1 a.m. we will have the invocation by our uh police chaplain um Reverend Frank Stevens followed by the pledge of allegiance. and for the prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Heavenly Father, we join
together. We pray for our city leaders as they have the responsibility, the great responsibility to watch over our and guide the city of Linhaven. We we thank you, Lord, that they have that you bless our city with leadership that pursues what is best for our city. Give
them wisdom and discernment for the decisions they're making today. We also pray for uh a blessing over our city workers, our protection over our police and firefighters. We thank you uh that
for their faithfulness and fulfilling their duty for the residents of this city in Jesus name. 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, liberty and justice for all. This time we have the announcements regarding the April 22nd results. Mayor and City Commission the Linhaven
Commissioner seat three city of Lin Haven Johnny Basher 188 votes Jamie War, 1786 votes over votes zero under votes
41 at vote percentage 37 86% 62.14% um election day 420 23 for Johnny Bashers Jamie Ward with 681 under votes for
21 for voting early 480 for Johnny Bashers 800 for Jamie Ward vote by mail 185 for Johnny Basher 305 by Jamie Ward these are the results for
seat three on election day. All right. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept the April 22nd, 2025 election results from the canvasing board? Motion to approve. Is there a second? A second. Motion by
Commissioner Perno, second by Commissioner Peebles. Is there any comments from the public? Right. City manager, if you call the vote. Commissioner Perno, yes. Commissioner Peebles, yes. Commissioner Vandergri, yes. Commissioner Ward, yes.
Mayor Nelson, yes. Motion passed. Um, at this time, we'll have the swearing in for Commissioner Elect Jamie Ward. Um, and we'll have our uh city attorney, Miss Amy Myers, administering the oath of office to Commissioner Elect Jamie Ward. I, Jamie War, do solemnly swear that I
will support I will support the protect and defend the Constitution Constitution of the Government of the United States in the state of Florida against its enemies, foreign and domestic.
of true faith and allegiance to the same that I am entitled to hold office under the constitution that I will faithfully perform all duties of the office of commissioner seat fee seat three of Linhaven
on which I'm about to enter so help me Thank you. Appreciate [Applause] it. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
Um, so it's quite a bit I wanted to say today. Um, first I kind of wanted to reflect back. Um, I remember the first time that I considered running for Linhaven Commissioner and I was told it would be exceedingly difficult. After
all, I'm not originally from here and didn't have the connection some said were necessary to get elected. Uh but with the help of just a couple of people who assisted me with campaign slogans, research and city issues, and designing campaign materials, I set off going
doortodoor all by myself. Unsure of how things would turn out. I talked to countless Linhaven residents, listened to your concerned, and raised a whopping $2,420. Don't ever believe someone that says you need money to run for local office. The
only thing you need is the drive to go out and earn it. I went from someone few people knew to being elected. I I knew I went from someone few people knew to being elected your next commissioner and for that I appreciate it. This election
though was very different. First I had far more people step up to help. going door too, delivering door hangers, building and placing sign stands, contributing to my campaign, or simply spreading the word to their family,
friends, and neighbors. And for that, I am forever grateful for your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't have done it without you. Most importantly, I want to thank
my family. you could please stand up and join me. As you can tell, they're very enthused by this. When I served in the military, they sacrificed a lot. Spending time without me during
deployments, missing holidays and birthdays, and enduring long work hours that extended to weekends. And after I retired, instead of slowing down, I chose to take on this crazy journey and run for public office. I know it's not easy having a f
husband or father in public office, but I appreciate every sacrifice you made, and for that, I am forever grateful. I take it my flowers aren't here. All right. I have flowers that were supposed to be here at
8:45. And if anybody knows me, um, that's a big deal because the last time I gave my family flowers was about nine years ago when I had my retirement ceremony with the military. So that seems to be the trend. About every 10
years, um, I give them flowers. So I'm about a year ahead of schedule. And, uh, so I just wanted to bring you up here and say thank you. And when the flowers do get here, I will give them to you. And
um just be prepared 2034 2034 2035 will be your next shipment for flowers. But thank you very much for your [Applause] support. All right. So the second thing
um the conversations I had with residents this time around were much different. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I was going to say today. Let me begin by saying this. I recognize that there are areas that I need to improve
on. I'm not oblivious to that. I understand it can be difficult for us to truly know what residents want, especially when many aren't actively engaged with the city. I also recognize that we as a commission are sometimes limited by certain obstacles such as
state law, like for instances, for instance, when we vote on development orders, even if we personally disagree with it, we're often required to approve them as long as they comply with our comprehensive plan and unified land development code.
What I'm about to say isn't meant to brag, boast, belittle, attack, or make any of you look bad. It's just an honest reflection of what I heard from residents. As you know, I believe going door-to-d dooror knocking and having
conversations are the most effective way to campaign, and I had many of them. A common theme emerged from those conversations shared not just with me, but with members of my campaign team as well. Majority of residents told us they don't
feel represented. They sense a major disconnect between themselves and the commission in general. They express dissatisfaction with the current direction of leadership. This is just a generalization, not a blanket statement. However, if any of you would like to
know more specifics, I will be more than willing to discuss this with all of you if you would like. No matter how this is received, the truth is we need to do better. Finally, I want to thank every resident who supported me and just as
importantly, every resident who voted regardless of who you voted for. Too few people participate in local elections, which in my opinion are the most important ones to vote in. I appreciate your trust in me to represent you, and I
want you to know I do not take this responsibility lightly. I will continue to fight for fiscal responsibility, ensuring we have effective processes in place so every dollar is spent wisely. I will focus on restoring public trust in our city, seeking greater transparency
and standing up to hold government accountable when we fall short of the standards our city deserves. I will continue to stand up for residents and dedicate my service towards making Linhaven even better than it already is. Whether you voted for me or not, I hope
that I continue to gain your confidence and support because after all, we're all in this together. Please though know that my door is always open and I welcome any feedback you may have. Thank you again for your support, your trust, and giving
me another opportunity to serve you, the residents of Linhaven. Thank you. [Applause] At this time we have our public commentary getting Mr. Rich Walker Rich Walker 1106 Michigan
Avenue. Good morning. Um, beautiful day. Congratulations, Commissioner. Good luck. Um, I only have three minutes and it's not time enough to do what I want to do.
So, I'm going to have to bring it over possible years. This is not my first time at the rodeo dealing with the X Fuel Depot and Marina Island LLC. I was here under Mr. Lynch and worked with
Washington DC when it started and two when it finished. Like I said, I don't I have three minutes to discuss this. I can't discuss it in three minutes. You are putting yourself in a
box and you're tightening the rope around your neck. You've decimated the UD LLC comprehensive plan with overlays. This has been done before. It didn't
work. It's being done again. On the first visit to this thing, the master plan that came out from the fuel depot failed miserably. Now you have the same master plan regurgitated and fed
underneath with sugar and cream and you're going to go through it again. You're going to have to be careful. Marina Island LLC does not own the water. Marina Island LLC does not own the land underneath the water. They
can't tell you what to do with it because it belongs to the state. Just like Bailey Bridge, you have to sign a contract with the state, use that property. And that is
true. Reparian rights do not prevail with the fuel depot. Reparian rights are for lakes and streams. Editorial rights, what goes with that? So, you're going to be
walking through something that's very difficult. Like I said, you've put the noose around your neck by getting rid of the comprehensive plan dealing with the 1911 plot, which is still in effect supposedly. I don't think it's been thrown
away with the development of the fuel depot. They know what they're doing. Attorney better be watching out for the city and the city planner should be watching out for the city. I wish you luck. This is going to be continued over the
following years. You've got 30 years with this development. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jack Crutchfield. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor, city manager, commissioners. Jack
Crutchfield, 502 Michigan Avenue. I've been asked by the seniors to come and speak on the behalf as a as a member of the seniors here in Linhaven. Are any of you commissioners over 70 years old? Yeah, I didn't think so. I'm 70 and
I'm a virtual youngster over there. We have most of them are in the 80s and 90s. We have one lady who attends the chair aerobics that's 99 years old every three three times a week Monday, Wednesday, Fridays. We have a lot of
seniors. We we usually on those three days in the mornings we usually have 60 plus people showing up just for the chair aerobics. While that's going on, we have several different card games. We have maong. We have sewing classes. We
have puzzles. We have a a a line dance going on after right after our our event is over with. So there are probably two to 300 seniors using that facility a week every week. Now as it is, we get kicked out every time there's an
election, every time there's a special event. We seem to be kicked out a lot. And now you're talking about taking away a portion of that for a new library or a new digital center or whatever you want to call it. And I'm here to say that the seniors are not going to be very happy
about that. We are not very happy about that. We uh we were un we understand that that building was given to us by a local church after Hurricane Michael and um uh we'd like to maintain and keep
using that and we'd like our um concerns and needs because it is a need. It provides socialization for seniors who wouldn't normally get out of the house. It gives them exercise, mobility. It improves their health so they don't fall
as much. We've had a few people fall, but thankfully because of what they're gaining, they're able to prevent themselves from getting damaged more more severely. So, on the behalf of the seniors, please consider um our our needs and our rights for
using that building. I appreciate that very much. Thank you very much. And Mr. George Hinds. Good morning. My name is George, 16003 Rhode Island Avenue, living in Florida. And I'm over 72. So I'm a senior. So I
don't use it. I go to gym at 4:30 in the morning. I work out every day and do what I need to do to live. Now, I'm here to talk about the last election we just had, one that's previously surprised going on right now. When you have a forum, you invite the public to come out and see the candidates and hear what the
candidates have to say. But the Republican party this year decided to have one where they had people come in and I was in it because I'm not affiliated with any party. But when you ask a question of getting rid of a person just because of their job or because of their party, I think that's
highly unethical to have that question at a forum. But they had it and certain people talked about what they would do if they got in office at that forum. I don't think that's appropriate because when the Democratic party have a forum, they invite the public and they listen to the public and they will ask questions about whether you fire
somebody because they're a Democrat or because they're a Republican. I didn't like it and I'm here to tell you I didn't like it. Now, they said that your city manager and your mayor was both Democrats when one of them is not a Democrat. But if they were a Democrat, it wouldn't make that much different with the job
performance. They're here to do a job, not to be liked, not to be disliked, not to be mistreated. And sometimes I think it's not because of the party that you're affiliated with, but the color of your skin. I'm born and raised in Bay County for over 72 years, and I know this county and also know Lin Haven. A
lot of people that's in Lin Haven now is not from here. You came here because of the great tax breaks that you get in the state of Florida, not because you love Glen Haven that much. So, I'll appreciate if you come up here, be honest, and say what you really mean from your heart. Appreciate your thanks. Right.
