of you, Lord, and
full of self-sacrificial love for each other. Lord, please bless our town of Lake Placid, our state of Florida, and our country, the United States of America. You are God. We praise you. There is no
other worthy of praise but you. Amen. Amen. 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. Clerk, would you please call the role? Mayor Hullbrook here. Council member Hayes here. Council member Worley here. Council member Charles here. Council member Ebhart here. Okay, we have a consent agenda one A
through C. I make a motion to approve consent agenda. Consent agenda 1 A through C. Second. Second. Right. We got a motion, a second. Any further comments from the podium? Ju
just a couple quick questions. On on accounts payable, there's a $272,000 to the town of Lake Placid to out of the to general fund. Do you know offhand what that is? The SRF grant because it got cut off at
the end. It said SRF. So the SRF money got transferred to the general fund. Is that I mean we're going to have um Charlotte, we're going to have a whole discussion on that soon, aren't we? On the SRF balance was that's
Yes. When whenever we go into the budgets the budget workshops, we will have the account information that we will present. No, I thought we still had a with the um the audit firms, they were going to come back and talk to us about the SRF RF monies.
The SRF the 760,000 in the S in the ARPA ARPA. Yes. Isn't that what that is? So that's Thank you. So, we got a couple grants going on. So, the money goes into the the general
fund. We have to put it into the grant account to account for those expenses. Okay. Um and then on the accounts payable, is there a way to summarize in the packet the payables
by the actual total for the vendor? because it's being split out, I think, by departments that are being allocated to. You see, you know, you can see the same accounts payable, the same invoice, but three different times. So, you'd have to add it up to see exactly how much did we pay. I think it's just a
display of the report. Um, and then that way it can actually allow us to see in any given month how much we paid in total to that vendor versus trying to find five different sections and adding up the same invoice. So, it's just uh I think it would be an efficiency for us
to look at. We are working on being able to provide an adequate executive summary like you requested at the last meeting. We've been comparing um obviously to other municipalities to see how they're being able to pull that off. What we have found is that's not something that's
typically done in um in their reporting and in order for us to be able to do it properly, we would ask that we could provide that on a quarterly basis because by the time we receive the financials and then we have our staff meeting or our council meeting, there's not enough time for us to properly put together that information for a true
executive summary that you're looking for. Okay, thank you for that. But my question is on accounts payable section. It's the accounts payable, not the financial, the budget of that. We can do another I think it's just the way it's being pulled. We can do another vendor report just showing per vendor how much was paid per
invoice. Yep. It's the same thing. It's just it's going to condense the number of pages, too, because it won't show that same vendor, you know, like the um UNA is in there four different times. If you want to know how much you paid them, then we got to go add up four different times.
So, you don't want the check split. You just want a vendor split. I that's what I assume accounts payable is. This is the accounts payable of the vendors and the amount that we paid this last period. I I I just have a question. Why
why why do you want to know how much we pay any one particular vendor? I mean, I'm not really smart at this, so I I need a little education. Well, consent agenda number C is approval of duly authorized monthly bills.
I see that. So, that's accounts payable. That's the vendors. I know that. But if if you're paying uh the uniform company a certain amount every single week, you want to know how much we pay the uniform company in
general, right? Not every single week. Is am I understanding that's what you want? No. The way the report is today, it's being prrated by departments. You don't know how much you paid the uniform company. But do we care how much we pay the uniform company? I do because I'm not going to authorize
an accounts payable to a vendor unless I know how much we're going to pay him. I know you But you know how much you're going to pay him every single week. Why? Why is it important how much you pay them over the whole period of time? I just don't understand that. No, because a lot of them are not weekly payments. And if you look at the report,
it's not weekly. It's a monthly report. I know. I see it. I look at it. I do. I do look at it. I really do. Yeah. It's monthly report of how much we pay. The way it's displayed is it's broken out by the departments that get that allocation. And I I like to know how much is going
into each department, but but apparently you want to know how much is going out to each vendor. Um are you thinking that we may be paying one particular vendor too much money? No, I didn't I didn't say that. No, no, I'm just questioning. I'm just asking. Let me give the example of the software
that we just purchased, right? We came in here and we had a a I think it was 40,000 um Charlotte for the UNA. And so I would expect when we make that UNAI bill to see 40,000. So instead, it's in four different spots. 3,000 to
this area, 13,000 to this area, 5,000. Don't know how much we paid. and and what you're referring to is to see weekly that would be over in the budget and the actual section. All of that is there. It's just the display and and and
and most municipalities do it just here's a total of the payables and um and and it would actually be less pages in the report. Yeah, it is it it is a lot of pages and it seems that things everything is in there at least twice. So, you know, I I understand what you're saying there. I
guess I just I just I think a good one is the IT services, right? It gets broken up into different. So yeah, it's just a better management tool to look at and I think it's just a display of how it's been pulled from the system. I know the system has that. It's the payables report.
I just Oh well, I'm just I just have a question for your question. That's all. Thank you. And then just last just quickly the process. So I'm I'm just curious as when the budgets are being overrun during the
year we basically that's something Charlotte you and the mayor are handling or is that something that just at the end of the year gets tred up unless it's a cap because different times staff comes and I want a budget amendment for X and we've seen that and we approve
that. Is that primarily then for capital equipment and and infrastructure? I'm just I just am curious as the process because as we continue to look at a lot of these departments, there's some departments
that have overrun and so is that okay or is just at the end of the year through the amendment budget process that's when it gets chewed up. Some of the expenses they get they can't budget for because they don't know that the well is going to go down. They don't know that the vehicle going to get
crashed. So whenever these things happen, that's when they come back to council as far as replace these items. Right. And and so on the departments that are overrunning their budget, at what point do they come back to council for a
budget amendment? They come back to council when their budget is overextended. But line items, our budget give room for line item adjustments. So they don't have to come back to council for that. just for when they go over their budget. Like if they
say say my budget is 120,000 so if you go over the budget then they need to come back to you in total the budget in total. Okay. Or if we know individually by you know we've got a budget amendment here later you know that course is
needed. So if we know earlier that we're going to go over the budget they would come to council for approval prior to that expenditure. Right. Okay. Yes. Thank you. Any other comments from the podium? Take it
to the audience. All right, seeing none, pull the council. Council member Hayes, yes. Council member, yes. Council member Worley, yes. Council member Charles, yes. All right. Next,
I ask Charlotte from from time to time, there's things I think need to come before the public. So, we we've we've talked about the mayor's comments, and for a for a better phrase, we just come up with mayor's report. So, from time to time, I I just want to give a brief
overview of things that have maybe happened or things that are going to happen just to try to keep the public uh a little more up to date in what's going on. And you've heard me say in the past that I consider us up here as a family. Uh you'll be hearing me use the term
team a lot and and that's what I mean by by us as a family. Nothing can get done as an individual with myself uh with Charlotte, any of the council members or or any of the residents. Everything has to be done as a team or a family. And
you'll be hearing me use that that term a lot uh tonight and probably in the future. So, I I just want to take a few minutes and first of all, thank those of you who are here for being here and showing an interest in in our town and our government and the way things are
run. Uh because we're all here for one thing, that's to make Placid a better place to live and to feel like a place to have a great home. Uh first thing we'll talk about is the downtown plans. You've all seen what's happened on North Main
Street and South Main Street. And we've been working on a a downtown master plan. And that's just a a guide to make downtown more acive, walkable, and inviting. And we want to support our local businesses and improve how things
look. And that's that's what's being done. And give people more reason to enjoy Lake Placid. All while keeping our small town charm. The council and the town citizens, we want you to stay involved. and helping
us shape that plan. Uh, next is planning for the future. We're now taking part in the county's comprehensive plan update and we're also getting ready to work on our own town's plan. That just means we're looking ahead at how we want Lake Placid to grow
and what we need to plan for. As an example, housing, roads, parks, I know it's been talked about, and more. This is something we're doing together with council and staff and it'll help us make good choices as things change in
the years to come. Utility planning. We've been working closely with the regional utility board as we get closer to opening the new wastewater treatment plant. That that's going to be a big deal and will help us improve services
and plan for growth. We're working on this again as a group and making sure we're thinking ahead and planning to serve the community the right way. Land development rules. Another thing we're doing is updating our land
development code. That's basically the rule book for where and how things can be built. We want to make sure the rules make sense and that future development still fits with the look and feel of the town of Lake Placid. One of the things that I think is very important is our
our sign ordinance. Uh I think we need to take another look at that and do do a lot of bit of tweaking here and there. The local planning agency will be working through the process in order to bring recommendations to us the town
council for further review and considerations of changes as we get focused on doing things the right way. It's very important that we keep the hometown feel. I know people are worried about too much change, but let's be
clear. We're not trying to turn Lake Placid into a big city. We just want to plan smart, protect what matters, like our lakes, our canals, and make sure that that this stays, as it is right now, a great place to live. We're doing
everything we can to keep that small town friendly feel while stilling improving where we can and we're doing it as a team. Budget and services. Now, as we head into the budget season, some
folks have asked about the idea of contracting out certain town services. We'll be talking about that during the budget workshops where each council member will have the chance to bring ideas forward. Nothing's been decided
yet, but if there are good options, we'll look at them carefully and talk it through as a council. We just want what's best for the town and the people we serve. Fireworks. We have a thank you letter here that I'm going to have Charlotte read in a
minute. But and just today we got this letter and a photo from a visitor who watched our Fourth of July fireworks from her uncle's home on Lake June. She said the show was incredible and she wanted to
thank the town. She even sent a beautiful 8x10 photo she took that night and that kind of appreciating means a lot. And we're going to try to put this on I don't know on our our web page or somewhere because that is such a
beautiful picture that I think represents one of the things that Lake Placid does best. And now I'm going to ask our our town administrator to please uh please read the letter that she sent. Dear Mayor, I wanted to take a moment to
personally thank you and the town of Lake Placid for putting on such an incredible fireworks display this year. It was absolutely spectacular and my family and I were blown away by the show. We've been coming out to Lake Placid every year since we were kids to watch the fireworks from my uncle's
house on Lake June. It's a tradition we look forward to and treasure deeply. Each year it brings us joy, but this year's display was especially impressive. The colors, timing, and excitement were unforgettable. I have enclosed a photo that I took of my uncle's deck on Lake June. Thank you
again, Dana. Okay, if anybody'd like to see the letter or the photo, we we do have it available. Okay. And I want again I want to thank all the staff, volunteers, and council who help
make the fireworks what they are. And there again, we don't do these things alone. It's a full team effort and the JC's lead the charge. They have been in charge of the uh fireworks for as long as I can remember. So they and they do a
great job for the town every year. All right. Now for a little bit of bad news. Grant funding update. We were recently told that the state granting fund for utility expansion has been frozen for this year. Yeah, that that's tough news,
but we are not giving up and council is already working with staff to look for other funding options and stay on track with our goals. Uh we are in constant communication with the the powers that be and as money comes available, you can bet we're going to we're going to be
applying for it. And again, before I wrap up, I just want to thank each and every one of our citizens and council members and staff for for the the caring and love that you give to our town. Whether you come to
the meetings or just check in with questions, you're part of what makes makes Lake Placid great. As your mayor, I'm always here if you need me, as well as the town council members and staff. If you ever have a question, all you
need to do is come see one of us. If we don't have the answer, we will darn sure get it for you. Council member as a team are working together and we're proud to be serving our community. And I hope we can keep working as a team because that's the
only thing that's going to make a place make Plaza the place that we're all proud and able to call home. Thank you for listening. Okay. Now, presentations and citizens on the
agenda. First of all, in the presentations, I want to put a big thank you out to the county for what they did on West Enerlake. The road there was in deplorable shape. They came out several
times, put band-aids on it, and they finally came out, milled it, repaved it, and it's just a much safer and better area. We We've got other areas of concerns that we're going to be working on in the future. But at least that one is now finished. And I just want to
thank the county, go on record is thanking the county for what they did. Okay. Also, uh Allan, would you please stand up? As of July 5th, Allan just started his 21st year
as our team. To me, that means a lot when you can keep your employees for that long. We have a great staff. I appreciate everything they do. And as I see them around town, I always stop and tell them how much I appreciate them. And I hope
you all will do the same. Can can I just add on at the budget um meeting this week with Highlands County afterwards, Lori Hummer said, "Allen is an awesome
employee. You have an awesome employee down there and called out Allen." So, I just want to add to not just the seniority, but for 21 years being an awesome employee. You're really a role model for a lot of other people and we thank you.
