to the Linhaven City Commission. It's 5:30, so we'll go ahead and kick things off. Welcome to all of our special guests with us tonight. The first thing I'm going to do is call this meeting to order. We're going to have at the invocation by
Pastor Trent Gan of the First Baptist Church of Linhaven followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight with thanksgiving in our hearts, God.
Thank you for the rain we've had. We've desperately needed that. So, thank you for uh your blessing in that God. Thank you for the privilege we have to live in such a great city. And God, as we look
around, we just see um your creation and it glorifies the creator. So, thank you for letting us enjoy it. God, we thank you for the people that make up this city. We pray your blessing on our city.
God, we pray that we would be a city you'd be willing to bless. A city that stands up for righteousness, a city where we love our neighbors as ourselves, God, a city where we know what it is to go the extra mile and know what it is to
turn the other cheek in difficult moments. Dear God, we pray your continued blessing on us. Thank you for those who serve us in elected roles, God. those who are employed by our city. We pray uh that you would bless them and
bless their families as well. And God, we ask for wisdom tonight. You tell us we can ask and you will not chastise us for asking as long as we do so in faith. So God, we ask tonight that you would give our leaders the needed wisdom that
they need. And we pray all this in Jesus name. Amen. >> Amen. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you, Pastor. All right. Next on the agenda, um, additions, deletions, modifications of agenda. Are there any for tonight before we get
started? >> Nope. Everybody >> hit the hit the microphone there. The red button, >> right? >> Okay. We do need to >> Yes, understood. You want we do that
during the consent agenda or additions? >> Okay. Um, we're going to get Commissioner Tinder back on the line here. We do have the one addition of allowing her to participate tonight via phone. She is recovering still. >> Hey, Commissioner.
>> Hey there, Commissioner Tinder. Um, just uh starting to make the addition of adding you by phone tonight. So, as you know, Commissioner Tinder is still recovering from heart surgery. She will be back with us at the next meeting, but she hasn't been cleared to come back
yet. So, she is participating via phone tonight. Would like to ask for everyone's grace and uh authorizing her participation via phone as such. So, with that said, could I get a motion to allow Commissioner Tinder to participate by phone?
>> A motion to approve. >> Thank you, sir. May I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. I have a motion and a second. Is there any uh general commentary regarding having Commissioner Tinder participate tonight via phone?
Hearing none, city manager, would you call the role? >> Commissioner Peebles, >> yes. >> Commissioner Warick, >> yes. >> Commissioner Perno, >> yes. >> Commissioner Tinder, >> yes. >> Mayor Lowry, >> yes, we have it. 50. Thank you for that.
All right, we have a special moment tonight. And if Mr. Justin Ward would come forward. We're going to be recognizing the Bay County Special Olympics basketball team. Have a hot mic for you, sir. Y'all come on in. Don't be shy.
>> Get in the back. Watch your step. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> So, >> yeah, >> we got we have everyone. So, yeah.
Still switching. >> So, I believe this is the second or third year that Special Olympics has rented out our gymnasium um for their summer games. Um, even though they're from all over the county, I always say to our leadership team, this is a Len
Haven team. Um, they practice hard. They're there every Sunday. Um, I know they reached a big milestone this year. They went to regionals in Walton County and they won. They had a bid to the state tournament. And Tai, which is one of our own in the sports and rec
department. Raise your hand, Ty. Raise your hand, T. he he come to work all excited when they won the games and it just put fire on us. So they went to state and they placed third. Um so we wanted to recognize them for that. So
that was big. So, on behalf of City of Land Haven, the commission, city manager, um we want to present you with medals for your accomplishments and we're going to let you guys give them out to the teams and whatever. >> Thank you. We can do that. Um I just want to thank Linhaven personally. We
came to Linhaven two years ago when we were looking for a place to practice. We had outgrown uh First Baptist downtown was letting us use their old upstairs gym. If y'all have ever been in it, you pray as you go up the stairs that you don't fall through while you're there. But, you know, it was a place to
practice and we had less than 20. This year, we took three qualifying teams to state. And just to put that into perspective, these guys compete just like, if not more than any other athlete you've seen. They went to Orlando where over 2500 athletes were competing in
basketball, cycling, track and field, um, botchi, several sports. But um we actually took three teams. We had four qualify. One uh player had to drop out at the last minute. And just like any other sport, they cannot compete. If if their team
can't move forward, they can't move forward. So these guys have definitely put in the practice. I want to personally thank Coach Tai as well. I was in the gym this uh summer and I look up and there's Tai. And I knew Tai back in Bay High. Cool story. Allison in the
front and okay, Kim told him he was going to coach. Let me give Kim, let me give Coach Kim. He got volunttoled. Um Allison in the front um was a She is differently abled as well. She's my daughter and she helped um which was a manager in high school at Bay High
School and Ty and Allison knew each other. So I was like, "What are you doing here?" He said, "I work here." And here we are state statebound and and a great turnout. We look forward to next year because they're going to bring home the gold. But I want to thank Lyn Haven definitely for um giving us such a great
facility. We have Walton County come over and we got to do another game which is a big deal because we don't have a whole lot of competition in these parts. So, thank you. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. And athletes, if you went to state games, if you'll just step
forward, just the athletes that went to state games, unified partners as well. Unified partners are typical people without special needs who also come and compete um with our athletes. So, we had a 5v5 team, a three versus
three team, and a team skills team. There's different levels, and they compete with other athletes equivalent to what their capabilities are. >> All right. Ian Vicki, Carl, All
right. Oh. AJ >> don't worry about I made you guys understand this year. They fought for a gold
and they met them up and they are so good. They're only going to get better under Thank you guys. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Y'all did a great job. Keep proud.