Thank you. Additional public commentary. This time, we'll move on to the mayor's report. Have two proclamations and one presentation. First proclamation is
for National Public Works Week. Whereas the theme for the 2025 National Public Works Week is people, purpose, presence. Meeting the needs of people is what gives public works its sense of purpose. Public works professionals are everpresent working in the background to advance quality of
life for all. And whereas the people purpose presence theme highlights how public works makes communities safer, more vibrant, and a better place to live. Whether serving as first responders, responding to electricity outages, providing regular waste pickup,
or making roads and sidewalks passible after a winter event, public works is always there when people need them. And whereas public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities
and to the public health, high quality of life and well-being of the people of the city of Lin Haven. And whereas these infrastructure facilities and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public works officials who are engineers, managers and employees at all levels of
government and the private sector who are responsible for rebuilding, improving and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment and solid waste systems, public buildings and other structures and facilities essential for our citizens. And whereas it is in the
public interest for the citizens, civic leaders, and children in the city of Linhaven to gain knowledge of and to maintain an ongoing interest and understanding of the importance of public works and public works programs in their respective communities. And whereas the year 2025 marks the 65th
annual National Public Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association, Canadian Public Works Association. Uh, I therefore, Mayor Jesse Nelson, and on behalf of the city commission, encourage all citizens to declare public pro by proclamation the week May 18th through 24th, 2025 as
National Public Works Week and urge all citizens to join in um and support the representatives of the American Public Works Association and government agencies and activities, events, and ceremonies designed to pay tribute to our public works programs, professionals, engineers, and employees to recognize the sustainable
contributions they make to protecting our national health, safety, and quality of life. And so certainly um as a resident of Linhaven, I'm very grateful for um the service that our public works provide. At this time, we'll have Casey and Adam to come up to receive this uh
proclamation. [Applause] Our next proclamation is for National Police Week. Whereas National Police Week, observed from May 11th through May 17th, 2025, honors the service and
sacrifice of the brave men and women in law enforcement who protect and serve our communities each day with courage, integrity, and dedication. And whereas this week serves as a time to pay special tribute to law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, recognizing their
ultimate sacrifice and honoring their memory with deep gratitude and solemn respect. And whereas law enforcement officers play a vital role in safeguarding our neighborhoods, maintaining peace, upholding justice, and responding to emergencies with professionalism, skill, and compassion.
And whereas their commitment of police officers to public service reflects the highest ideals of duty and citizenship. And their actions often go above and beyond the call of duty in the interest of public safety. And whereas National Police Week provides an opportunity for citizens to express
appreciation for the daily risk, officers accept and the burdens they carry on behalf of others, as well as to recognize the support and sacrifices of their families. And whereas communities across the nation stand united in their respect for the law enforcement profession and in their commitment to
strengthening the relationship between police and the people they serve. I, Jesse Nelson, along with the um city commission do hereby proclaim May 11th through May 17th, 2025 as National Police Week and encourage um the city of Linhaven to join me in appreciating and
recognizing um the men and women of our local law enforcement. This time we'll have uh Chief Ricky Raymond to come up and receive the proclamation. [Applause]
[Music] [Applause] And we have one more presentation. We don't give these out often, but we certainly do give them out to special people. And that is a key to the city of Linhaven. And on this day, um, I'd like
to present a key to the city of Linhaven to Commissioner uh Judy Vandergri in appreciation for your two years of service on the board of commissioners and your commitment to the city of Linhaven.
[Applause] [Applause] Um just a few brief comments in regards to uh my mayor's report. We have a full
agenda for today. So certainly want to uh get on to uh those matters. would certainly like to thank the staff and city manager and all others who continue to sponsor uh great um concerts in the park. Um certainly I always enjoy every
time I get an opportunity to go and attend uh the concerts and it is something not just for our residents of Linhaven. Um I was in a flower shop in Panama City the other day and lady recognized that I'm from Lin Haven and she was like, "Hey, are those concerts in the park tonight?" And that was on a Tuesday. So I'm like, "No, not tonight."
Um, so obviously as we know, it is something that our community um enjoys and engages in as well. And I see that at all of our community events that I see uh people from all over Bay County always come out um to attend our uh festivities. And so just really excited
about what we're able to do, not just again for the city of Linhaven um but for all of the residents of Bay County that really bring our um community together. Uh, thank you to the city manager for following up on some um some issues that I emailed her about. Um,
we've having some some rodent issues with some of our citizens and so uh her and staff are are addressing that and so uh so thank you for following up on that. That's a an essential thing for us to take care of. So, um, and I've had
also had a chance to meet with some, um, other residents in regards to road work. And so, um, public works has followed up with me on that in regards to some road paving in some different areas. And so, uh, just continue to communicate with us. Of course, we're available by email,
messenger, uh, Facebook, and at other times when you see us in the community um, as well. And that is my report for today. Commissioner Peeles. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, first I want to say that I'll be having a coffee meet up on the 24th at 8:00 a.m. So, if anyone wants to come
out and have some coffee and talk about some stuff, I'll be there. Also wanted to give a special uh shout out to the sports staff because baseball season and softball season is coming to spring softball and baseball season is coming to a close. And I think it was a uh very
successful season. I had a lot of fun with my kids and um I thought it it was done really well. So, thank you to the staff that made that happen. Also wanted to thank the park staff because there was an issue with uh some of the stuff getting destroyed in one of the parks
and it got taken care of swiftly. So, um someone reached out to me about that and it got taken care of very quickly. So, I just want to give a special shout out to that. Um I want to say personally thank you to Commissioner Vandergri for through the past two years. You've been a great mentor and a great commissioner.
I think every I'm I'm excited that you got the key to the city. That was awesome. So, thanks for all you did and that you will continue to do for for our great city. Congratulations to Commissioner War for your uh being reelected. I'm looking forward to working with you over for you the next
four years, for me, the next two years. Um, and uh thank you for all you've done. And one thing I'm a citizen brought up to me, uh, I don't know exactly the route, so maybe we can talk about it a little bit, but there was another accident on, um, East Avenue,
pretty bad one, and I know that's not within our purview. So, I don't know if that's something we can what the the correct path would be to talk with FOT to kind of figure out, you know, is it the time to start looking at a traffic light or something like that? I don't
know if that's something the TPO deals with or can talk to some people and figure out what we need to do. I know it's not within our purview, so it's not something we can do, but maybe it's something we can talk to some people about. Yeah, that's a 389 is a county. So, what what we can do is um as you
just mentioned it now, and then try to give some direction to um or ask our city manager to to start meeting with their city management or their county management to start discussing some of what those issues are um because it is something that has come up over the
years um as as well. And each time we have talked about installing a traffic light there, usually there's push back against that. So, um, but that doesn't mean we still can't bring it to their attention. That's a that's an issue that we need to address. Right. Awesome. Appreciate it. And, uh, don't forget to
vote everybody. Early voting from 8:00 to 5:00 and then election day 7 to 7:00 right across the street. All right. Thanks everybody. Commissioner Parno. Thank you, Mayor. Um, just to go off a little bit of what Commissioner Pebbles
just said that that there is a project that that with the with with the DOT to uh to four lane um 389 from from all the way from uh east
from 231 to just past uh 390. And it's it's it's about um getting to the mill and it's in it's in it's in the work it's in the work group. It's in the work it's in the it's in the 5-year work plan, I believe. So, that's going to
happen. I know we need a lot more than just a right turn lane because they're building those town homes on 26th Street and that intersection is going to be even more more more hazardous once we start getting more people on that road. So,
and and everything you just said. Thank you, Commissioner Vandergri. It's been great working with you as a commissioner and on the TPO. Um, Commissioner War, welcome back. Even though you never left, you're still amongst us and and look forward to working with you the
next couple years. So, um um with that, I'd just like to briefly just say thank you to everybody who keeps coming out to meetings and caring for your city enough to be here and be present. You know, we had 19,000 registered voters and we had
2,800 get to the polls. You know, we need we need to we need to hear more more from the people that care enough to to do things like vote and come to our meetings. You know, thank you to all our our city employees and all of our first responders. And I'll I'll just end it.