Thank you for those. Appreciate you, Alan. Okay. All right. I have nothing on citizens of agenda. Uh citizens on the agenda. Is there anybody that would like to say a few words? If not, we will continue.
All right. New business. I don't have any any agenda items. So, I guess we'll go on to 7D1, the proposed millillage. Our town administrator is going to go
down below. Apologize. Bear with us just a moment. So before we get into the specifics of the millillage rate and financial outlook, I think it's important to ground our discussion in the mission of our budget and finance department. So tonight, we're going to look at the military
history, the trends, and the recommendations. The mission statement for budget and finance is on the screen. Everything we do from preparing the budget to managing expenses and reporting to the public, it is all guided by this commitment to
operate transparently in full compliance with state law and with the highest level of fiscal responsibility. This is not just about numbers. It's about building public trust. Every dollar that we manage is a dollar entrusted to us by the residents of the
town of Lake Placid. Our goal is to ensure that our budget reflects both our community's priorities and our values of accountability, integrity, and prudence. Tonight's presentation, including the proposed millillage options, is part of
that mission, helping ensure that we have our the resources needed to continue providing the services to our residents, the residents who rely on all of the services while being thoughtful and responsible stewards of public funds.
Okay, I've gone too far and it won't let me go back. So, bear with me just a moment. Third slide if you can get it there, Leanne. Oh, I see it now. Thank you. I don't know about y'all, but even with
glasses on, I cannot see that little arrow up there in the corner of that screen. Thank you. I see it now. Thank you, ma'am. So, as we walk through this budget development process, I want to emphasize
that this is not a static plan. The proposed budget we begin with will absolutely evolve based on council's feedback and the community input. As mentioned in the mayor's opening remarks, there have been discussions about the potential to contract out
certain services in the future, and those are important conversations, but they also require broader planning, coordination, and policy development before any transitions can occur. For the purposes of this budget cycle, we are continuing to plan based on the
services that we currently provide inhouse, which include police, sanitation, water, wastewater, parks, and recreation among a lot of other things that we do in the town. But these are our key operational realities and we must budget accordingly to keep these
services running at the level that residents expect. Looking forward, we will be identifying areas where local government policies, including procurement practices, fee structures, and cost controls, can be established or improved to help us address the
long-term impacts of inflation and ensure the financial sustainability for the town of Lake Placid. This process is designed to be very responsive, transparent, and forwardinking with your direction as council and the voices of
our residents guiding it along the way. So, as we work through the budget, it's important to understand the and consider the broader context that shapes our decisions. Five key factors influence our financial outlook. As you can see on the screen, economic conditions with
rising inflation and labor costs are driving up expenses across all departments from fuel to insurance to equipment. our growth. As Lake Placid and Highlands County grow, the demand on our infrastructure, our utilities, our
roads, our parks, and public safety, it all increases. Community needs. Residents expect reliable services, safe neighborhoods, and well-maintained public spaces. Our budget must reflect those priorities.
Legislative mandates and funding cuts. state state mandates like the house bill 1379 which is our advanced wastewater treatment plant where we received our grant to be able to expand as the mayor mentioned earlier that has been cut and we will not be able to apply for grants
for that for this fiscal year. We were also made aware whenever um Miss Lori Hearner from the county came and presented their budget last week that we also have experienced in our county as a whole cut backs from funding from FDOT.
Funding cuts directly affect how quickly we can move forward with any of our utility and infrastructure projects. Even with the $40 million grant that we received, we still have to plan strategically on how we'll continue with that project. our strategic priorities.
This budget isn't just about balancing numbers. It's about moving the town of Lake Placid forward in ways that will preserve our small town charm while strengthening the essential services that we provide. General trends.
The town of Lake Placid is on the radar for new investments and just recently we see this with Project Crave, more currently known as the Amazon project. That project and development is anticipated to bring in 200 new jobs to this area. That kind of development is a
clear signal that we are positioned for growth in the town of Lake Placid and people are paying attention to what our town has to offer. We work closely with the county economic development office on ways that we can grow and expand and we have a meeting scheduled with them next week.
With growth comes opportunity, increased tax base, new businesses, and the chance to strengthen our economy. But it also brings the pressure on our services. More traffic means more wear on the roads. More homes mean more demand on our water, sewer, and sanitation. More
families mean greater need for parks and the public spaces and also for public safety. Our population is expected to grow gradually. And while it may not be explosive, even slow growth puts consistent strain on our infrastructure. As a result, our budget must be
proactive and not reactive. And that's what we really want to get ahead of is that we don't want to keep reacting to the things that come up. So, how can we be proactive? We want to plan for this growth in a way that protects our hometown charm and ensures reliable services for the residents that we have the honor to
serve. and it will position Lake Placid to thrive not just today but for 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 years down the road. This is why the decisions made particularly as we move into the millillage discussion is so important. It's not just about
this year. It's about ensuring that we provide the necessary services now while we prepare for the future we all want for the community of the town of Lake Placid. The next slide reflects millillage rate decisions in Lake Placid and provides a little bit of a community overview. The
photo that I chose here was taken in February 2017. And as you can see, we all know that even this mural in the back, if we drive by it, it's all getting ready to be repaired. And I think is a true reflection of what happens over time. Things erode. It gives us a good picture
of that. But over the years, our prior councils made thoughtful decisions to keep the millage rate low, often even below the roll back rate. These choices were made with good intentions to minimize the financial burden on our residents. But like many towns across
Florida, the long-term effect was a slowdown in our ability to grow revenue at the pace of our community needs. For example, in 2010 to 2011, the town kept the rate steady at 3.81. 81. Even though the roll back was 4.61,
that also meant a 17% drop in revenue that year. Multiply that across several years and we will begin to see the impact. This history doesn't reflect bad decisions. Each council makes a decision based off of the circumstances and the
position that they are posed with at that time. It reflects more of a focus on relief during those times. But now we have to ask ourselves, how do we sustain the services our residents expect and deserve? So why does less revenue matter?
Part of what makes living in Lake Placid so special is that we provide our own essential services with our own dedicated employees right here in the town. That includes police protection, sanitation services, parks and recreation, and our own regional water
and wastewater utility systems. These services keep our town running. From the roads we drive on to the water we drink to the parks where our children play and our community gathers for events and celebrations. They reflect the identity and quality of the life we are proud of
in the town of Lake Placid. When revenue is limited, these services don't disappear over the overnight, but they do slowly diminish. Fewer police police patrols, delayed trash pickup, utility systems that can't keep up with growth,
parks that go without regular mowing, broken equipment that isn't replaced, and community spaces that do fall into disrepair. These are all visible signs of underinvestment. and these things chip away at the very fabric of our community and who the town of Lake
Placid is. We're not looking to expand unnecessarily. We're focused on preserving the hometown experience that our residents expect and deserve. The charm of the town of Lake Placida depends not on just what you see, but how you feel when you live here. And that includes safe
neighborhoods, clean and reliable drinking water, clean parks, and safe parks with well-lit fields and safe playgrounds. All with welcoming public spaces where families make memories and desire to have their children return and
come back. Let's talk about the roll back rate, which sounds like holding the line, but in reality, it can truly hold a town back. The roll back rate gives us the same revenue as the year before. That means there's no adjustment for inflation, no
allowance for rising costs, and no margin to invest in any improvements. Choosing a rate above roll back is not about burdening our residents. It's about being responsible stewards of our future. It's how we make sure the next
generation enjoys the same hometown feel and quality services that brought many of us here in the first place. The roll back rate is often seen as a way to keep taxes flat and technically it really does do that but it also freezes our revenue and in today's
economy where costs for the fuel equipment insurance and personnel have all gone up staying at the roll back rate means we fall behind year after year. We can't m today's maintain today's services at the levels using
yesterday's dollars. That's the hard truth. Inflation doesn't wait and neither do the demands on our staff and the infrastructure. As we went through the history of the millillage decisions and the long-term financial implications of operating
below the roll back rate, we had to ask what rate allows us to realistically sustain services like police, sanitation, water, wastewater, and parks, not just this year, but for the years to come. And on the screen you
will see the five different millage options that we presented. After careful review, we identified 3.65 as a practical and strategic target for us to start with. It reflects a level of funding that gives us room to maintain
our existing services, invest in deferred infrastructure, and begin to address priorities that have been postponed due to past underfunding. From a municipal management perspective, this is a conservative approach to stabilize stabilizing our operations
without overextending. Importantly, one key takeaway is that under Florida law is that we can set the proposed millage rate high and reduce it during the budget process, but you cannot raise it once council approves a
proposed millillage. By proposing 3.65, 65. The town does preserve flexibility. It allows town council and the public to have full discussions before a final adoption. Whether we land at the 3.65 or we choose to to lower it to a lower
option. What's most important is that we don't return to a pattern of shortfalls. And we do have a comparison that we would like to pull up. Eva, do you have that one saved? Where have that?