>> I know. I know. We used to see each other all the time. >> Yep. >> All right. Take care. Thank you. Thank you. >> Good night. >> All of our visitors are welcome to stay, but you're also welcome to depart the pattern as well if you'd like.
Congratulations again, and thank you for letting us share with you tonight. All right, we'll stand by about 30 seconds. Let them clear out. All right. Thank y'all for your
patience. We'll get back to our regular scheduled program. And just so y'all know, I have a goal tonight. I want to get us out of here in an hour. So, let's see. That will be the shortest commission meeting we've had in at least an hour. So, the schedule's light. So,
as long as everybody that wants to speak can be heard, we may be on tap for an hour. Let's see if we can do it. With that, the first thing on the consent agenda is approval of our meeting minutes dated May 12th, 26. Can I get a
motion to approve? >> Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Ma'am, can I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you so much. Open the floor for general discussion. Any questions or discussion regarding uh approval of our
past meeting minutes? So, mayor, that that's actually for the entire consent agenda. >> Okay. >> It'll be for both items. >> Apologies. So, we got two items in. So, we have the approval of the minutes for the 12th and also approval of the 911 Platt residential incentive program
application for 1221 Illinois Avenue contingent upon completion. Thank you for keeping me straight, city manager. So, we have the two items. I assume Commissioner Tender, you're still a motion and Commissioner Peebles, you're still a second. Thank you for that. So, we have a motion
and a second for both items. Any just general discussion? Hearing none. City manager, would you call the role? >> Commissioner Tinder? >> Yes. >> Commissioner Peebles? >> Yes. >> Commissioner Pero? >> Yes. >> Commissioner War? >> Yes. >> Mayor Lowry?
>> Yes. Thank you. The eyes have it. All right. So, old business. Uh final reading uh ordinance 1190 establishing non-avalorum requirements in the city charter city attorney. Uh yes Mr. Mayor this is ordinance
number 1190 an ordinance of the city of Linhaven Florida proposing amendments to section six of the city's charter to establish requirements for non avalorum assessments providing that the proposed amendments shall be effective only upon the approval of referendum as specified
in the ordinance. >> Thank you. And for those of you that have been attending the meetings, this is basically the seven questions. This is all the details before any new advalorum non-advalorum tax gets established in the city. There will be
seven specified um bits of information, the start and end dates, the cost estimates, how much of a variation will be allowed. Uh but the sunrise, the sunset, and all of the key details that can possibly be provided to our Linhaven
residents before such a non-avalorum gets implemented, we owe it to the public to do that. Uh our city charter committee actually established this. Our vice chairman, Mr. Ryan Scray, is here tonight representing them. Um so, thank you to the charter review committee for
bringing this forward. Um this was the second reading tonight. City manager, do you need to read it for the second reading? >> The may the city attorney I just read it >> there. >> That was it. >> That was it. >> Okay. Um any general questions?
>> All right. Hearing none. Um I get a motion to approve. >> Motion to approve. >> Thank you. May I get a second to approve or second? >> Second. >> Thank you, sir. I have a motion and a
second. >> Any questions, comments, or concerns? >> So, just to be clear, this is for any future. >> Yes. >> And I that's what was added. >> Yes. >> That's the last time. >> Yes. That was to ease y'all's concerns. Um, the referendum will be on August
18th and this would be for any new non-avalorum starting after the referendum. I believe city attorney we specifically said starting September 1st of 26. >> Yeah. Yes, sir. It says uh new. Yeah. In 2026.