So, I know we got a lot of agenda items to get to. So, thank y'all. All right. Thank you, Commissioner Ward. I'll make mine quick. Um, usually by the time it gets down here, everything has been talked about that I want to talk about, but I appreciate Commissioner Peebles
bringing up the 389 39th Street uh X and I was going to bring that up, too. Um, so thanks for bringing that up and thanks for Commissioner Pero for letting us know what the future plan is on on that being on the TPO and uh also thank
you Commissioner Vandagramriff for serving our city uh everything you've done and uh hope you appreciate your time with your grandkids. So thank you. Um yep, thank you for you know um all the employees for what you do for our city. Uh, I know it doesn't the things
that they happen don't happen by accident. It takes a lot of work. So, I appreciate it. And the last thing I have is I got my time with the commissioner on 24 May at 11:30 at Tacos Way. So, that's open to anybody. Feel free to come on out. You can't make it. Uh, give
me a call 850391217 and be happy to meet you. Um, whatever works for your schedule. And with that, that's all I have. Thank you. All right. and to Commissioner Vandergrift. Yeah, you guys were probably
disappointed I showed up again. Uh, first of all, I want to thank the citizens that gave me the opportunity to serve on the commission. It's been 2 years and 4 months and uh I've learned a lot, but because of
family circumstances and I am over 70, I just didn't want to admit it. Okay. So, uh way over 70 actually. Um you know, you're not supposed to ask females how old they are. So,
um I c I can't attend the meet next meeting of the swearing in and it's not because I am resentful for whoever is going to be elected. That's not it. But I am going with my grandchildren on a
trip and it's been planned for quite some time and so you know when you think about it grandchildren meeting grandchildren usually went out so I apologize for uh
missing this swearing in the next time. [Music] Um, I just wanted to say the reason that I am um I did I chose not to run for reelection is
um internal family issues and um had nothing to do with the city. It had nothing to do with politics. You know, it was what's in the best interest of my family. Um, next I would like to address the
comments by um, Mr. War. We disagree all the time, so he's used to this. Uh, I have great respect for everyone on this commission. They work hard. I know you don't see it a lot of times except when we're in
meetings, but they do because I meet with them and I know what they've been doing. So they all 100% of them work very hard for this city. But Mr. War made a comment about a
disconnect. I'm not arguing with him. There is a disconnect from the citizens. But think about this. There are 19,000 voters, registered voters in this city and 3,000 voted.
I think sometimes people use that term disconnect as a copout. You know, we all have phones, we all have text, we all have emails, we have public meetings. Uh so
people are welcome to inquire uh to contribute. Um we all respond. So I encourage those that are here to encourage others to start
participating and let's don't use a term let's come like disconnect instead let's use a term that contributes to a solution to the issue and that solution is involvement and number one is going
to vote. When you only have 3,000 people out of 19,000 registered voters, that tells you something right there. So, citizens, please start getting involved. Um, and that's my
um my last bit of contribution for uh this meeting. Thank you guys. Um I've enjoyed getting to know you. I didn't know most of you even before this um before I was elected to the commission,
but it's been a pleasure working with these gentlemen and the city manager and thanks citizens for that opportunity which you've given me. Thank you. City manager report. Yes. Um, I'm
going to keep it brief because we do have the audit report that we did not get to last um, meeting. Um, and so, Commissioner Vandergri, thank you for your wisdom, your calmness, and Jos
really encouraging staff. We we appreciate it more than you will ever know. Um, also, um, warrant list before I go any further, before I forget. Good morning. Questions about the warrant
list. Thank you. Um, July 4th applications are out and so we encourage you to go and download an application and uh, be a part of our parade. It's one of the biggest parades in Bay County every year. It's pretty
awesome. Uh, and we just encourage you if you want to be a part of and participate, go on and download that application on our website or on Facebook or call the communications office and we'll get you one. Um, wanted to also just highlight something and I
know we can't tell you everything that's going on in the city because it is a lot. Uh but one of the really great things that the city uh and Justin and his staff were doing Special Olympics of Bay County, they were using our gym to
practice. We enjoyed it thoroughly. I know Justin's team did as well. Just so you know, they won the region and are headed to state. So, that's pretty awesome for the Special Olympics and we hope we played a part in ensuring that
they could practice and and and really be a good team. Uh the panel outside the the spray right now in the pond, the fountain that is out, but we're going to get that replaced. You will see some other uh beautifification that's going
to go on on Highway 77. That's that beautifification grant. And uh so you'll see uh a a lot of uh different things that will change uh because of that grant that's involved. And um before I'm
going to head ask uh Chief Remy to start heading this way, just give us an update on the golf carts that we met with FDOT uh just two days ago and of course they did deny us with some uh reasons why
they denied us for golf carts at in some other areas. And um Chief Remy, if you will briefly just tell them why. Um, ultimately it has to do with the traffic that's crossing Highway 77 and
ultimately DOT just spent a lot of time timing the lights on 77. So, if you're to stack the roads that we asked, which was the 26th Street at Publix and then the 17th Street and trying to get a golf cart across there in a timely fashion,
um they denied it because they felt like the vehicles would either not make it or they would run the red light trying to get across. So, it was a matter of safety or timing. Um so, they, you know, were very transparent on why they felt
the way they did. um personally, you know, have my own opinion, but they they will not budge on it. They don't feel like their regional office would have signed off on it either. So, that was a recommendation at this point. Yeah. I asked about Illinois
and 390 to get again to try to get a connector and and some of you that are on the TPO are familiar that eventually that will be a dual laned highway at some point. So to give it and then take it was not um something that they
entertained as I pitched that as well. So I just want you to be aware and the public to be aware that they denied all the access. And their main reason was public safety. Correct. Thank you. Um Commissioner War had asked me to look at
pulling together a pre-budget time uh for you to just kind of look at the budget a little bit earlier. Uh, so I just need some direction from the commission. The date that staff and I were looking at is when you will already be here on a premeating, right after the
premeating is July 18th. Wanted to know if that would work so we could go on and start preparing for uh pre-budget meeting. Keeping in mind we will not have true numbers in place. Uh they just won't be available in many of the areas.
Uh but we can surely do a pre-workshop. But that budget won't stay the same. It will change. It'll be a living document because as new numbers come in from the state, we will also have to put those numbers in as well. So, I wanted to make
sure that um July the 18th, right after your premeating, we could go into a pre-budget meeting. You'll just let me know. Um that'll be great. And then for the senior center, we love our seniors and
we truly want to support them. I think it was back in 2018 uh that they switched over to being a nonprofit 2019 somewhere there, a nonprofit organization. That building is owned by the city of Linhaven. The
seniors have rented it out now for 32 years um in the future because we charged them a dollar um to lease the building for uh and I think it was the senior that came up and paid uh $32 for
the next 32 years uh for uh that building to be leased. But it is owned by the city and um we we you know we under the agreement that we have the lease u there are some stipulations in there for when the city can use the
building. We surely hope that we can uh minimize the number of times we have to kick you out and uh give you the garden club. Absolutely. U and we will work harder to try to make sure you stay in as much as possible. Uh, and now we're
going to go to audit. Uh, and we have on the line Ben Clark who's going to give you an update on audit. Um, Kiki's here if you have any questions for her as well. Good morning. How are you doing? Doing well. I'm going to um share my
screen. Um, hopefully that'll allow you to see the audit presentation that we have for you all this morning. All right. Can you all see that? Hopefully you can. Yes. All right. Well, thank you all again. This is my name is Benny Clark and I think I've been with you guys a number
of years now and um we're back this year just to present the results of the um fiscal year 2024 audit. And so usually by this point our team has um you know done a lot of work. We've asked a lot of questions, gotten a lot of items from the finance team um on everything that
we've asked for. And so really what what we're presenting to you here today is some highle information about how the audit ended up if there were any um audit comments, where the fund balances ended up, and any other relevant information that you all have um to go over. So if you have any questions
throughout the presentation or if you just want to ask me at the end, we are good with that. We're here um as much as you need us to um kind of answer any questions about the annual financial statement audit. And so without further ado on that up in your screen in front of you, this would be the slide that we
usually present that kind of describes the different report that are contained within our annual financial statement audit. So uh there's obviously different types of audits that you can get as a city, but the one that the state of Florida requires you to get every year in statute is the annual financial statement audit where we're coming in
and placing an opinion on your financial statements and then issuing a few other reports that are required alongside of that. And so in within your audit report, there's going to be five different reports that are going to make up the city's um financial statement audit. The first one up there is going
to be the um annual uh audit report that's going to talk about we're replacing our opinion on the statements. So in this report we're saying here is there's an unmodified opinion. That is the highest opinion that you can get uh within the audit report. That's going to mean that we're placing our material or
our opinion rather and saying the the statements are materially correct. And so there's no deviations from accounting standards or any other factors kind of uh that you know are in line with these statements that are materially correct. In other words, there's also some places in that audit report where it's going to
talk about management's responsibilities for the audit versus our responsibilities. So namely we're we're the auditor and not obviously the bookkeepers for the city. So we're placing our kind of independent opinion on the financial statement uh within line with those statements. Uh there's
some other paragraphs in the um in that audit report in that audit opinion rather for those first few pages that talk about required supplementary information that's required intergovernment auditing standards within your financial statements uh annually along with any um other matters that are reported within the audit
report. And then um as it also kind of reminds you about the audit being under government auditing standards which is a higher level of assurance. So I usually like to remind my clients that you this is a higher level of assurance because you are a government that that we fall under what we call yellowing standards.