It's at It's not on the PowerPoint. Which one are we doing? The three comparisons. It's not on the bottom of the screen. Right there. There you go. Thank you. You might have to blow it up. So what you're looking at here is we
have three snapshot views where we took three different property values and we divided it out so that you could see what the rates would be. We were asked about why we didn't take it to five. We put five here just for presentation
purposes. I want to leave that up there so everybody has a chance to look at it. The proposed millage at 3.65 is going to be here and it would show you what the taxable value is, the prior year property tax, the difference annually
and the per month difference. Got 206 here, 61 and 469. We have five 3.65 350 3.25 3.15
and 3.10. I would like to turn this portion over to our town clerk who has extensive background in the process and she can explain how she performs this task in the clerk's office. So, madame clerk, I turn it over to you, ma'am. So, the state of Florida has their truth
and millage. As a town clerk, I'm responsible for following chapter 200 of the Florida code to make better. I'm not used to talking much. So, I do the truth in millillage. I'm
the one that was responsible for that. The first uh July 1st, the county sends us the taxable values. We complete the DR420. I use that DR420 to come up with the different scenarios so I'm able to
calculate that out. Once the count town council approves your um proposed millillage um I will then complete that DR420 and that will go to the county. On the DR420 it will have our first
meeting date which is September. Um so that's our first notice to the public. them when they get their trim uh get mailed to them. After that, we move through our process. When it gets to the September 1st
hearing, you still have an opportunity to reduce that 3.65 or whatever you decided at that time as we go through the budget process. Um everything is timelined out. County has their timeline. We have our timeline that I have to report everything. So, our
second adoption hearing is the third Monday of September because within a few days after that, we need to start getting everything set sent to the state of Florida. Um, so just an overall on how that process works and looks at. So,
my job is to give give you all the scenarios and work with staff, you know, with with Charlotte and Rachel as we go through the budget process. Yes. Ju just a quick question in in what the county gives you. Um what I'm
curious is what the estimated number of you know houses and businesses that a tax bill goes to. So I I can send you the DR420 which will give you the total tax value. Keep in mind that this DR420 and what the
numbers that they give us these are estimates. Okay. During the course of time once everything gets processed and and at the end of the process property owners have the availability to go back to the county and say you overappraised.
So when we give you that dollar amount we may get less during the course when we get our final say payout from from the taxes may be lower. We have properties that they didn't pay their taxes so we're not re receiving that
revenue. So there's a lot of flexibility in the number that we end up with as a true dollar amount for revenue. But but does that 420 say this is the number of tax bills that are No, it does not give me a total.
I'm curious as to that number what the number of tax and it's like homes that are taxable and businesses. Do you know that? Well, I don't. Well, I did a little bit of research and I was the number is approximately 1,045 total residences
from if if those numbers are that's about right a number of residents. I do a lot of jurisdictional counts on properties. So that's about right. I can give you the number pretty much the number of properties that are being taxed um and and give you that
number. That's the total number of properties I was told. But of that amount, there is a good portion that is below the $50,000 exemption level. And there are some that get the widows exemption. There's the ven uh veterans and permanently disabled
benefit. So out of that 1,000 and some, it's actually less lower of taxpayers. And and that's where the fluctuation on what we actually receive versus, you know, what we propose in the budget. Um, that's all estimates and that's the best
we can go on as far as that. And then second, um, do you have what the county told you this year for the taxable value because they told us it's probably going to go up 8%. Right. They So, I'm
I don't have it on with me, but I can send it out to council. Can you I would be interested in what the dollar that they're saying they're estimating and I get it. It's an estimate for this year and then also what was the dollar for last year because that they told us it's looking
at 8% taxable increase uh during the budget meeting. So the DR420 does show that it will show you the current year and it will show you the prior year. So it's all on that document. Right. Thank you. But but isn't that accounted for when they
calculate the roll back rate? That is all calculated on the DR420 which includes the extra 8%. I don't know what the 8% is difference between the two but the you'll see I'll send the DR428. I can't go through how
they calculate that. It's it's very you'll you'll see the form and you'll see how it's calculated. They divide this line by that line and you know so it's a so I think what a lot of calculations that go into that roll back rate. So the
question is the 8% that we were told property values were going to go up, does that contribute to um it contributes to the calculation of the roll back rate? So it goes into the roll back rate. So it's already accounted for.
So the roll back rate says this is the revenue you took in last year and if you go with the roll back rate, you're going to get the same exact amount of revenue or give or take. Mhm. But it does not account for inflation,
doesn't account for cost. It's saying you're just getting the same exact money you got last year versus this year. It doesn't take anything else into consideration um for those dollars. And just clarity, I'm rounding up it was like 7.86% 86% or something that they
but they they did um state and and I did listen to the county commissioner's meeting that there is going to be on average for Highlands County this percent of property tax increase but there is every year right
and that's because the property value went up property values have gone up considerably you know ever since co and everybody's coming down to Florida and finding their way to Highlands County in Lake Placid.
And then this was just the historical snapshot of the rolled back rate and this is provided by the town clerk every year when we go through this process. And so it gives a historical snapshot. I know that um it's was out there that we
were raising taxes by 18% and I think that the reason why we wanted to put this in the public, there's also a video that is um going out to our residents through the Next Door app and then it was also posted on our Facebook page to be able to provide what the roll back looks like because it's it it's very
different in what people believe it is opposed to what it truly is. And even with the DR I always 420 it's very cumbersome as you will see Councilwoman Charles it is not simple math and accounting once you get it is very detailed and cumbersome to come up with
the numbers ju just to clarify the 18% not this 18% but somebody calculated if you go from the 3.1 which we have now to a 3.65 that's 18%. So it's not this roll back
over here. It's a strict in the packet was 3.1 3.15 3.2 and 3.65. So going from today's rate to 3.65 is an 18%. That's where that number came from. I understand. Thank you for your clarification.
And so if you see here 2006 2007 and you go through you will see where we operated many years under what even the state said we needed to function. So the 3.65 as you can see was um decided upon because we held it here for
eight years study. We understand that any discussion around raising taxes brings concern and rightfully so. Many of our residents are on fixed incomes and every increase feels very personal. We hear those concerns and as public servants, we
deeply respect and value the voices of our community. At the same time, it's our responsibility to look honestly at the state of our own town services and plan for what's ahead. Choosing the roll back rate again means that we bring in the same amount of revenue as last year,
but costs for the fuel, materials, maintenance, and staffing continue to rise. In the short term, adopting the roll back rate might feel like the easier choice. But over time, it does chip away at the very things that make the town of Lake Placid home. Our public
spaces, our safety, and our ability to deliver services that residents count on. This really isn't about unnecessary expansion. It's about protecting the small town charm that brought people here in the first place. It's about maintaining that standard that requires
thoughtful investment. And this conversation is about making sure that we can continue to provide the core services for everyone who lives in the town of Lake Placid. This is an area that I asked Allan to speak on. So Alan, will you please tell them where this road is located and how
we experienced that just recently as of last week? This area is at the intersection of the service alley and West Park Street by the historical society. Uh few few weeks ago, all you would have
seen was some of those stress cracks and all it takes is a couple rainstorms and it completely disintegrated and washed down the hill. So, uh, we have repaired it since then, but it just happened to coincide with us coordinating with the county a week ago
to actually fix a different area. Uh, but we were able to get that took pre precedence and we were able to fix that today. Thank you, Alan. That also speaks about the intergovernmental coordination that we have with the county because they do have the asphalt plant. So, it worked
out very nicely that we were able to get that taken care of right away. understanding the millillage and where Lake Placid stands among peer communities. See if I can try to blow it up, but it won't let me.
This slide shows how Lake Placid's millage rate compares to other towns similar in size and structure. what the state refers to as a non-entitlement unit of local local government. We have been asked and been compared to Avon Park and Sebring. However, these numbers
reflect municipalities that are exactly like ours or very much alike alike ours. They don't receive direct federal funding and rely heavily on local revenue. Looking at this comparison helps put our rate into perspective and shows how we align or we differ from
peer communities facing the same service demands that the town of Lake Placid is. If anyone in the public would like a copy of this, if you reach out to our town clerk, she will be able to provide that to you. All of town council
received a hard copy on their on the dis The town is working to ensure we have the resources needed to deliver the core services that our residents rely on. From protecting public safety and maintaining infrastructure to caring for the parks and the public spaces that
give Lake Placid its identity, pride, and sense of community. But more importantly, it's a reminder that we are in this together. Budgeting isn't just about numbers. It's about the people. If we don't have the people, then what are we here for? It's about how we as a
town, as the council, as a staff, as a residents, as our business owners, how we all come together to shape a place that we all call home. As our fellow partner with the tourist development and community leader, Casey Hart says all the time, we're on the same team. This
isn't a matter of us versus them. It's about partnership. Each of us is an essential piece of the fabric that makes up the town of Lake Placid. Whether you're maintaining utilities, serving on the council, running a local business, or simply
raising a family here, we all want the same thing. Clean, safe neighborhoods, reliable services, and a community that works for everyone. Not just today, but for the years to come. And that's what this process is about.
So uh on the screen you will see our upcoming budget workshop dates. All of the workshops will be held here from 6:00 to 9. As we look ahead, we want to take a moment to remind everyone how important it is for your participation and to be
here. Council members are encouraged to contact the finance director directly to schedule a time in advance if there are any budget items that you would like to review or clarify. She will coordinate with schedules to ensure that myself and her are both available to meet with each
council member together. Residents are also invited and encouraged to participate in this process as well. If you would like to discuss the budget one-on-one, please reach out to the town clerk's office and she will be able to coordinate the meetings. We welcome and encourage community input. Your
involvement plays a key role in shaping the future of the town of Lake Placid. This this process is a partnership between all of us. With that, I want to thank each of you for your time and even everyone behind me. I tried to say thank
you to those who came. your thoughtful attention to the priorities, your leadership, and your attentiveness means very much to to the res to the residents, but also to the staff who are trying to develop the budget that council will set. So, thank you. And I'll turn it back over to Mayor
Hullbrook. While you're there, just if anybody has any questions, yeah, come up. Yeah, this is an important topic and everybody needs to understand how this works.