>> Yeah. So, starting September 2026. All right. So, we have a motion and a second. No concerns or public commentary. Okay. I don't remember who brought up the idea um so I can't give them credit but
somebody had suggested that you guys put this in effect for just at the ordinance level um whether the referendum passes or not because then you would be subjected to the to follow this in the meantime and if the referendum failed you'd still be
subjected to follow it unless the commission overturned that ordinance. Um, is this covering that or not? >> So, the ordinance is being established to go forward to the referendum. So, yes. Uh, but >> if you pass like a non-advalorum
assessment in the next meeting, it wouldn't be subjected to this. >> Any new the only one that's grandfathered in is the one that's currently existing. >> Anything from September 2026. >> Okay. He's asking if like let's say
tomorrow we had a special meeting and decided to do a nonadvalorum assessment. This would not cover that because we got to wait till it goes to a ballot. >> Right. >> Right. >> So effectively this commission opted not to take that person's idea and put it in this uh extra you know level of
transparency from now until September 1st 2026 in place or permanent if the referendum were to fail. So what I would do is I would encourage you guys if you I don't think you're planning on any non-advorum assessments but if one comes up I would encourage you because it's so
easy to follow is just have this information ready and share it. Um because you know you don't need an ordinance to do the right thing. You can just do the right thing and I think the seven items are the right thing. That's why this is getting passed and going to referendum. So,
>> city attorney, just for clarification here though, this is literally a formal ordinance reading 1190. So, we are establishing a new city ordinance that's going forward to the referendum, >> but it's not effective. >> Yes, it's not it's not effective unless
it's passed at referendum. So, the city commission could if it doesn't pass referendum just simply adopt an ordinance. >> Right. Period. And in the meantime, if you cook up any, you know, non-adorums like maybe for sidewalks and salmonized neighborhood and only we pay our us and
our neighbors pay it as an example, like you could still have these seven items fulfilled very easily. So that's all my I'm suggesting. >> Yeah, I'll say I mean if a new if a non-avalorm comes up before the ballot,
I will put on the agenda to vote on the ordinance because I think that's important. So we can put it ahead on the agenda, make an ordinance and then do it. So >> by the time you did the study and everything, it would definitely be past September. And >> I would say the odds heavily favor that.
But we all are doing the honorable transparent thing here. So we wouldn't turn around and not be transparent after we push this through. So that we're not doing the Texas twostep here. So um we're good there. But thank you, Mr. Scra, for for that input. Any other
questions or comments? Hearing none. We have a motion and a second. City manager, would you call the role? >> Commissioner War. >> Yes. >> Commissioner Perno, >> yes. >> Commissioner Peebles, >> yes. >> Commissioner Tinder, >> yes. >> Mayor Lowry, >> yes. The eyes have it. Thank you'all for
that. We have no tabled items tonight. We have one, two, three, four new business discussion items. Number eight is discuss and possible approval regarding continuing with town hall meetings. City manager. Yes, sir. So, we
um established some town hall meetings. Uh this we've had our third last Saturday. Um have had some good turnout, good conversation from those meetings. Uh but the original plan was to do the three and then reconvene at a commission meeting and decide which route the commission wants to pursue. Whether it's
to continue the town hall meetings or do another three to six and remove public commentary from the agenda altogether or stick to the town halls with public commentary. uh staff just request direction from the commission on what you all would like to continue to do.