So we have to do a few extra things uh that are relevant for governmental audits. The second bullet point there is the single audit report. So because you all um received more and expended more than $750,000 in state federal grants, you
did have to have a single audit and a state single audit as well. So you have both in this. when we do our compliance work over that and we test all the different relevant compliance aspects that are um necessary for the single audit. We did not have any comments in that area. So that's a clean audit
report as far as that goes. So that's always uh fantastic news um for that point. Uh the other report down there is the internal control and compliance report. So this is the report that as we're doing our financial statement audit if areas pop up that um you know we have to put a comment in there about
u maybe a segregation of duties issue or other kind of area that the significant efficiency or material weakness it would usually come up in this report and this year we did have one kind of recurring comment that we've had for the past number of years that has to do with just making some significant audit adjustments to the financials that the
city has after we received the initial kind of trial balance. So there's just one kind of recurring comment in there and then at the very very back of the audit you'll see that there is a management response section that is um that will be relevant to that um as far as what the city's plan is for that
comment. Uh the last two bullet points are items that are required by the auditor general. So the chapter 10550 auditor general report that's going to be one that has kind of all other matters in there. If this is a report where if there were areas that um like
for instance most common be if there was like a financial condition issue or a financial emergency that would be reported in this report. Um there was no such issues or recommendations or other matters that we noted in this report when we did all of our testing. So this is a clean report for the um 10550
letter. As far as the independent accountants examination report, this is going to be another um clean report, but has specifically to do with really a lot of the state um requirements over governments for their investments and any invested assets that the city has.
And so, as far as that goes, there was a clean report there when we did all our compliance work around the um investments. And the last bullet point there, a little star at the end, is that the city does have a CRA. So a CRA requires a separate financial statement
audit to be issued over the CRA itself. So that's just another note to say, hey, there was no findings in the CRA standalone audit. And we can look at what the CRA's balances were um once we get to that slide in a minute, but there was no findings or other um issues noted
within the CRA standalone uh financial statement audit. As far as the uh fund balances go, one thing we usually like to look at with our governmental clients is something they're usually particularly um interested in is their fund balances, particularly with their, you know, general fund as being the main kind of
reserve holding fund in the overall city's financials. And so, as far as the general fund goes for the city of Linhaven, we have a picture up here of the balances going back to 2021. And you can see at the very top, it's non-spendable going all the way down to unassigned. And the theory here is that
with non-spendable, that would be the most restricted use of all of your fund balance. And unassigned is kind of everything else that is left over after those middle three buckets. For those middle three buckets, you're going to have restricted, which is going to be outside entities have restricted some of
your over your fund balance. And then basically, you can't use that except for those restricted purposes. And then the assigned and committed are internal um restrictions with you know committed being usually by some kind of um formal order and assigned being um kind of a
less formal but still restricted kind of use internally. Uh when we talk about fund balance we think of assets minus liabilities. So, I did want to add that in there that this is not, you know, always necessarily cash in the bank, although a lot of it is, I'm sure, but it's really what's left over after in
theory you were to pay off all of your ass all of your liabilities that you're in, taking into account all of your assets. So, really a lot of if you're in a in a for-profit business, you would call that your equity, right? What's left over after everything's paid off at year end. So, at the end of 2024, you
had about 22 million in uh overall fund balance. Of that, 18.4 4 million was unassigned and 312,000 was assigned. So two of the less restricted uses there. And then we usually like to do as well is to put that into context. So when we
talk about governmental entities, we talk about the health of their reserves is usually one big kind of key component. And so we take those unassigned and assigned fund balances. They were 18.7 million at the end of fiscal year 24. And we compare them to all of your expenditures in the general
fund in 2024. And the GFOA, which is the Government Finance Officers Association, they recommend a minimum two month of reserves. And really, it should be a probably, you know, four months of reserve. So, double that number for coastal areas like yourself. Um, and so
really about a 30 something% reserve is probably the minimum that is probably required or necessary rather with the recommendation. You all have at the end of 2024 a 79.7% reserve. So, you're above that minimum, which is a healthy reserve number. the prior year reserve
percentage was about 76.8%. So overall the health of the overall fund balance position is is good and so that's good to see. Um and that plays a factor into how you can make decisions if there were an emergency or anything else like
that. Next slide here is going to talk about the other funds that exist within the city. So just quickly go down them. There's going to be the CRA fund. Obviously, we talked about that with no findings. That had a um non whole fund balance, as you can see, of 1.1,000 and
then a 1.3 million restricted fund balance. Uh that's obviously restricted for CRA purposes. There's also exists the disaster recovery fund. That's where a lot of the FEMA activity goes. That ended up with 1.36 million and ending fund balance as of fiscal year 24. And
you can see the revenue and expenditure totals kind of here in this slide. The ARPA fund was set up I think a couple years ago when all the ARPA funding uh started happening and that's a fund to kind of track the expenses a little bit for some of the ARPA items. All the ARPA
stuff is externally unrestricted at this point. Internally you all as the commission have assigned $5 million of fund balance to kind of track the further uses of those ARPA funds. And then lastly, a slide is there was no
new one-term debt issued in the fiscal year 2024. There was 38.9 million in total principal um outstanding and there was 4.7 million in principal payments made during the year for the debt. So those are good figures to kind of keep track of how much debt was still left
over at the end of the fiscal year and then how much was made uh for principal payments during the year. As far as the enterprise funds go, with the four different kind of enterprise funds you all have going, you can see there's um some different variations of of items going on here
with the water, sewer, storm water, and sanitation. At the end of fiscal year 24, um all the funds except the storm water had positive unrestricted net position balances. Um usually what we look for in these unrestricted balances
are more like trends. And so we can see in for instance the water fund trending up. We can see the sewer fund um is trending up overall since 2022. And then some variations with storm water but also with sanitation uh uh trending up as well. Nothing that
I think stands out as um overall concerning to me. I'd say usually what we recommend our clients is that they just monitor the overall financial kind of position of some of their enterprise funds and if you know it's necessary to you know change different expenditure structures or rate structures that they
kind of monitor that for the overall health of the fund. That way um it's functioning and being funded correctly. As far as the pension funds that exist within the city, the city obviously it does have the general police and fire pension fund uh pension plans and funds that exist. Um it also
has FRS funds. And so one thing we usually like to point or it doesn't have FRS has general police and fire. But one thing we usually like to point out is um for these net pension liabilities that they exist as a liability on the governmental activity statements for 285
um uh,000 there. And then um the proprietary funds there's $127,000 um liability there. So you can see kind of see the history of the funds and the funding percentages there uh with 94% being uh funded for the general pension plan at the end of 2024. And then the
police and fire pension plans actually have a net pendant asset which is why the funding is above 100% funded there. Um so the these are all you know healthfully funded plans. no concerns from an audit standpoint that we have over these
plans. Other than that, we are um basically done with the 93024 audit. So, I think at this point from James Moore's perspective, this will be submitted to the state I believe this week um working with the kind of finance department and we are ready to kind of um wind this one
up and then on to the next one in the fall when we do y'all have any. But otherwise, we love working with you guys. We appreciate it and um thank you for a good year. Right. Thank you, Ben. We'll go um seat by seat to see. We shared it again. That would talk about a lot of the reserve balances that exist
within the city. So, I think from a reserve standpoint, there's a healthy reserve balance. I know the city's um also been working on um I think it's been a big priority to kind of work towards some of the debt numbers and kind of paying down a lot of the outstanding debt. So, that's been a big kind of focus point. I know with the
city commissioner as a whole and kind of a lot of um individual members and otherwise. So I think from an audit standpoint, we obviously didn't have any financial condition issues, any financial emergency issues that kind of came up during the audit and we do a lot of testing around any other concerns
that pop up. One thing to point out is um I think you mentioned the the f-word which in our world is fraud. So just to address that um as far as that goes, we do um you know ask different inquiries of different you know potential um key
people with regard to fraud and we kind of look at that. Um we are obviously not fraud investigators but I do disclaim you know we we don't you know obviously this is not a forensic audit or a fraud you know kind of examination but we do look at that in our testing if anything comes up in our sampling and testing to
be aware of and throughout all our testing in the from a financial statement model perspective nothing came up with regard to that. All right. So overall when we look at like our GFOA our fund balance that increasing uh by 4 million over the past
3 to four years and the reserves you would say that we're we're pretty healthy. Yeah. The reserve balance is well well over the minimum recommendation. So it's a good thing. All right. Thank you Commissioner Peeles. Great questions. So I don't have to ask
that. But I guess my one question would be the one material finding. I mean the obviously the report looked excellent. There's only that one finding so it makes it easy. If you only have one finding that's a good thing obviously but I just kind of if we could get a
better idea of what that finding was. Yeah. So that finding um has been and I don't know um Vicki wants to speak to it all but I know we've been kind of you know going that's been in there for a couple of years now. Essentially, if you think about it that what the standards say
is when we get the financial information from the accounting system, it should be in a form that requires minimal adjustments on our part as far as different account balances go for different assets, liabilities, revenues, expenditures, kind of anything that's representative in that financial system.