Jack Connley, 607 Sunset Point Drive. Uh, I'm not an accountant, so I may ask some dumb questions. The uh the uh on the with the uh 3.65% or 3.65 mil rate, right? It it it
appears that the additional revenue would be about $41,000. Just taking it off your your sheet here. Okay. Now, if we were to eliminate the $200,000 that's going to the pickle
ball courts, we could reduce that uh uh 3.65 65 uh mills by about 50%. Right. The other thing that I have a
question is on is uh the the next line on the item there it talks about 90 95% of taxable value. This is that assuming that uh you're not going to be able to collect the full uh 100% uh or
you want me to explain what is that? I can better explain that. Okay. So that has to do with our CRA. So in 2017 the CRA was established. At that time there's it's called tax increment financing. At that time when they
adopted the CRA for our general fund it froze your taxable values at that time the remaining portion so 95% that remaining points as it goes up as your property values go up that um funding is diverted
to the CRA. So in essentially your streets and let's say your streets and world uh the general fund it kind of froze up any additional as you said the 8% going up in taxable value if it's in the CRA district that funding is going
to the CRA it's not going to the general fund so that means that part roads and those types of things um you're not getting the value because it's now going to CRA now the town voted to do a very large CRA. Um, so our our plan allows
for beautifification, allows for infrastructure. The added bonus of getting that CRA was that you now get that same 95% above uh, as the property values go up, we also get that from the county. So, we get the
county portion of the taxes also goes into the CRA. That is funding we would not have had without a CRA if if that makes sense. So we're actually getting we've actually taken funding from the county goes in our CRA and funding from
our general fund that goes into the CRA. So that's that 95% calculation. Okay. So the 95% is what you really have to work with as far as the uh Yes. You you lose that you lose that
you lose 5% to the CRI. Okay. Now, the uh besides the the the regular t uh city taxes that are on our tax bill, there's a uh there's an item there for I believe
trash trash collection. That's your nonavalorum taxes account. Now, that's that's not included in this. No. Right. So that that that could go up too then.
Yes. Depending on what it could go up to go through the budget process. Okay. Now I noticed look at look just looking at my tax bill that the uh the taxes for uh Lake Placid not including the the trash collection is
roughly about6th of my total bill. Right? So if if all the other entities on there uh increase their budget by 17.7 or 18%,
you're talking about quite a bit of money. I mean, I'm lucky I can afford it, you know, but there's a lot of people in town that wouldn't be able to afford, you know, an additional $500 or so uh on
their tax bill. I think that's something that you you should think about. That's all I have. Thank you. My name is Chad Heath. I live at 588 Sunset Point Drive in Lake Hustid. And
first of all, I want to say something to to John when I you were the first person I met here and you made a point tonight that you made to me then that made helped me decide to move here and that was he wanted to maintain that small
time small town feel and so far I think we we've done it but it's a fight. I have a question about the the calculations. There has to be a relationship between the the capital needs of the town and
the uh increase in mill rate. I would ask what is the ratio as we add new services or new expenses that come every year? How does that come out to in terms of percentage increase in the
millage rate? Is there any kind of calculation that'll show me that if we spend $100,000 here, will I come out to another $1,000 uh I'm sorry, another uh 0.1 uh increase in in the military? I This is a
curiosity question, but it'd be easier for us to analyze uh things coming before the council if we knew both the cost of acquisition of whatever is we build and the cost of maintenance. the two were not coupled together, but perhaps time does couple
them together. So, I'd like to I'd like to know that answer. I can't calculate it myself, but it would be interesting to know when we money, how much is it going to increase our taxes at home? Thank you. Okay.
Okay. Anyone else? Okay. You what? Okay. As you see on there uh placed on the agenda that staff is presenting five millage rate op five different options
for consideration. You may adopt a high proposed rate and reduce it later but just remember once we set this uh we can never go above that. So we want to make sure what we do is what we think
is going to carry us through for the next year. uh would we're proposing a 3.65. It was brought to my attention that there were some that thought we should go to five, but I think five is just a little excessive. I think if we're going to do it, let's let's do it gradually
over a number of years, but at least try to keep up with with with inflation, what's going on. We lost what, 7% last year in revenue. We can't afford to keep losing money and maintain everything the way it is. So I I think we need to go
up, but it's just we just got to decide to how much you want to do it. What did you just say? We lost 7% in revenue last year. Yeah, it it was on there. It was I don't have the exact figure in front
of me. Let's see if we can find it. That's the roll back difference. Yeah, we went from 21% down to 24%. I don't think that's not revenue dollars, right? No, no, no.
So make sure I understand that number is the difference that if we had um never mind okay so we were bar we were barely above the roll back
Eva, will you explain the reason why it will state in the newspaper that we have an increase? Could could you explain that for them? So, under Florida state law, it's a it's a it's a tax increase. Um, it's a legal
term they use, tax increase. is a tax increase because the law is written so that says if you go over the that roll back rate, you're increasing taxes. Again, I remind you that the state of Florida statute doesn't allow for uh
inflation costs going up. That's just a straight this is what you're getting. This will keep you the same as you were last year and it doesn't allow for any um any other increases that are happening with
you know staff or roads you know and all the increase and there has been extreme increase in road construction costs we've seen that across the board too and I think the county has also pointed out that so that's basically why you're
you're advertising a increase because State of Florida says that's an increase, but just keep in mind that that only allows for uh you know, you're getting the same you get last year. You got $100 there last year, going to get
$100 this year, and it cost $150. And and there again, once you set this rate, doesn't mean you have to stay at that rate. Correct. We we can drop it once we get all of our numbers in and everything, but at at least we're we're doing
something to to help control it. Okay. So, I'll jump in. Um there's no argument in my mind that we would go to a roll back rate. So that's not even a I mean I get it that that's
what the state and this and that but in today's environment as last year I don't recommend going to a roll back rate. So I appreciate all these charts of the difference between roll back and millage and all that. I'd like to just talk yeartoyear
increase. Last year we approved 3.1 and I think this is a good chart up there and you know the year before 3.5. So, we see the trend coming down, but I'd like to move away from these mill rates and let's talk true dollars
and what this equates to. And and that's what I've done my homework on. So, over the last four years, let's just say the last four years because according to this, it was 3.25 and then it came down to 3.1 mil. And that's what we see on
our property tax bill as ad valvelorum town of lake placid. So over the last four years the revenue has increased and I'm going to come back to that with how much it has increased. So the advalorum revenue to us over the last four years has
increased. CRA monies have increased also. Even though it's a different bucket and it's only a area, a pretty large area we can spend it on, it is still our money to spend. And I don't want to forget the CRA um dollars.
Property taxes have increased. Property tax values have increased year-over-year. We just talked about they're estimating 8% this year. So year-over-year, new construction has been completed throughout um the town
which is also adding to the property tax base. Let's not forget the town of Lake Placid has a 1% utility tax and that's so when you look at our revenue adorum is the highest amount of our revenue.
The next highest is the utility tax, which is a tax on electric and propane. Electric costs have been going up. So, we're getting no more more revenue for utilities. The third largest revenue is
um the electric franchises. That's also gone up. That's what Duke Energy and the and the utility its utility franchise. So, as I look at over the last four years of our budget, not even our
budget, our actuals to now, we've had some re sizable revenue increases. For example, in 2022 2122 budget year, the CRA was 66,000.
Adalorum was 781,000. utilities was 378 in 2020 three the next year the CRA went from 66 to 109,000 ad valorum went up 848 now it starts to grow because that's
when people are starting to move here and the and the values are going up 2324 CRA increased to 245,000 adorum increased to 958 2425 this budget here
um ad valorum and actually through uh the current the June report is at a million48 so 2122 put that other chart back up there if we can I don't care about the so so to me I like to talk dollars I
mean all these numbers are good but how do those numbers equate to dollars because there's other things going up that is the impact on the revenue coming to us. So I had just mentioned ad valorum for 2122 which was 3.25 at that time. Adopted
millage was 781,000 and right now we're going to we're already at a million30 33 at a 3.1. So in four years we're talking the $350,000
and that's just adorum. CRA has gone from 66,000 um up to 300 and some. And I think I mean Rachel would be better, but the CRA balance right now is I think right now it's 300 and some, but we're expecting to get another 200,000. So, we've got a
sizable C CRA balance. In addition, we have a couple fund reserves that you've heard me bring up in the past. You know, one is the general fund reserve, which has like 1.3 million um in it. And I know the mayor graciously every time I
bring it up saying, "Well, is there money here?" And the infrastructure reserve is like $2.4 million. So, we're talking $4 million and two reserves of the town that we could tap into. And as I've brought it up at least three times
over the last 15 months, the mayor graciously let me know that it didn't used to be that way. We've built it up and we can't let it go. Well, we have a policy from nine years ago as a reserve adequacy policy that says every year we
should be reviewing that and that we need to keep three months in the reserve. So, so I believe that's 4 million of taxpayer money. Am I suggesting that we draw it all down? No. But I'm suggesting that we look at what
are the things that we need to get done that we're not and then is it really a tax increase from the 3.1 up when we know we've got extra another 8% coming in if the property tax values are higher
and then we also have um reserves that we should as town council fidiciary responsibilities be looking at that so long and I've I mean I've got more numbers here. I even took a look at the
chart that was in the town packet where it says if we do 3.1 and if we go up to 3.65, we're talking under 200,000 to increase it from where we are now, 3.1 to a 3.65
in dollars. in dollars and that's what I added together on this chart what the CR and the AD deloreum would be if we had 3.1 or if we had 3.2 or we had 3.65.
So, and again I'm not at all suggesting we go to a roll back rate because of a lot of the things that we want to get done, things we haven't gotten done that we need staff and we need projects to get done.