>> So with that, uh ladies first, Commissioner Tender, uh since you're on the phone, ma'am, I'll ask you to go first. Uh you were you able to hear the city manager there? >> Yes, I I I sure was. >> All right. >> Um well, personally,
uh if the rest of the commission votes to continue the town hall meetings, I will be there. But for 10 or 15 people, it just seems like uh a big expense for
that few people that show up. >> That's basically all I have. I I will show up if they vote to do it, but um I'd like to see a lot more people there. >> Yes, ma'am. and city manager. To that point, let's see, the one we had this past Saturday,
we had 10 for a little while. We had one of our regulars come late and leave early, but we had nine other of our pretty hardcore regulars participate. Do you remember offhand how many we had participate in the first and second town halls? >> The first the very first one, I believe
we had like 20 or 22 folks. Um, we've got the feedback everyone filling one out. I'm believe it was 20 or 20 20 to 22 and the second one was the same 10 to 15 if I remember correctly. >> Okay, >> thanks for that. >> I would like to add that when we look at
things like this, when you're looking at such a small sample size of people, the difference between 10 and 22 is so negligible that I would rather focus on being available rather than the actual number of people that show up. So I
think that's really what we need to focus on is the availability if people can make it rather than the total number of people that do and let's not forget that people are watching online as well. So, >> Commissioner Pero,
>> um, I think we haven't really ran the gamut with it because we haven't done it the town hall while we have not done public commentary at a meeting. And I really think if we didn't do public commentary at a meeting and did a town
hall, then you'd really see the litmus paper as to who's going to attend the town hall. Probably the first one to tell us that we're we're not doing right by not doing public commentary at a meeting. But nonetheless,
uh, you know, when you're when you're trying to push something through like this or not push it through, but trying to trying to live with it, you know, are we are we doing it how it how how we intend to do it? We intend to uh to eliminate public commentary from the
meeting and do a town hall. That's exactly what the what was presented, but we've done a town hall while we've continued to do public commentary. So, the real test is going to be if we do no public commentary at a meeting and do
the town hall and see how it works. So, but I'm I'm like Commissioner Tinder. I'll go either way. >> Got 11 months to go. >> Sir, well, and I'll be the caboose here. So, before I go, Commissioner Warick,
>> you know, I got a lot to say on this since I started this. Um, as we discussed, you know, over the past three months, uh, we conducted a pilot program for community town halls with the goal of evaluating whether this format could improve citizen engagement and
communication between residents and their elected officials. And when this was first appro proposed, there was an un understandable questions and concerns such as would people attend, would residents feel heard, would this actually improve engagement, and would
it work for Lynhaven? And at the time, none of us truly knew the answer, which is why we agreed to test it before making any long-term decisions. After participating in these town halls over the last 3 months, I believe we now have enough real world experience and feedback to evaluate the concept
honestly. And what we observed was a much different atmosphere than a traditional formal commission meeting. The town halls created more interaction, more conversation, more collaboration, and more immediate feedback between
residents, commissioners, and city leadership. One of the most common criticisms we hear during traditional public commentary is that residents speak for three minutes, but there is little to no opportunity for dialogue or interaction
afterwards. The town hall format changed that dynamic. residents were able to ask follow-up questions, engage in discussion, receive immediate feedback, and in some cases connect directly with the appropriate city leadership or staff
to begin addressing concerns in real time. And to me, that is meaningful engagement. We also saw some new faces participating who may not normally come speak during a formal commission meeting setting. And I can understand that because speaking at
a formal commission meeting such as this can be intimidating for some people. And uh this reminds me of a quote from Jerry Seinfeld where he said, "According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death.
Death is number two." This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. So, I know it's a little bit of humor, but I think there's a lot of truth to that. In a more relaxed and conversational setting can make
participation feel more approachable for many residents. One thing that stood out to me during these town halls was seeing residents participate who openly stated they would not normally feel comfortable speaking during a formal commission meeting. At one of the town halls, we
had a resident attending ever. She openly stated she did not know how the process worked and was clearly nervous speaking publicly. Because of the more relaxed and conversational format, she was able to discuss concerns involving police interactions, receive
immediate feedback, and connect directly with the police chief to continue addressing those concerns afterward. That level of dialogue, interaction, and immediate problem solving is difficult to accomplish during traditional public commentary. To me, that is a strong
example of what meaningful public public engagement can look like. The written feedback we received during the pilot program was overwhelmingly constructive and informative. Common themes included appreciation for the interaction, appreciation for the conversational
environment, appreciation for immediate responses, and support for continuing the town hall concept. The primary criticism we received involved audio quality which we addressed by adding microphones during the last town hall. I also want to make an important
clarification because I know this has been a concern throughout this discussion. This is not about eliminating public participation. Public comment on agenda items before commission action is required by Florida law and will continue regardless of the
structure we choose moving forward. The question before us is not whether the residents should be heard. The question is what structure creates the most meaningful and productive engagement between residents and their government. Over the course of this pilot program, I
believe it became clear that many non-aggenda concerns are discussionoriented rather than actionoriented. In many cases, during traditional non-aggended public commentary, there is little to no opportunity for meaningful