And there's been a couple different cases with a couple different areas within the financial system that we've had to kind of help come alongside and make some adjustments to. and we've tried to work with staff and we're continuing to work with staff and and others to see what we can do to make these not happen in the future. So, it's
kind of an ongoing area where we're kind of trying to assist and say, "Hey, like here's some areas where things are still happening and working through that." But because we did have to assist in that area and make some of those significant adjustments, um there's we had we had to kind of put that recurring comment in there. So, that's kind of where that comes from.
Awesome. Thank you, I have no questions. Commissioner Wart, nothing. And Commissioner Venny Griff, um I would like the citizens to know that we each had an opportunity to spend
individual time with the auditor. So the auditors went over everything with us and we had an opportunity to ask questions and uh so if it appears we don't have any questions it was because
they were have already been answered. Um, I just want to review. Um, when you came onto the scene with the the city, how much did we owe, Miss City Manager?
60s something million. 66 million. We owed 66 million. And that's we had what? 21 million before the storm came. There was a total of if we uh 37 million
that includes in in enterprise and general funds. Okay. And then the hurricane came and for cleanup and various we had to borrow money. So the city has been working diligently to try to cut down on that um that
amount. And as the auditor just stated, it's down from 66 million to 38.9 million. And I think that's quite an accomplishment. And the end of this year, it will be at
31 million somewhere along in there. My next Oh, okay. Thank you. Yeah, I don't have the exact number in front of me, but I'll refresh your memory that um this commission authorized the payment of the storm water note. So, it will be
reduced by a minimum of 4.4 million. That payment was made in late December of last year. Correct. So, we don't we no longer owe any money on that storm water loan? No, ma'am.
Good. My next question is, do we expect any more money from FEMA? Yes, ma'am. There is about $8 million right now um that's still on the table. Kiki and I are constantly meeting with uh FEMA. Um we are in rounds right now
um with their insurance adjuster. Um this is one of the big things that's happening now, not just to our city, everyone's city um to ensure that they don't claw back any money. meaning we don't have to pay back any money like
another city close to us. That That's correct. It's the county. County. Oh yeah. But there are many cities that are having to pay back. So we're working diligently to make sure that all of our monies have been tapped in the right place.
That's all the questions I have. All right. Thank you, Ben. Uh, city manager, anything else? Nope. Um, thank the finance staff for doing a great job. It's been a long um um audit season. I'm sure Ben can attest to that, but we're
very pleased uh with what we've seen. And if we if the city remembers in 2018, uh 2019, we had about $6 million in our general fund. And at the end of 2024, we have over $18 million.
So, the city is definitely in good financial status. All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Ben. We'll see you next year. Right. At this time, moving on to our city attorney. Yes. I have two things.
Um, some of you may know, although many of you probably do not, that Mrs. Vandergrift was my assistant principal when I attended Suride Middle School a few years ago. Um, yes. Thank you for um bringing that up. You were 13. We won't
say how old I was. At that time, I don't think either of us would have or could have predicted we might be sitting at a table like this to do business like this. Um but it's truly been a pleasure to serve alongside of you to serve this city. So, thank you. Um and second, I
just want to say it's been a really wild legislative session. And so I've been um conversing with staff about some of the bills that have been more concerning. We'll continue to monitor what gets passed or vetoed in the next couple weeks. Um but I anticipate that in the
next months I may be making some recommendations of some proposed legislation I would like y'all to consider um in response to some of the bills that get passed and even some of those that didn't but we expect to come back. That's my report.
All right. Thank you. This time moving on to our consent agenda. Approval of minutes 42125, approval of Florida Department of Commerce grant uh amendment number four for Florida and Ohio Avenue improvements project and approval of resolution
20250457 adopting the 2025 Bay County Local Mitigation Strategy Plan and approval to appoint Commissioner Peebles as mayor pro 10 for the next 12-month rotation. Is there a motion for this? Motion to approve. Second. City manager, if you call the vote. Commissioner
Warick, yes. Commissioner Pero, yes. Commissioner Vanigri, yes. Commissioner Peeles, yes. Mayor Nelson, yes. Motion passed. Uh, in regards to agenda item number 15, actually this is not discussion only. This is our second
reading. This is our second reading for this ordinance. We had our first reading uh back in the first meeting in April. We came to our second reading and then we asked city attorney to go and change uh the content of the ordinance to be
reflective of our actual original ordinance and sort of make some updates to that. So want to be clear that today is actually the second reading for this and not um discussion only. So this is our continuation for that second reading um on this ordinance. U city attorney.
Sure. So, this is a uh considerably and significantly simplified uh proposed regulation. It does expand your current regulation. It only speaks to the parking of recreational vehicles on residential land. Um it allows the
parking of RVs within a backyard, sideyard, or the driveway of an owner's residence so long as it is not also located in any portion of the public rideway. It also requires that those RVs not be used for living or sleeping purposes, be maintained in an operable
condition, and be properly licensed. Since we discussed this ordinance on Friday, I have added sideyard to the places where these RVs may be stored. All right. Um, any discussion from the
commission? I know we've discussed this several times and then we had a new discussion about it on this past Friday. So, uh, guess we can just go around the table and see any additional input. Sure. So, I think one of the things when
we talked about on Friday that was kind of like we weren't sure 100% how we wanted to handle it was the ride ofway because that can get kind of weird because everyone's right away could be different from somebody else's depending
on where their property line is and and how Bay Bay County property appraiser might not be perfect. So, we may have to hire a surveyor to come out there if someone contests a citation or something like that. So, I thought, you know, it
might just be easier that rather than saying right away, we just straight up say a certain amount of feet from the center of the road cuz it doesn't matter where you're at, there is going to be a road there. And you can just measure the feet off of the road and then it's pretty simple for the code enforcement.
and then just go out there with a tape measure, measure it, and then if it meets it, it meets it. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. That way we don't have to worry about surveyors. We can just use a tape measure and uh and then that also will give citizens on that on
the other side of the coin is it'll give the citizens a way to just know to be able to measure that themselves rather than going through all the work of figuring out where the right of way actually is. So, I think just being straight up saying this is if on the driveway this many feet from the center
of the road, that's my suggestion. Other thing is uh city of Lhaven update on the language, but we'll fix it before you sign. All right. All right. Thank you for that input. Any uh any comments on
what Commissioner Peeles recommended? Yeah, I agree with what he's saying. It's it's it's a hard one to quantify and I' I've looked at some other cities um codes and I even looked in the Florida green book and they don't typically have like a set number to like
number how much feet from the road in that. So, city man, could you Oh, I'm sorry. You finished commission? Yeah. Okay. Could you u I guess ask appropriate staff to come up to give us some feedback on Chris. So, Chris is the guy. All right.
So from a feet perspective or distance from the road and rideway, you hear what we're asking? So one concern with that could potentially be that the road is not necessarily in the center of the rideway. So like the center of the line. So if you have a 60 ft rideway, you
might not necessarily have 30 ft from the center of the center of the road to their property line on either side. So if the road is offset, you know, the person on the north side of the road may get 50 ft while the person on the on the south side of the road only gets, you
know, 20 ft. Um, so that could be a potential conflict you run into that code enforcement would have to deal with. And, uh, Chief Ramy would be the one to talk to about code enforcement issue. But from a a rideway perspective, from public work side, we run into an issue a lot where the road is not
necessarily the center of the rideway where it's been offset or over the years, you know, it was platted and then people built and moved and and the driveways don't necessarily line up like they should. So that would be our concern uh from our standpoint there.