But I'm not supportive of a 3.65. And I'm at the 3.1 because of the couple hundred the the money that's going to come in this year over and above last year's revenue. And the difference between 3.1 and 3.65 is 200 is like
180,000. So I will pause because I have done a lot more analysis over the revenue and that and I'm I'm satisfied that we have a lot of revenue. We just haven't done the right way of determining where to
use it. And second, I don't know that we've done the right way in our budget of what is the staff needs. What are the things that we need? And nor have we ever done a five-year business plan is what a lot that you do is okay these are the things we want to get done in x amount of years. What can we afford this
year what about next year and etc. So then are you saying that um the difference between the 3.1 and the 3.65 65 is only a couple hundred,000. And so, um, we can find
other places to either find that or decrease expenses to that extent so that we would not have to, um, raise that that rate to 3.65. Did I understand that correctly? So, Eva, if you can go in the agenda item for today, right,
which has this sheet that was the the schedule. I think that shows it a little better. That's what I have up on my Oh, you have it up, but she needs it up for the public. Yeah, I have it on my computer. Yeah. So, what I did with this sheet, not the packet. The packet.
And I'm not necessarily reduc saying reducing costs. I'm saying when we do the budget, what are some of the cost efficiencies that we can attain? What are the needs that we have? And I think that we have I think we have uh the the revenue
that's going to be coming in for next year and also um some significant fund reserves that we have. So what I did is is just let's use this one. I took the 988 which is the you know less the CRA
but then you're going to add it back in again. But I took the 988 and I added the the CRA the revenue right there. So 337907 is CRA revenue plus 9.88 town revenue gives you a million 326658.
So I'll pause Eva if you think I've added that wrong. Okay. So then if you go to the last page which is 3.65 and you do the same thing. You add the town revenue of one. Go to the option 3.65.
Yeah, I've done each of them. Okay, here. So, if you go down and say town tax revenue 1 point 1,164 and you add the CRA revenue of 354 to it, it's a million519. So, the difference of
I don't see 354. I see 242. No, the total CRA revenue. I don't CRA total right here. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm lying. Okay, I got you. Yeah. So basically we're talking 1,ion326
at a 3.1 mil or 1,ion519 at a 3.65. So two just under 200,000. That's why I want to talk numbers, not these percents and things like that.
Let's just talk raw number because again utility taxes are going up, property values are going up. There's a lot of things that attribute to the revenue. So, and expenses are going up. So, we know that too, right? So, you're saying that because the
difference in the 3.1 versus the 3.65 65 is only a couple hundred,000 that we could stay at the 3.1 and not um not overt tax our citizens and still be okay. Am I am I get have I got that right?
Yes. Okay. Because we also have considerably reserves that we could also use and then as some of the things come out hopefully during the master plans there could be grants and that to go to too. But I mean
it's the whole optics of continuing to you know and again the roll back the roll back is very confusing to people and I get that that right there is like a a tax increase. No it's year-over-year it's the same. Now granted whatever we set we can't go
above but that's the same thing that we did last year but you know may may I may I yeah I was just answering her question. Okay. Now, did you have any comments? No, I'm just good. I'm just trying to make sure that I understand what she's
saying correctly. Okay. Um, well, I'm just going to make a comment. I've spent a lot of time talking to staff and I've been watching. I've been here around here a long time. Look, pretty old. Um, I'm just saying that we were at 3.65 back in 2011, 2012.
I know you can I've done a lot of counting, too. not extensive as you, but you can manipulate, you can change figures, you can do this and that. Our staff has told me that they're recommending the 3.65
as a minimum to make our town pretty much roll along and do what we need, just what we need to do. We do need to um I believe we have to be competitive with um staff. Um the state legislature
hands down mandates unfunded mandates to all us all the time. Um and there's just if our staff is in the trenches and they're saying they need this, I want to at least sort support the 3.65 until we go through the workshops and hear from
everybody. I mean we owe that to our staff. That's my feeling on it. Can can I ask what the recommendations coming out from staff for the sizable increase are? Do we have like I mean somebody asked that earlier too but do we have like a list of what are the things we want to do which is generating
why there needs to be an it's very complicated it's very complicated and I don't know that we could spend I don't know um it's just a lot of moving parts um things happen roads wear out I mean you might
have so many roads in one year maybe you don't have any the next year I mean it's a calculation that our staff is out there in the trenches. They look at what needs to be done. They've made a recommendation. If we don't raise, I believe this that we need to raise salaries to keep competitive or we're
going to lose our best people. I hope you're not thinking about that, Alan. Don't listen to this. Harry, plug your all y'all plug your ears. But, you know, we have to be competitive. We just lost a staff member because of salary and a few more benefits. I don't want to
lose our good people. I want to keep our people and I'm just saying if our staff in the trenches, they do this every day. They see what needs to be done. If they're recommending 3.65, let's at least give them that and go through the workshop and hear from the public what
they want. Let's look at it in depth. We can't resolve all this tonight, I don't believe, but we do need to establish this um rate to work from. We can't go up later in our discussions. We can't go up. We're going to have to go down. So, or stay where we're at. So, anyway,
that's that's all I have to say. So, the objective tonight is to set the highest rate and we can always come down. So, I would say put it at the 3.65 for tonight, have all the budget workshops, see if we can, you know,
somehow get it lower, somehow get it lower. But I'd also like to point out that 3.65 was the rate for many years. And then out of the the kindness of their hearts, the sympathy of the prior councils got us in a hole. During those
years, inflation was about 47%. And we have to dig ourselves out of that hole. So I'm saying for tonight's purposes, make it to 3.65, go through the workshops, and then decide. Is that a motion?
All right, that's a motion. I'll second. All right, we have a motion and a second comments from I do I I I appreciate staff and what the recommendation. However, I still didn't hear I mean when when people come and
they say, "Well, we need to increase it." They usually say for these reasons and I'm not certain it's clear to me what these reasons are. So, so Charlotte, was there a list of things that were missing? And then the last is somebody made the comment that we were
in a hole from a few years ago. I don't know where that hole is compared to the numbers that you're seeing of revenue going up, but okay. So, so what is driving the need to increase the current
3.1 which is going to give a couple hundred,000 anyways to 3.65. Was there a list of things or was it a warm and feely that this is what we should Definitely not warm and feely. If anything, it's very stressful because we're trying to make very good
decisions, not just for um the residents, but also for our business owners and everything. So, it's definitely not a touchy feely. We are definitely looking at numbers. We're looking at past historical data, but time constraints will prevent us from being able to look at everything with a fine tooth comb like you're
asking us to. The reality is is that as soon as we get the numbers from the county, then we now look at our budget and we try to determine off the millillage what we need to work off of. So we will go through this process as soon as you set it and we go through the budget workshops that have been set. The
information that's being asked, we will be able to present. It will be a transparent and open dialogue between staff, the residents and council. So this is the process that we go through in government as you set the millillage and then we walk you through the budget process and justify our requests at that
time. So, so just my last comment based on I get it. This is the highest and we can always go lower, right? But anybody who's gone through budgets knows whatever you approve, that's what I'm coming in at. So, we'll just leave it like that. Yeah.
Sorry. Can I just want everybody to understand that they set this rate doesn't necessarily mean that's what it's going to be. Nobody has a crystal ball. the next few months we work through the process, we get all the numbers, then we can come
back and adjust it. But if we set it at 3.1 and later on find out that isn't going to work, we cannot go up. But if we go to 3.65, then if we see we can adjust it down, that's not a problem. And that's what
we'll do. We'll adjust it down not only to help the town, but to help our taxpayers. And that's what it's all about. So, let let's get through the process and see. Uh, and we'll we'll do what we can for
everybody, but uh uh I'm sorry. I was going to say right now we have a motion to second. You got something else? I do. I do. Yeah. It's it's it's hard to get a word in on this end of Oh, so you have to raise your hand and wave a lot, you know,
because I can't see over anyway. Um, yes, I I understand what Councilwoman Charles is saying and I appreciate all of her calculations and and I I know she has her heart in the right place with all with all of them and they do make sense. They they they do make sense. I
get it. Um, but I also and and it concerns me a little bit that she has the idea that if we set this at 3.65 65 and staff knows that we're up there that they will then spend that money and you know regardless they're going to go up
to that past history for me not only being on this council. I've got not quite four years but I've been in the town an awfully long time um almost 50 years and I've never seen a council that took advantage or staff that took advantage of the fact that we had x
amount of dollars allocated. And I've also seen that that a military has been set by this council and then it is rolled back. It has come it has come down because once the budgets actually come out and we see oh we can we can do
this better, we can do that better and then we can come down. But I've always felt um trapped because I have to set a a military without seeing any numbers. So it would be my it would let me sleep
better at night if we set this at 3.65 and that way it gives us a flexibility to go down and we know we can't go up but 3.65 will will let us know that okay we can go this far. Maybe we I'm sure we
don't really want to but at least we have the ability to do that so that our town can continue to prosper. Okay, I done now. All right. Any other comments from the podium? Um I guess you know everybody is
concerned about the fixed income, lowincome people and um so there are the people who are in dire straits who probably live in a house that's under the $50,000 exemption. They get that.
Then there's also um if you're a widow, I think you get 5,000. Yes, exemption. And um if you're a veteran or permanently disabled, you get an exemption. Um if you are over certain age and low
income, you get an additional exemption. So I think the ones who are really in dire straits are considered. I'll pick the audience. Any comments? There's a couple down there. Step forward.
Step forward. State your name and address. And remember, it is a threem minute time limit on all comments. I live in Lake Placi. My name is Alena Silva, uh, 107 Heather Lake. We are unincorporated, but obviously we're still paying taxes. Um, for full
transparency, I think for all the residents and we you should have a list of all the items or the large items that you're looking to to spend that money. Um, I've worked with community
associations and we do this every year. We propose budgets and we go over all the large items and obviously the small ones. and you should have already an amount of money that you need for the
following year. I haven't heard anything. It just you have a list, you don't have it that you should be prepared to offer that to the residents so they know what you're looking to spend the money on. That's my
actually that's my that was my concern that I tried to say before. Both of you had that concern, but I haven't heard anything. Well, it's not time yet. See, we we set this rate. I know. And then we hear the budget. Well, you're going to approve the roll over tonight and and you're going to go to
the max, which is 365. Yeah, that's a lot. Yeah, but it's because we haven't we haven't heard what the what they are going to spend it for. So, to me, I wish we could do that backwards. I wish we could see correct the budget first and then the roll back, but we can't do that.
Correct. That's for transparency. I think we all should have um we should see a list at least. So the larger items, I understand the staff. I understand the firefighters and police and yeah, we all agree that we need to invest money on that, but we have to
also see the amount of money that you're looking to collect from us. Y as residents, thank you so much. This is the required process that the the town has to go through. it would make sense to do exactly what you're saying, but the state in its infinite wisdom said we have to do it this way.