And I guess the so how much is it or estimate for us to have a surveyor to come out because we're here because people did contest, right? Um so they did contest when code enforcement said, "Hey, you're you're in violation." when we ran into um a storm
water issue where there was a storm water pipe going through an easement. Um it's about $1,500 to have them come out and stake out the the property corners and the rightway in the easements. So every time an issue came up, it would be about 1,500 bucks for them to come out
and stake that out. Now, city attorney, if there was a if the resident contested the violation or the citation from code enforcement saying, "No, we're not in the right of way." Um, would they
be responsible for bringing out the surveyor or would the city have to be responsible for bringing out the surveyor? I don't The city probably carries the burden of proof uh to say that there's a violation of its own code if I had to guess. Um may if I could offer an
alternative along the same lines though that you from an enforcability standpoint may accomplish the same goal. Uh perhaps you could set a distance 10T 5T whatever we think that visibility triangle needs to be that we're trying to solve um from the edge of the paved
vehicular uh street. um that edge of pavement may be a more it doesn't go to the center line then it would meet the same thing I'm trying to get point I'm trying to get across yes I think that's a a good recommendation but would that put us
back in the same rightway right ofway issue in my opinion it would that that road falls where you're measuring from whether it's the center line or the edge of pavement you potentially could have more for this resident, whereas the resident across the road does not have
as much. You know, it really just you would have to have a perfectly platted and perfectly aligned subdivision where each was even to make that method work. Hard to make that method fair. Gotcha. So, I'm assuming that when the RVs were
in the backyard, then this wasn't an issue. So, I would have to defer to Chief Ramy on that. [Music] You all are going to make this very difficult on code enforcement on me and on the
city because when we start issuing the citations and it's not as the Mr. Warick said to try to quantify that distance on different properties is going to make it difficult. You know as well as I do our
hearing officer will have many appointments and the city as she said is the burden of proof is on the city. So everyone that gets contested you're going to pay for the ultimate what cost of the to find out
where the city rightaway is. I'm going to speak into you right now. This is a tough decision, but if you stuck with the side in the back, we wouldn't be here. It's tough and I get
it. But just because you don't want to make a tough call, do the next right thing because you're going to make it very difficult on code enforcement by the way this reads. It's not easy, but you got to do the right thing.
Right. Are there any further questions, suggestions? Well, this is the third meeting where I have voiced my opinion on this topic and I know I'm the minority here and I'm sure you would like to hear it again.
Please. Oh, thank you. Please. This is your last meeting, so we want to hear it. That's true. Yes. Throw tomatoes at me. Um, those 300 people that are in violation right now knew what the rules were when they
purchased their camper or RV. We're changing the whole process because those 300 people can't follow the rules. That's how I look at it. I'm sorry. I am opposed to it being in the
front yard at all. I agree with the sideyard and the back, but I think for Linhaven to keep a a clean, beautiful image, um, this isn't the way to do it. So,
well, thank you. I know it's been a tugof-war. Um, but we have been listening. That's how we got back to this one. Um, as opposed to the other one. And you are giving us a little more cuz before it was just don't do anything, just leave it as is. So, you are giving us a sideyard. So, I agree.
I'll agree with the sideyard. All right. So, uh, Commissioner Ward, I hate to say this, but, um, I had a couple people reach out to me on this, and when I talked to them, I saw that the on there it said discussion only, and in the
actual um, agenda packet, it says first reading. So, in order to prevent, you know, um, make it look like what we're doing is unfair and that, I'd recommend we do it at the next meeting. All right. So,
postpone until the next meeting again. Yeah. And I'm not trying to kick the can down the road. I just I've already told residents, hey, it's only discussion only. This is the first one, and I don't know if any of them showed up, but you guys tell me
what you think. I just make a motion. I make a motion we table till the next meeting. I'll second. All right. Motion to second. Any resident any u comment from the community? All right. Say man, if you call the vote. Commissioner Ward, yes.
Commissioner Perno, yes. Commissioner Peeles, yes. Commissioner Vanderg, yes. Mayor Nelson, yes. Motion passed. Moving on to agenda item number 16. Discussion and possible approval of resolution 202505455 approving a development
agreement with Marina Island LLC. Just want Vicki to read the title of the resolution first. If you read that by title only, please. A resolution of the city of Linhaven, Florida, approving the development agreement with Marina Island LLC regarding the development
of 157 acres of property located at the terminus of 10th Street as more particularly described in this agreement. Authorizing a com a combination of residential, commercial,
recreational, and marina based uses establishing maximum height, density and intensity for the development, providing for execution and recording and providing an effective date. All right, city attorney. So this is a
development agreement. It addresses the same property for which the overlay district also um addressed. I will say that uh given your action with the overlay district to remove that track, that one tract, the acreage for this
agreement is 139. Is that what we agreed Andy? Um so it's a development of 139 acres, which we'll correct in the body of the resolution. This was obviously prepared prior to your action on the overlay district. Uh the agreement does
um create a term of 30 years in which it uh cements the developers entitlements to the certain uses, densities, heights, intensities um for the 139 acres to which it is subject. It also builds in some
timelines for development and speaks to the development and buildout of the infrastructure that's required in certain public facilities. This is the second public hearing. So you may adopt this resolution at the conclusion of the public hearing. All right. And public
hearing opens at 10:22. All right. Is there any questions for the city attorney? I know we went over this on Friday and we've done some discussion on this previously. Are there any additional questions for the city attorney in this
regard? All right. I know we um asked staff to ensure that someone representing Marina Island would be here. Are there any questions for Marina Island? I guess I just wanted to hear if you had any feedback on this uh
agreement. Andy Bales from Marine Island. Uh no, we're we're happy with the agreement. Uh we had to give some and um we're u hopeful that we can finish this and and get the signed um uh
ordinance so we can get started out of the project. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, I just knew there was some changes to the initial plan, so I just wanted to give you the opportunity to to speak on it, so I appreciate it. No worries. Thank
you. Right. Any further questions? Is there a motion for this motion to approve? Second. All right. Comments from the public. Walker. Here we go again. Uh, I opened
it up with saying that you only have three minutes to to go through something that's going to take 30 years of planning. Um, you've got to look at it. This, you don't have the development order. That's
what you're waiting for. That's what's going to put the cinch on it. That's when you're really going to get down to the nitty-gritty here. But you look into this just like we did with the 950 acres. We did a lot of time on this and we spent a lot of time on that. We spent
10 years on this one. We batted it around a long time. presentation the last time like I said failed the entrance into the CRA that
failed. Um the MMO for Marina Island LLC has not been very good. So you got to watch out what you're getting into. For example, when we failed to do the master plan the
first time, uh the buildings were going to be five stories condos on Tennessee Avenue. That shot this whole thing down completely. The phases, you don't know the phases. Like I said, the development
order is going to take a little while to get. You're going to have to digest that. Then you're going to know that for 30 years you're going to have heavy equipment going in and out on one road. They haven't defined that road. F DOT knows nothing about the roads going
in. They're going to be owned by Marina LLC. When it comes time 30 years thereafter, and the roads are all beat up, they're going to turn them over to you like they did in the country club. So you got to look at the future.
what's going to happen here in 30 years. I'm not going to be here. You're not going to be here. But what you're leaving your grandchildren and your great grandchildren is what they're laying the groundwork for now is what Linhaven will never look
like again. Good luck. All right. Thank you. Additional public comment. Yes, sir. commissioners. Um, first of all, we have not submitted, this is the first master
plan that we submitted to the city in the history of Marina Island um, since I've been involved since 2017 purchasing the land. Um, we did submit a um low-rise three-story condominium building to be built on the on the uh
lowdensity residential. It wasn't approved and I think that's what Mr. Walker is referring to. Um, since then we've not done anything with that but plan housing, you know, single family houses
on it. Um secondly, with regards to the um just the general nature, we're not Area 51. We're not trying any sort of uh thing to sabotage or do anything but beautify the city. We like Lin Haven. We
think it's a a beautiful town. We think the people here are wonderful. and we want to invest billions of dollars into the development of this property which is going to generate tens of millions of dollars in additional taxes for the city. It's uh it's going to generate
thousands if not 10,000 jobs throughout the course of the construction and and so forth plus permanent jobs, high-paying jobs that are going to benefit the city. Um and many things that we have planned that we'll this the city will see during the uh development
order process and so forth. um no hidden agendas, no, you know, big developer coming in to swoop in on a small town or something like that. We we want to partner with the city. We've expressed our interest in uh building a
um a worldclass children's technology museum and in the city in Marine Island. We would also be open to talking if there's an issue with the library about providing some space for a library. Maybe that could be an alternative that
you can consider. Um, but I think it will and your grandchildren will thank you for having that in your city and this town. So that's that's the only and in regards to the um um construction
equipment, thank god we have a large site. So a lot of that stuff can actually be contained on the site and we were fortunate enough to get the RO which gets us to 390 so we can avoid any you know what's happening right now
actually in in the um Nelson Industrial Park is you've got trucks coming down the street I think in and actually Mr. um um uh uh Tanahill's presentation, there was a picture of a oversized
truck, semi-truck, and it was coming down Arthur, but in order to get to Arthur, you have to go through the neighborhoods and stop signs and speed bumps and all of that stuff. So, we won't have any of that. So, all right. Thank you. And before you take your seat, there might be other
public comments that you might be able to follow up on if needed. Um, additional public commentary, right? If not, thank you. Uh, city manager, if you call the vote. Commissioner War, yes. Commissioner Peeles, yes. Commissioner Vanderg, yes.
Commissioner Carno, yes. Mayor Nelson, yes. Motion passed. Public hearing closes at 10:30 a.m. All right. Discussion and possible approval to appoint a new member to the city's board of adjustments. Um we did
discuss this on Friday and per our new um policy that we initiated um it will rotate through commissioners in regards to appointment. So Commissioner Pero after review do you have a uh new member that you would like to suggest to the
board for approval? Thank you. Yes, I do. Um, Mr. Wesley Lockwood, right? Mr. Lesie Lockwood is the recommendation. Are there any questions for Mr. Pero? Any any of that? All
right. So, right, Commissioner Pron, if you'll make that motion for us. I'd like to move that we recommend Wesley Lockwood. Is there a second? Second. All right. Motion and second by Commissioner Perno, Commissioner Vandergri. Is there uh
comments from the public? See a minute if you call the vote. Commissioner Po, yes. Commissioner Vandergri, yes. Commissioner Warick, yes. Commissioner Peebles, yes. Mayor Nelson, yes. Motion passed. Moving on to new business, discussion and possible
approval to authorize the mayor to sign and execute amendment two to the contract with Green South Solutions LLC to include the ordering by Belt Press on site at 10 cents per gallon. Yes, sir. As discussed Friday, this is our second amendment to the contract
with Greens House Solutions, and this will allow us to utilize a belt press provided by Greens House Solutions and run that at 10 cents per gallon. It is about the same price as what we are paying now for liquid sledge removal. However, it is more operationally sound. It will help us keep our head above
water and keep the plant running as it should, uh, staying in parameters of parameters of our sledge wasting. All right. Questions for Mr. Lightfoot? Just please keep us updated on this
whenever we can get back to making cake. Yes, sir. Thank you. All right. Any other questions, comments? Yeah. I just have a comment since I question him all the time about this sludge. Um I that I wish the citizens
knew how important of a topic this is. You know, when you flush your commode, you don't realize it actually has to be dealt with and that costs money. And so, this is an important topic to stay on
top of. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Commissioner Vendigra, for that insight. Mr. U War just made a a comment, so that's what I was laughing about. I'm sorry. Yes, she Oh, yeah. He's from the north.
That's That's the thing. Yeah, that's a sub. I know what that was. So, right. Is there a motion for this? Motion to approve. Second. All right. Motion by Commissioner Perno, second by Commissioner Ward. Comments from the
public. Right. City man, if you call the vote. Commissioner Perno, yes. Commissioner Warick, yes. Commissioner Vandergri, yes. Commissioner Peebles, yes. Mayor Nelson. Yes. Motion passes. Um in regards to our comprehensive plan, um we did have
some discussion on that Friday on how we want to move forward um in discussing the comprehension plan. We did get some review back from our staff, city manager. And so ideally what we would like to do is work through that, work
through the comprehensive plan and then we'll have someone to come in um at the end to sort of help us uh contextualize it, make sure that our grammar is correct. Uh Commissioner Vandergri made note of that. Um and that we try to make sure it speaks with one voice, but more
importantly, um that is written in a way that it will be acceptable to uh to the state is um is what's important. keeping in mind that what we uh put in the comprehensive plan um also helps us with the ULDC, but to get more uh parameters
or more specific, we need to also deal with the OLDC um as well. And so what I would ask as we're talking about the ODC at this moment is that if there are particular areas in the OODC that you would like for us to discuss um that you would send those to the city manager and
then we can start working um working in those areas as well. So if there's particular areas in the ODC that you heard from citizens um that you want us to discuss, please get that to the city manager and then we'll try to have an organized way of working through that. Um, also not that
we can't just go through the YODC like we've been doing with the ordinances sort of, you know, chapter by chapter or sort of in a linear fashion. Um, but we certainly want to make sure with the ODC that we try to hit those areas that are of most concern first because what's in the first part of the ODC may not be a
bit concerned, right? And that we can eventually get back to that, but there might be some some hot button issues. And I know there's some hot button issues um that you all have heard over the years um that we have heard um from citizens. And so um prior to next meeting if you could get the EODC
information to city manager and we we're not going to probably you know if you turn in 10 we're not going to discuss all 10 the next meeting but we'll start making arrangements to work through that because staff have to do some research for us on that as well um to make sure that's that's how we can discuss it um
and the questions that we have. So simultaneously we want to try to you know work through the comprehensive plan comprehensive plan sort of in a um sequential order but with the DC highlight the issues um that are most pertinent right now um so that we can
try to do you know both of these somewhat at the same time and uh make progress with that. All right. Uh moving on to number 20. discussion and possible approval of resolution 20250456 authorizing the city to place the proposed storm water assessment on
trim notice. Uh city attorney um because you have discussed and by consensus agreed to modify your tier structure by which your storm water assessments are based and also changed the the unit of measurement from a EBU
to an ERU. That change in methodology requires um a two-step process to get this implemented um for collection in the next fiscal year. This is the first step. This is your initial resolution that puts um the world on notice that
you are changing your methodology and sets out the new tiers and methodology for that. So um this this is consistent with the procedure you have adopted by res by ordinance. Um it sets forth the methodology, the new billing rates and
directs uh the city manager to prepare a notice um of this effect. All right. So you mentioned two steps and I'm asking these questions for public clarity. Um what is the second step? Second step will be the adoption of a final resolution which when you there are no
changes. You have also called your annual resolution. It will happen in September. At the same same time you generally adopt your annual storm water resolution. This year it'll be called your final. Okay. And um of course I know as a commission it's in our purview
to change our mind, but if we continue following the methodology um that we've selected this year if we continue to sort of follow that um that methodology, would we need to have another trim notice sent out or how would that work next year if we say okay, hey, we're
going to leave as is and just continue to follow um what we decided on this year. So if you stick with this new methodology that you have adopted here, next year you'll only need to do the one annual. Okay. So just the one annual resolution which is the adoption of of that annual
role on the same methodology. Okay. So just making citizens aware that there will not be a trim notice or notification sent out next year if we stay with this methodology. There won't be an additional or extraordinary notice. Okay. It's a five-year plan that you all approved.
All right. So, they won't hear from us for the next 5 years, hopefully. Um, unless you change your mind. Unless you change your mind, which is possible. Which is possible. But hopefully we can stick with this and uh and certainly seeing where we see storm water is per our audit. We need to stick to a plan so
that um storm water um won't be in the negative. All right. Discussion and possible. All right. So, we have that. Um is there any other questions for city attorney? Right. Is there a motion to approve? I need to read the list. Yeah, if you read that for us. Resolution
number 20250456, a resolution of the city commission of Len Haven, Florida, relating to the delivery and funding of storm water related essential services within the city providing for storm water assessments within the entire city
area of the city. Estimating the service costs to provide storm water related essential services and capital equipment and facilities. Establishing the method of assessing the storm water related service cost against real property that
will be specifically benefited. Directing the city manager to prepare preliminary storm water assessment role. Establishing public hearing to consider imposition of the proposed storm water assessments. directing the provisions of
notice in connection there with and providing an effective date. All right. Is there a motion for this? Motion to approve. Second. All right. Motion by Commissioner Perno, second by Commissioner Vandergri. Um, comments
from the public. City manager to call the vote. Commissioner Perno. Yes. Commissioner Vandergri. Yes. Commissioner Peebles, yes. Commissioner Ward, yes. Mayor Nelson, yes. Motion
passed. Um, discussion in regards to the referendum concerning the library in the Northwest Florida Regional Library. Um, as we know from the nonbinding referendum that was on the uh April 22nd uh ballot that and I'm using this
keeping it simple that residents voted no in regards to building a new library um at 1.9 million with 320,000 possibly to staff it ongoing but yes to making connection with the Northwest Florida Regional Library. And so what we
discussed on Friday briefly was for um staff to bring us back some options to consider in regards to what a media center or library could look like for us. Though
we had c you know had plans uh I think 100% complete plans for a library with uh with Mont McDonald. um now getting more feedback from the citizens then we're adjusting those plans um for that.