So the you saw the three dates for the workshops, all the things that you're asking for will be discussed during the the workshops. Okay. Um my concern is that if you said the 3.65, I'm a little concerned that that's not
going to go down. That's my only thing. So I maybe finding a medium not necessary has to go 310 or 365 finding a medium and you can we can still have a little room to play with the numbers if it makes sense. Thank you
for your time. [Applause] Pam Pentress, 12373 Lost Lake Drive, Lake Placid. I live in the greater Lake Placid area. So, I always feel uneasy talking about uh taxes that town taxpayer and business owners pay. But I
would like to remind y'all that Lori Hearner stated last Thursday night here when she discussed the county's budget that please don't freak out. Spread the word. We're gonna we're going to set it at the max rate and then we'll review the budgets again and again and again
over the next two months and figure out where we're going to be. Right now the first budget draft proposal the county came up with is a 10.8% increase. Um they try to keep it around an average 5% total increase. Things that make it
different for Lake Placid than city surn and unincorporated Highlands County. The town of Plaza has twice the poverty rate of the as the average in the state of Florida. You have a medium income 28,000 uh dollars. You have higher um
percentage older homes in the town limits versus Apham Park or Sebring. you have a higher percentage rate of rental or lease homes in the town limits. All these are in combination adding in Lake June Point homes, Wat's Edge home,
higher income homes, higher incomes. So, it it averages out the the different areas in the town limits that have lower income. Governor is saying property tax cuts cuts. He's been proposing, he's talking about it. That's probably going
to happen in the future too. Um, be aware of that. The county said 9 7.9% increase in assessed value around 8%. That doesn't mean that will come back to the town of Lake Placid. Sever is
growing. Avon Park's growing. The county is growing. In my opinion, the town of Lake Placid isn't growing. Why? In large part, I think due to the Lake Placid Regional Plan. You cannot say some Avon part may grow 15% in assessed value. We
may be 5%. Even with the Amazon distribution center, the new state law that was passed, a is not only exempt for five years, it is now exempt for 10 years for the citrus groves that being pushed. So um what that means, we don't
we're not going to we not going to pay a fire assessment to the county. So other taxpayers will have to pony up more money to cover a exemption. It's a state law. Um there there are multiple state laws in effect that's going to affect
the town's budget in the process. And what you I don't think it's fair that 90% of the people that use the town parks, town amenities, um uh aren't paying town taxes. I I don't think it's fair. I'm coming up here and if I were to say y'all need to
double, triple, go up to 9% or nine mills, I'm not having to pay that. I clearly get that y'all are actually town taxpayers. So, um, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Please check my facts. Oh, this is Chatty 588 Sunset Point Drive in Lake Placid. Um on 611 in the Highlands Park Sun, there was an article in the Lake Placid section that said our taxes be ready. Your taxes are going to go up
because of the Amazon Center and uh because of Lake June Isles and other improvements that we've had. And I want to know why why don't those people pay for the increase instead of us? Uh why isn't there an impact fee when you move
in here and you build a building and you're you're you're going to impact the services that are required. Why isn't there an impact fee for doing that? Anyhow, thank you. That's my point. Okay, we'll bring it back to council. Pull the council, please.
Sorry. Council member Evard. Yes. Council member Worley. Yes. Council member Hayes. Yes. Council member Charles. No, because I'd like to see it at a lower rate and I'd like to know a little of why. What are the things that we want
to do? So, it's a no at the 3.65 is a no for me. All right. We now go to propose uh cemetery budget amendment
request. Good evening. Uh Alan Kefir, public works director. I'm here tonight to request a budget amendment in the cemetery. We had a 30 horsepower turbine irrigation pump go
out. Uh this pump is very old. It's been uh rebuilt at least two times in the recent past. Once five years ago, once two years ago. Uh this pump has been in the ground uh probably the better part
of 20 years. It's been moved at one point from inside the pump house to the outside because the well collapsed uh years back. So, this turbine pump requires the cast iron
pipe that drops down, has the shaft inside of it that propels the impellers and goes through the uh uh the screen at the bottom. That cast iron pipe uh we found after the turbine seized up, we had it pulled
and that cast iron pipe is completely corroded. Uh it's unusable. There's pin holes all through it. Uh the filter the screen at the bottom uh is completely also collapsed like just completely cave
caved in itself. So I am proposing that we do away with this system. Uh instead of using the same turbine pump replacing that uh it cost more for electricity to run that turbine. Uh, it's more maintenance. It
has to have the bearings redone occasionally. The motor windings have to be replaced. The oil, the noise. There's a lot of things that are inefficient about that pump in general. So, I'm
requesting uh up to 21,757 to shift to a 300galon per minute submersible pump. uh that will push everything that we have out there. There's roughly 50 sprinklers per zones. That would give us six gallons per
minute at each sprinkler with room to expand on each zone if required. Uh also that would shift us to a PVC drop pipe. So it would be PVC in that water, not metal that would corrode and
collapse the way this one has. Um, so I am requesting that you give uh the town administrator, Charlotte Rodriguez, permission to go out for bid and then make the decision after the
proper procurement process has been completed and then to for the sake of time so that way we can move forward as soon as those bids come in and a decision is made. Uh so that way we don't have to wait until the next council meeting.
While this is rainy season and the grass is doing very well, there are a lot of plants and trees out there that rely on this. And then the whole section that we just opened up in the middle um needs needs that extra water because we just
also shifted all that pipe and we need to be able to adjust everything that we've just You're getting lower and lower. You got to tuck. We're old up here. I'm getting lower. Sorry. The other option is to go back to the turbine, but it's for all the reasons
stated I recommended against it. You don't have those pictures available to you on on my phone. I can bring it up. No, they're on your phone. I wish it had them. Wish could have shown council what they look like. Yeah, due to the time crunch of uh
sending all this in, uh it was those pictures were taken the day after I had to submit everything. So your request is not 56,000, it's one or the other. Correct. Okay.
And your your recommendation as a 21-year-old 21-year service expert in your field is the the submersible, the the 21,000. It'll be more. It saves us money, right? Yes. It'll save us money in the long
run. uh if something goes wrong, we can swap out the whole pump uh for uh cheaper than what it's going to be now because right now we're having to pay to do the whole swap out. Sure. Lower future cost. You said this will be and they'll tell you pushing water is a lot easier than than
pulling water. So the submersible pump is actually much much more efficient. Also, the uh same electric that is in the uh current pump house uh is three-phase, which is exactly what the new pump will need. I
think the only addition will we should probably put in a disconnect switch just so we can uh pull it. Uh it was recommended and this would be funded out of the cemetery reserve fund. I would assume cemetery funds has more than enough to cover. I'll go ahead and make that
motion to authorize um the town administrator uh to pursue a submersible pump uh for the cemetery replacement pump. Second.
All right, we have a motion to second. Any other discussion from the podium? Hearing none, we'll take it to the audience. All right, seeing none, bring it back. pull the council. Council member Charles, yes. Council member Everheart, yes. Council member Hayes, yes.
Council member Worley, yes. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Next is the tower property and surrounding structures. Thank you, mayor. The town has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the
property owner of the tower site since 2009. We have been in um recent conversation with him because he was here um last May, not this past May, but May, a year ago, and he presented to council. We have had discussions come up
about the condition of the property, especially um regarding the buildings located behind the tower, which have been identified as having potential code violations. Um the concerns further underscore the need for a clear plan moving forward. The property owner does
plan, Mr. Chuck Spur plans to be here at the August meeting to have further discussion and to find out from council what do we do with the tower? What do we do with the property? Um our code enforcement has tried to actively address those concerns. However, because
of council discussion with Mr. Spurk, he has said that he wants to answer the call of save the tower. So the town we're asking what is our position where these are conversations for us to have especially it's timely with us moving
into the budget to determine it's a privately owned property are we involved in that are we not there are a lot of questions around that the historical context has been listed here so that you can see when Mr. Spurk has come forward with meetings in past beginning from
June 1 2009 Mr. Furk has said that he wants to know what the public wants at that property, but also what council would like to see. He has alluded to the fact that he would give the town the tower and develop the rest of the property. However, then that
poses this council with what would we do with the tower and how would we maintain pay for all of the costs that may be associated with the tower um use. So, we want to know how you would like for us to proceed forward with this. Mr. Spurk,
um, due to health reasons, has asked that I communicate with him and previs some of this prior to the August meeting, and he has, um, stated that he would reach out to council directly to have additional conversation one-on-one before the August meeting.
So, this is more for dialogue and to find out from you all what you would like for us to do. I think the first thing to do is get those buildings torn down and then I mean that's top priority
and I don't I don't understand what the issue is with the buildings because those buildings I mean right on 27 they just look horrible. So, I don't know how it's tied together with I need to sell you the or give you the tower to avoid.
No, you need to put those buildings in a condition, tear them down, something. So I don't understand the history of is there something we've promised him that he doesn't have to do that or the history of how he's holding town council and past meetings with him he's he's
indicated that he does not want the tower but he would revitalize the bottom. Uh but at this but at this point the buildings are not I don't believe salvageable. So they would have to be completely torn down. But he really
wants to get rid of the tower. I get that. and he that's what his that's what his goal is. But no, we've not we've not promised him anything. We've not made any deals with him. Uh he he did minimum maintenance on him just to get code enforcement off his back,
but I think it's time to No, I know, but it's time to do do something else. And I I don't know what the answer is. Uh, personally, I don't think the town can afford to even take the tower if if he
wants to give it to us because just to rebuild the uh elevator system would probably be several million dollars. And, you know, we just can't burden the taxpayers with that kind of a with that kind of a bill. So, I' I'd say let him
come. Let's talk to him, see what his thoughts are. But unless you all got better ideas, I I don't have any answers for him. He's got a he's got a monkey on his back that he has to deal with. Okay. I again I'll say tear down those
buildings and then we'll talk about whether we accept the tower or not because there's no point in even entertaining accepting the tower with the buildings the way they are. So my understanding at this moment in time he owns the tower and all that and
all those buildings. He owns the whole project parking lot and everything. The whole the whole thing. Okay. So um if and and it's his it has been his offer in the past that he would like to give the tower to the town. The problem
with giving the tower to the town is we assume this liability of the tower and of course then there's the issue of the elevator. We could, if I think outside the box, we could eliminate the fact of an
elevator and we could use cameras or drones for the top to the at the top of the building and have kiosks at the bottom where you could you could look what the cameras are seeing and turn
them around and etc. um from down here. So your your tower experience would be on the ground but through the cameras. Okay. I mean it's it's out of the box but I think I think the technology is there that we could do that and then we
would not have to address the elevator. And the second thing is don't hit me. Just be don't be nervous. Um it's just my thought. What's up with Sunny the Smoke Shack Barbecue? I think
they're running into issues with something and I I don't quite know where. And is it if it's parking or if it's what I know we gave them an um an exemption or something latitude on the landscaping, but what if the smoke shack
if he would build a building and Smoke Shack would rent that building then we'd have our restaurant back at the bottom of the tower. The parking issue that they have would be gone and you know we maybe it would work. The the last conversation I had with the
owners of smoke shack because they come in the they come in the hardware store all the time was that every time they go through one loop the county or the state would put them through another one. So they just had one problem after another. Mhm.
But he told me here just recently that it's in permitting and that he's hoping that it'll go through rather quickly and they they they want to get started building from what I understand. Yes. Yes. But
again, just out of the box kind of a thing. So, okay. Okay. Okay. The tower um of course I grew up with it. I lived on Lake Clay and watched it be built and it's part of my heritage. Um, I think I've had other
people tell me about the cameras. I don't think it'll work. I mean, people can watch on TV. They don't need to drive there. And what are they going to pay? I think if um, and I just found out maybe the elevator right now is inoperable. I didn't know that because
if you went up there, you would I'm not saying the town how the town should be involved, maybe support, but you would want it to be saved. You would want it to stay. It is iconic. It was before Disney. Um, it's just unbelievable. I
mean, when we we did the um, let me go go back to the beginning with um, the owner when it was all rolling when he bought that everything. He was going to tear down he had a plan. I haven't seen the plan but lately, but he had a plan
to tear down all those and then keep the tower and redo that whole plaza. He had a plan. He brought it to counsel. He's so excited. He showed it to us and then the bomb fell out. So when the big crash came so that's what happened with those buildings. Um but so then um we were
awarded money from Swift Mud to protect Lake Clay. Um the main problem was is they studied 66 lakes. They picked five. Three of those um one of those was Lake Clay. of most. It wasn't that they were
impaired already, but they were most in danger of being impaired by runoff. So, it wasn't like fix the lake, let's save the lake before we need to put spend a billion dollars to fix it. So, they gave us the money for the five lakes, two in
Avon Park. It was Lake Clay, Lake McCoy, and Lake June. So, we started working on Lake Clay. Well, all of the runoff, not just from his parking lot, but from what now is the cannabis sales office, all of
that plaza um over there, all of those rooftops, it's all impervious, was coming through his parking lot and downhill. So, the first phase of that project, he donated, if you look at it, he donated that on
the uh north end of the property that swale. Wow. He was charged with donating the land and maintaining it, not just for his property, but for that whole area, all of the paving, all the rooftops, all of that runoff. It was incredibly important
for us to have that. He totally cooperated. Um, had to bring in his attorney, his environmental people. He had to know what he was getting into. So, he will always hold a special place in my heart because he helped us save a lake. doesn't mean anything should
happen. I'm just saying. I just wanted to give you the history. And he's still maintaining it today. And if he ever sells a property, they're going to have to take that up. They're going to have to maintain that drainage for that whole area. That's the way it was designed. Um I've had several talks with them and um
definitely the buildings need to be torn down and that was always the plan to begin with. um to save the tower. I have no idea, but I know because everybody turns to me when it comes up. Um people call me when they used to take the antennas and move them. They call me up.
I'd get so many calls saying, "Are they tearing the tower down? They No, no, no. They're just changing the towers up there on the top. So, um it's important for our community. I think it's important for Highlands County. It's iconic. It's like you go uh Claremont,
you had Cypress Gardens, you come down, you you um bought citrus here, which isn't going to happen anymore, but then you go on down to um the alligator farm and you went on down to barbecue down in Clon. It is part of Florida history.
Now, the crack the nut is I have not been able to determine. Now, the building from what I understand is very good shape. He's worked on the railings upstairs. One of the things I think is most important, hardest once the elevator and then to keep there needs to
be more protection for the public. He's had people with jumping off of there with parachutes. Um, so you have to prevent them from jumping off and going off and trying to do something like that. So there would have to be something done with that. But
I think I mean other than I found out how much the elevator is going to possibly cost, the building is in solid as a rock and um for those so to to think about we're that close to getting this iconic building not just for Lake
Plaza, but think what it would do. We could go and walk Tower. We could get on that register. They have a register of probably 40 other properties. Selby Gardens um in museums, Ringley Museum, they list all of those. We could do that. We could put Lake Placid on the
map. But I would say Highlands County. It's definitely to me it was built in the 60s. It's not as well known as the races, but it was definitely a a tourist attraction. So, I would like us to try to figure out how to help him
do it or do it. And I did see and I haven't followed up on this that the college owns the Jackaranda Hotel in Sebring. We were just talking about that. Okay. And they just got a million dollars from the state to, you know, renovate, do
things for that college. That's a million dollars. So, I was just thinking, I thought it was so impossible. And how I don't know. I just I don't want to give up on the tower. Um, and I could have a rally and I told him that. I said, I could have a rally and hundreds of people would come and I
could get pledges, but we don't even know how much it costs to fix it. We don't know what it costs to maintain it every, you know, I would guess the elevator and the liability is going to be your biggest issues really. It's brick. So, um, but I would like to to talk to him some more. Let's see what we
can do to save the tower. That's what I'd like to do. So, I think you're asking us what are some of the things we want him to be aware before he comes. and all of this history and everything is good. Um,
supporting what Councilman Ibrahart, Councilwoman Ibrahart said is I'd like to know is he even marketing this pro property now? you know, we we talked to him a year ago and what he had told us then was um he wants to sell the
property, but the tower, you know, is he didn't quite say the word liability, but he could sell it easier if the tower wasn't part of it. But in the meantime, we're a year later and those buildings continue to look at the condition. I do
believe the value of his property would increase if those buildings were completely gone. So, those are some of the things is, you know, is the buildings I believe need to be gone and it's going to increase his property and help him market it in as he's trying to
sell it. Number one. Number two, I'd be interested in what has he done in a year to try to sell it? Is is he act is it actively for sale all of this property with or without the tower? Um, you know, uh, Charlotte and I had a conversation
earlier today and I and based on what's even being said, I said, I think we need to talk to the county, you know, start with Leah Sauls and say, hey, there's going to be this property, including the tower that he's interested in selling for development and put it to
them to see in their sources that they have of people coming and wanting to invest and develop. So I think that there's a number of ways that should be pursued with the intent for preserving the tower and again I don't know that we
the town can even afford the cost number one the ongoing maintenance and insurance number two or stretching the staff on another project when we have a whole bunch of other projects that we have already prioritized we want done
but I think to the point is it's an icon and it needs needs to be preserved. The people want it to be preserved. Whether it's county, a private entity or what, until we start marketing it out there for sale, you never know who may
come and express an interest. So those would be what I would want to know to him is how has he actively pursued selling the property with or without because he can put in there, you know, something about the tower and then start
the discussions with Highland County to participate and what ideas they may have. I I think we should also um and Deborah, I think you're excellent at this. I think uh we should approach Casey
Hartwall with the tourist TDC. You're on the TDC. Um and this is a this is a tourist attraction and it should be marketed to them as such and they have money that they could put towards this.
But uh she is so into heads and beds. But if we take it from Bach tower like you just did to this tower to uh Gator Land or whatever they call that. Yeah, I used to go buy it every every week and now I can't remember the name of it. But anyway, that if we could put that
together and we can try to get some some heads and beds for so Casey can sleep at night. But I think the the TDC should have should have a role here and we should stand up and say, "Hey, we're like placid this this TDC. It's not all about the race. It's not all about
severing Casey. Um we need to have you think about our tower. Are there stairs in it? Yes. So, forget the elevator. You could just like the Empire State Building and others. You can let people know that. How many stairs are there to the top? Going up the stairs. Huh?
Okay, Chief. I'm going to need your help on this one. So, I I had pictures that we had wanted to show. So, there was a um there was a breakin, I don't know, a month ago, something like that. And the chief contacted me to tell me that they were getting ready. They had to go up all the way to the top because there was
two individuals. they could only find one. So, true story, I grew up in Madison, Florida, right on the Florida, Georgia line, and I used to travel all the way to Fort Meyers, and we would make stops as we came. We would stop in Sebring. I have an aunt who still lives
here, and we would visit her, but we would always come this way before we headed over to Fort Myers and we stopped at the tower and we would eat in the restaurant. So, for me, it holds a lot of meaning as well. But then after talking with councilwoman Worley, then I
find out I'm telling her about my mima even got me this tower the towel that was there and it explaining it and the juice shop and then find out that her family is the one that owned that. So it and then I moved to Okachobee and then I end up here in Lake Placid. So it holds
a lot of sentimental value for even my childhood memories and traveling. And now I have my my grandson who as soon as he found out that we went to the top was like me I didn't get to go to the top but we did get pictures and chief could
tell you how many steps it is and Stuart and Leanne can tell you that by the time we got to the second and third floor we had to stop and pause. But the chief was running up and down it like it was nothing. So he has he knows how many steps there are but the the building is
solid. Um, Chief, you could probably speak to that a little bit more and Stuart even could. It is solid. Um, the elevator, the questions around the elevator really come from that it's an old elevator. Um, and some of the experience I have seen with elevator
replacement. Once they hit a certain year, you can no longer get the replacement parts for it anymore. This elevator is very outdated. And so those are some of the concerns that we have as far as if the town were to assume a active working elevator is that that elevator would have to be replaced. And
then the other burden that the town would definitely have to look at is if we use the elevator is the liability um and insuranceances uh the insurance purposes because of risk. And so our finance director has already looked into that. And we do know that that would be
a very big and difficult hurdle for us to have to jump over. So I'm just putting that out there. Chief, do you know how many steps? I can tell you that day I wound up at 13,000 steps for the day. It was
approximately 4 to 5,000 steps up in up to the top. Yeah, it's a nice I don't hear anybody on council leaning towards we should own it, right? It's
like or we can help try to put the word out with others in some way. But I I unless I'm wrong, I'm not hearing any of us right now saying we should own it. Just real quick, I just want to make sure that no matter what happens,
everybody knows that the protection for Lake Clay runoff is in that parking lot. And whoever does it, he's whoever buys it or whatever happens, that is critical to keep Lake Clay in good shape. I just want everybody to remember that. Um, and
it's right now he's responsible for it. I don't want Lake Clay to get police. So, so that Charlotte should be something as part of his sale. That is we just need to remember it and then when he sells it, we just need to Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Gary wants
to speak. I think maybe he wants to buy it. Sir, my name is Gary Freeman. My wife and I used to have a business there and um we know it quite well. And my my thing my thinking is listening to everybody is
that it needs to be condemned in some legal manner. Period. You got to start somewhere. Are you talking the tower or the buildings? Whatever is owned there. All of it. I don't that's not up for me
to decide. But but it's a it's I don't know how many acres is there. Maybe five. Maybe four. Maybe more. That's that's like a poem. But the the buildings itself are terrible. That's why we got out of there and moved somewhere else. And I could give you
some horror stories about the buildings. You probably don't want to hear that. And this is a public forum. But it's pretty gory. But the thing is it needs to be condemned. And and if the property, the parking lot, and all that is part of that, then it needs to be part of that, too. And now we're talking
about a legal situation. So that's all I can say. I'm not a lawyer or anything like that, but it seems to me like it needs to be a legal thing that done to make them do something, sell it. I think the idea that you have is really good, you know,
get it on get it on the market, sell it, and it's it's a prime location. Everybody knows that. And they can still keep it for a drainage, too, Deb. So, it's good. That's my suggestion. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay.