So um as of right now there is no plan uh in place on how we're going to proceed with the library. I know there are rumors of how we're probably going to proceed um but there's no plan. So we have not decided on a particular plan um
of how to move forward with that. Initially um with the M McDonald plan, the plan was to build onsite beside the senior center and then have a corridor that would connect us to the senior center. That way if we had evening
events that the senior center could provide an overflow for that. Um but right now we don't we don't have any plans in place um for that. So, we're going to let staff do some research for us and bring us back some information um
over the next weeks or so um so that we can have further discussion on what moving forward with the library looks like. Um in regards to the Northwest Florida Regional Library, um city manager has is coordinating with staff to set up a meeting um for us to have
those discussions on what that agreement will look like um for us in Lin Haven. So that um that is in the works per our Friday um discussion as well. So just wanted to make it clear um and and let me also make this clear is that we love our seniors. All right? We love our
seniors and we certainly um don't like infringing um on on you especially with weeks like this where you you're out of the senior center um for a week um and then you know on next Tuesday as well. So, um I do remember when we sat down and made that agreement um a few years
ago that we had some seniors that came to us that were concerned um that once leadership changed and once the city manager retired and once we as commissioners were no longer here that they wouldn't have access to the senior center as they do now, which is when we
sat down and came up with that 32-year agreement to ensure that beyond our terms that there would still be um a place for our senior group um in order to uh to meet. So, I do want to say thank you for coming up and sharing your sentiments um in regards to that. We
have heard from you prior to now, but thank you for putting that on record so that it won't be any excuse that we haven't heard and that we don't know um how you feel about that. So, um do know that at this time there are no official plans to uh to do anything with the senior center at this moment, but all
those things are still um under discussion. And um typically for discussion only we usually don't have any comments from the public but for the next uh 10 minutes we'll open the floor if there are comments from the public. If you come to the mic please. Thank you again Jack Crutchfield. Um my
daddy once told me never come up with a problem unless you got a solution. And uh I know that the um during after hurricane Michael, the uh city com departments moved into these FEMA trailers that were really quite nice and they operated out of there for a long
time to this beautiful building was built. My suggestion is maybe partnering with FEMA or with um the state to see if we can get some other temporary buildings to put in that park that empty parking lot adjacent to across the street from the the park and adjacent to
the senior center. Put in some temporary buildings there to at least set up and establish you what you need, what you want it as an interim basis until you can determine how to move forward. Maybe the public opinion will change future
down the road at once you've got one operating and they know the value of that digital center. So that's my suggestion and that way you don't have to take anything from anybody that's already around and you might even be
helping FEMA in the state where trailers are not being uh maintained or utilized and it's costing them for storage and everything else. So that that's my suggestion. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Um, is there another comment? Mr. Walker, I'm
surprised. You usually don't speak during public comments. As you all know, I'm very interested in the library. It goes back a long time. Um, there's a lot of questions about it, but that gentleman is correct. Don't
come up here without an answer. I had the answers. I've given the answers to you. There's three ways to do this besides what you have already paid for the architectural drawings for the media center, etc., etc. But you're not
listening and uh this would be easy. For 70 years, library functioned without any help from this city, Alen Haven. The women of this town organized it, ran it for 70 years. You
paid nothing. The men of this town gave the ladies the property, the building, the budget, the money, made it run for 70
years. 1970, the ladies turned it over to you. the property, the building, the budget, which you don't know and don't know what happened, 8,000
books. Then it was given to the city through mismanagement by the city manager. No disrespect to you at all. Not your
bank. He destroyed it. The insurance money that we've paid for that building 20 years that I know of is gone. You don't have it. Got ideas. You've got to come up
with a plan now. Exactly. If you put it by the senior center, uh-uh. You have one thing happening in Sheffield Park. 7,000 cars. You don't have parking for a library there. Property over here is now
a pond. You don't have parking there. You don't have it. There is a place you can go. You just don't want to listen. Mr. Peeles knows you got to work
outside the box. Give it back to the ladies. All right. Thank you. Any additional comments in regards to the library. All right. I have a comment or
a question. Could we see uh he's referring to the old library? Uh if a lot of people probably might not know that. Uh but the building still exists. Just out of curiosity, I wonder how much it would cost to get it into up to code
so that we could utilize that building for a possible library. I think it'd be kind of neat to have the library in the old library, you know. Um, but I I don't have any idea how much uh that would
cost. And by the way, Mr. Walker, there's five of us up here and we all think out of the box sometimes. Okay, that that is something that we can ask staff to to look into. We'll look into that. So, uh, city manager to confirm because I know it already has water and
electricity and a restroom. I don't know about uh ADA compliant and and those other code issues, but it'd be interesting to find out if y'all would. Right. Thank you, sir. City manager and staff will check into that.
Thank you. Yes, sir. breakfast. Thank you for that response. Yes, sir. All right. Moving on to agenda number 22. discussion and possible approval to award the bid to Lawn Care and Chemical Services to Lawnscapes of Bay County,
three-year contract with a one-year renewal option for $274,94.96 to perform lawn and chemical maintenance services at select city parks and properties. All right, so we did discuss this on Friday. Um, we've received some
follow-up emails since then. Um, are there any questions for uh, city manager, questions for Mr. Ferris or our city attorney? All right, everyone says their questions have been answered. Okay. Um,
is there a motion to approve this? My last motion to move. All right. All right. Is there a second? I'll second the motion. All right. Motion by Commissioner Vandergri, second
by Commissioner Peebles. Um, comments from the public. Yes. So, um, my name is Kimberly Powell. I'm the owner of Legendary Lawn Maintenance. So, do you have any questions or answers for the questions
that I sent you in an email to all the board members? Do you want me to read them off to you? Okay. So, question number one is what is the difference in let's see page number 17 we sent out
it says to submit the license with it but on page number 11 it says that you got 48 hours after awardle. Anybody clarify that? I'm not sure what she's
done in the bid docket. I don't have those in front of me. Okay. All right. So, can you explain to me how that the email that I received had an attachment at the bottom that was
started as a thread by Mr. Littleton that shouldn't be contacting the city because it had not been awarded yet regarding that bid. Any vendor can contact the city as long as they are not on the um scoring committee. And he was
not on the scoring committee. Oh, he's a person who bid. That's one of the reasons he's not on the scoring committee. When you work on a bid, when you work on an RFP, you can't be on the scoring committee and work on a RFP. So, I'll question Mr. Littleton is the owner of Lawncapes or
partner or what whatever. Correct. And we're answering your question. Exactly. I understand that. And so, um, questions are, uh, directed to the person who, um, knows the most about that particular bid, which was Mr. um, Ferris, and you
can do that. Oh, I thought you couldn't contact anyone. Not on the scoring committee. Not on the scoring committee. So, I can email anyone once the bid has been opened and ask any question. You cannot
you cannot email anyone on the scoring committee. Your question should go to either Miss Rushing or Ty Ferris or they can come to me. That's good to know. Yes, ma'am. So, anything else that um has made you
reconsider such I mean we do have the license. You know, I've been up here in front of y'all before regarding this same thing other than with chemicals. This exact same bid. You just added chemicals this time. City attorney, would you clarify some
things? I'm looking through the bid documents right now to try and answer the questions I've heard. Um, my my understanding is that your the licenses submitted with your bid were limited licenses that did not allow specifically for the application of
certain chemicals to turf. in the application um uh the provision of services under contract and because the scope of services in the procurement documents required um I that was a scope of services um it
didn't appear that the licenses submitted with your bid um authorized you to perform all of the services requested by the bid. Okay. So, we do have the license that is required to perform all of such. Um, in on page 11,
I believe it is. I'd have to go back and look, but it states that any state license can be submitted 48 hours within 48 hours after awarded. So, that's a state license. So, my recollection, and again, I I'm looking for the provision
right here. I don't see it on page the page 11 of the document I've got in front of me, but my recollection is that within 48 hours, you do have to provide evidence of insurance and evidence of your um state or local business license. The state license itself to perform the work was required to be submitted with
the bid response. So it states right here for your document, I made a copy of it. It says state registration the or municipal license and state registrations. The contractor shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining any licenses required
pursuant to the laws of Bay County, the city of Linhaven or the state of Florida. You can drop down and then you can go to its states within 48 hours after notification of intent to award contract.
You must provide this the business license. The proposer is awarded the contract. It says right here, the proposer must sorry, the proposer must provide a statement with the understanding if the proposer is awarded the contract that they must provide a
copy of the business license tax receipt within 48 hours after notification of the intent to award contract. I think the business tax receipt is different than the state licenses to perform the work. Okay, it's all in the same paragraph. And the last line of that paragraph I also think says that failure
to abide by the timelines will be allotted within the timeline will disqualify the proposer. That's correct. And the time the timeline 48 hours only for the business license the state licenses that require there needs to be some clarification there. Okay. All right. So are there any additional
questions? No. Thank you. Not to tell. All right. Any other public commentary? All right. City manager if you call the vote. I have to go back. That was Commissioner Vandergri and Commissioner Peebles.
Commissioner Vandergriff. Um, yes. May I make a comment? Yes, ma'am. You know, we're given information about whether or not someone qualifies to bid on a um and that's it's given to us in the information before
the meetings. So, that's what we make our decisions on. Um, the paperwork as to who qualifies and who does not qualify. Um, my vote is yes. Commissioner Peebles.
Yes. Commissioner Perno, yes. Mission Ward. Yes.