I know it's me again. Um, in 1967, I work for AT&T Bell Labs. AT&T Bellcom constructed that tower. It Bellcom is their classified military contractor.
You will not be able to take that tower down. you don't have explosives and could not get licenses for explosives that would take that tower down. So, I think you kind of stuck with it. Anybody wants to talk more about that?
Um, I I can give your engineers some knowledge. Thank you. So, what's a what's a consensus? I guess just wait. I think we we have a motion here. wait till he comes and talk about options. Right. So, I will filter the information
and the feedback back to him. I do want to say that he mentioned that if we he if council is ready to say level the back that he will entertain that. So, he will be able to provide more information on that when he comes in August. I think that's probably a given that
that that probably probably needs to be done sooner than later. Yeah. Yeah. I think the recommended motion that we were given as council to discuss and provide direction which we did on desired next steps of prever preferred outcomes for the tower property and the
surrounding structures in advance of the August meeting. I think we just need to charge Charlotte with doing that with meeting with him and telling him how we feel and have him come in August. So that that's my motion to have
Charlotte be authorized to go and meet with him and have him come in August prepared to answer our questions. If that's a if that's a motion, I'll second that. Okay, we have a motion to second. Any further discussion? Audience?
No. Bring it back. Pull the council. Council member Worley. Yes. Council member Hayes. Yes. Council member Charles. Yes. As a member of Yes. All right. I think that was the last thing on my agenda. We'll now go to uh
the town administrator. Thank you. Just wanted to provide some updates. Um tomorrow from July 15th through the 17th from 8 to 12 we have our uh training for first amendment audit training where town staff will be
participating in that along with other um municipalities have been invited in. So that will take place tomorrow through um 15th, 16th and 17th. Also wanted to make announcement that next Monday we um we do have our our council meeting and
our auditors will be here to present Um, an update on the police department. Today we received the bid advertisement and so that will be advertised. The mandatory pre-bid conference on this on site will occur on Wednesday, July 30th
at 10:00 a.m. here at town hall. And then we will be taking bids, sealed bids until August 27th, 2025. So there will be more information to come on that. Um, it unfolded. I spoke with Mason from Cooland Cobb right before we
had our meeting. We are packaging up some of the finalized items that need to go out on the electronic bid system. And so, as soon as that is completed, that will go live. On pickle ball, we met with the
contractors and Kimley Horn has applied for the Swift Mud permit. It'll take about three months or so, give or take, to receive that. And once we do, then that project will be moving forward. We were asked if we had if we were going out to bid. We are not going out to bid because Kimley Horn is in our our
library of list of contractors. So, we have received the updated amounts and there's Eva, I don't know if you want to talk any add anything else to that or not? Yeah, they're on our library and um Excavation Point and um Niti Niti
also will be piggyback contracts. So, Eva has been helping project manage this project. Out of my out of my purview, she's doing it. It's not easy for that much money. Why wouldn't we go
out for bids? I mean, I I get it when you have smaller amounts, but if we're talking 450,000, why wouldn't we go out for bids? They're in our library, so we don't I get that. I mean people, but there
might be other providers that are more competitive that have never made it to the library. Following the procurement policy that we're just following the the normal steps from our based off of our procurement policy and practices.
I have a question on um next Monday we have the council meeting with the auditors. Is that not CRA as well? CRA. I had that on my list. We have CRA on the agenda for August. So, in our August town council meeting, we will have CRA and then immediately after
that, we will have our budget workshop and CRA will be covered in that as well. So, we will have There's no CRA in July. No CRA in July. And it will it will be at the August town council meeting. CRA. Yes, ma'am. You don't have the date for that?
It's the 21st. So, next Monday. Oh, you mean the August meeting? I apologize. So, the CRA falls on your third Monday. Yeah. Of the month. So, it would be on August. I was going to say it's a week after the regular council meeting. So, it would be on
August 18th. I just feel it's been such a long distance between our last CRA meeting. Yes, they're quarterly now. They're I think it's been longer than that though. They are. And we talked about this earlier and on on a reason why is
because we are actively trying to prepare for the caladium festival which leads to the next update is that TWWQ has advised that they will start the work on the 21st and he has assured us that it will be finished before the caladium festival. So, in order for us
to be able to get past the caladium festival with um we have staff shortages, Harry has recently lost an employee and so in order for us to make sure we maintain everything as for the cladium festival, we will put it on August. Okay. Have the CRA meeting and then also we'll
have the budget workshop so that we can discuss what the plans are for CRA. I think that's all the updates I have right now. Okay, I'll go to my staff. Any department heads? Got anything you would like to discuss?
Any update on the sewer plant? Okay. All right. Very good. All right. We'll start down here. Deborah, I just wanted to say um these things just seem to happen, but they're not magical. They're very hard work and um Steuart Park is um just looks so
beautiful. Oh, it's just wonderful. I mean, it's all cleaned up and it's just so well done and I can't tell you how proud I am of our staff that they've done such a great job. I I have a brown thumb so I could never do what you all have done. It's wonderful. Take a
chance. I mean, before everybody gets down there and gets all the people there. Yeah, take a look at that. So anyway, so that was my comments. I appreciate everybody. Thank you. Okay, Joy. Um well, there's no one left here, but if anybody's listening, I want everybody
to know that I do monitor um the Facebook like uh Lake Placid Live and the other places. And I monitor the uh Next Door app. And even though I don't comment, it's because I can't comment because of Sunshine Law, but I want
everybody know that I read through all of the threads and I'm listening. Okay. No, I I want to compliment the town staff as well. Um, I heaven forbid walk uh around
Deain Circle uh in the wee hours of the morning from time to time with a deranged friend who thinks that walking at 6 o'clock in the morning is a good idea. And uh it really looks beautiful. It looks it looks really great. I don't get up to Stewart Park because it's
uphill from from where we are in Deain, but uh but it really looks nice and I know that you will get to mowing the graveyard when you can. I have not had any complaints yet. Knock on wood. And I'm not making any complaints because I
know you're incredibly stressed. So, and I and I feel bad that um some some person way well well above me and my husband chose to plant two queen palms on our some of our our grave sites and
they are just a mess and you you can't help that. So, I don't lose any sleep over it. We we mow the cemetery every week. It it comes back that tall that fast. Oh, I know. It's that grass. It's the type of grass that you have that shoot that makes that shoot that bea is just
it's wicked. But you're doing a great job. Thank you. Thank you. Um so Charlotte, I think is it a shout out to DOT for getting the Dale Hall open sooner than than not? I mean I I thought
it was going to be a lot longer. I guess time flies by. Is that it? Or they got it done faster? 21 days. That's what I thought too. So they got it done longer. I think that's a pleasant welcome. That was awesome. Um and and it actually was managed very good with that detour and everything
like that. So, you know, just pass that on to them that we recognize that. I understand now. They're going to move across the street and do Tower Street. Yeah. So, I'm I'm assuming they're going to do the same thing there. And I think they're going to try to um lessen the grade on Tower Street so it
won't be so steep when you come up there. That's my understanding. Okay. So your Corvette won't bottom out when you come through there. No, Corvette. Your Corvette. And then in addition to appreciation of staff, um I I'd like to give a shout out to Rachel and the finance staff because
not just the dayto-day, but the audit and what they're going through. I know with the audit preparing for the budget just to get the packet of this um the millillage uh proposals and that. So, it's not um missed that you guys work really hard and we really do appreciate
the work that you put together. And please pass that on to the staff because I know it's a big team effort, you know, for all of you. And I'll probably say it next month because then we're going to start the budget, right? And it's it's it's a time that just doesn't let up for
the finance staff. So, appreciate all your hard work and your expertise and your experience. and council. Nothing further, sir. I want everybody to Let's give him a round of applause for being here. We appreciate you coming. And don't you think he's better
looking than B? Without a doubt. There's no dis there's there's no discussion. His feelings are crushed. I'll make a motion to that effect. No, we we really appreciate you when you step in. Yes, sir. You're you're welcome anytime. Glad to be here. Thank you. Uh, one
comment I've had, I've had several people ask me about the dead palm tree by the flag pole. I talked to Harry and uh, he had been working with DOT trying to get them to remove it because we're trying to go with the uh, fact that
there was no sprinkling system. So, that's what killed the tree, but because all the other trees are alive, that didn't work. So, we are in the process now of trying to get uh uh one of our local contractors to come in and take
that down before it becomes a a problem. So, to those out there that have had questions, it is being resolved. I just can't tell you at this time when all Yeah. Yes. talked to Billy Brantley and I guess they're they're working on that
for us. So hopefully we'll have a have an answer pretty quick. Okay. All right. Any other comments to come before town council? You're off. You're off.
We have a familiar face back here and so we just I wanted to say that it's good to see him in the in the audience and and feeling better. So, Gibby, we're we're glad you're back. Welcome back, Gibby. All right. If there's no other business, come for town council.