exchange, there is often no immediate path toward discussion or clarification, and residents frequently leave without interaction beyond their threeminut statement. The town hall format addressed that issue directly. Instead of limiting engagement to a statement
from the lectern, residents were able to engage in actual conversation and dialogue in a setting specifically designed for that purpose. Based on the results of the pilot program, I believe many non-aggenda concerns are more effectively addressed through the town
hall structure than through traditional non-aggenda public commentary during formal commission meetings. That is not to say we cannot still have discussion and dialogue regarding upcoming agenda items during these town halls. Again, this is not about limiting
criticism or reducing transparency. Residents would still be able to speak on agenda items before votes are taken, continue to have public access to their elected officials, and continue continue to have opportunities to raise concerns
publicly, and now have a dedicated forum specifically designed for broader discussion and interaction. At the end of the day, our responsibility is not simply to preserve processes because they are familiar. Our responsibility is to value evaluate
whether there are better ways to engage with the public while maintaining transparency, accountability, and lawful public participation. Based on the results we have seen over the last three months, I believe the town hall format has demonstrated that
it creates more meaningful opportunities for residents to not only be heard, but to engage directly with their local government in a more collaborative and productive way. With that being said, I would like to make a motion that we modify public commentary to audience participation limited to agenda items
while continuing public comment on agenda items as required by law and establish monthly community town halls on the Saturday prior to the 4th Tuesday commission meeting from 9 to 11. >> Thank you, Commissioner T or um Warick,
I'm sorry. >> Mayor. >> Yes, ma'am. Um, I apologize for asking this, but um I did not hear um Pat Pero's uh basic I don't want a I'll repeat everything he
said but um basically did you interpret what he said was he's poorer again. >> He said he completely agreed with you and that doveetails right into my comments Commissioner Tinder. >> Okay. >> Because I feel Yes, ma'am. I honestly feel the same way as Commissioner Tinder
and Commissioner Pero. Um, if we as a commission continue to do this, I'm fine doing it. The first town hall was a really, I think, a a heartwarming and good thing. We had a lot of participation. We had some firsttime
folks and that was really exciting as well. Uh for the last two though, we quickly bulled down to just the regulars and I'm afraid with the uh spring and summer and kids out for the summer and stuff now, I think it's going to be just the handful of the dozen or so regulars.
Now, I may be wrong, but we'll see. Uh but I uh I kind of say ditto to Commissioner Tinder and Commissioner Pero's uh thoughts. The only other thing I'll add is I am really uncomfortable and don't want to give up public commentary from the commission meetings.
I know that's the intent. So if we have other forums, that's great. We've already moved it to the end. So the folks that would be at the beginning to do the YouTube moments and all that stuff and kind of really bog down agenda items. We'd be 45 minutes to an hour
post pledge before we got to the first agenda item. We don't have those anymore. what we have is kind of our hardcore regulars and I could name them pretty much by name. Um they're here and they're going to be with us whether they speak or not and they speak at the end during general open open public
commentary. So I realize the intents to kind of pressurize the system by taking that off the city commission meeting but realistically we only have a couple of um general comments at the very end of the meeting anyway as is. So, um, if we
go forward with this the town hall, I'm kind of agnostic on it. I'm okay with it. I'll support it, but, um, I don't want to give up general commentary at the end of our current commission. >> So, just a couple things I'll add is I
was asking Mr. Lightfoot earlier, what is the additional cost? The only additional cost is it, correct? >> It is the only staff that's hourly um that that is here. Yes, sir. and then the the items that we bring for refreshments.
So, to me, it's minimal cost. >> I love the coffee and the Chick-fil-A and the donuts. I just want to say that. >> And uh to me, if we do public commentary during regular meetings like we're doing and this to me, it's a duplication of
effort. Um I >> I'll So, I will say that I'm not in support of removing public commentary either. Um, since day one, I've always been about more availability. So, I think taking away public commentary in a vacuum, I see the argument. Um, I but I
just don't agree with it. It's just minor thing. But my what I would say is that it does by doing the town hall and still allowing public commentary, it it offers different communication styles. Um, the
>> Yeah, it's just a it's just a different communication style. So is they're not one and the same to me. >> To me, what makes it difficult during regular commission meetings is the the commission meetings are designed for actionoriented, right? But with public
commentary, depending on what they're coming up for, a lot of times they're expecting us to do something or they're expecting us to have discussion. It's more discussionoriented, not actionoriented. And it's hard to have that type of discussion. and you can, but to me it's a lot more effective
having it through the town hall than the commission meetings. >> I just think they're a whole lot more effective that way. >> And I hear you, Commissioner Wart. Um, and offering the town hall forum gives us that couple of case and points. Uh, Mr. Ryan Scray and Miss Michelle,
Miss Michelle Basher, they both came with lists. They were able to talk through their lists and we responded and, you know, it was a much more We didn't have a three-minute clock. Yes, sir. >> I know I know you made a motion, Jamie,
but um it and and what I said was could we try it another two months before you make the motion and try it without public commentary at the meeting and do the town hall and then we'll see what the real what the real where the
real deal lies in the in the format of communication and then and then you can you can make your motion and we'll go from there. Just let's just try two more meetings. Let's try two more town halls. >> Mr. For the sake of of minutes, would we
assume that Mr. the Commissioner Warick's motion has failed due to lack of second so that CJ can document that? >> Well, he motioned in the middle of >> I think we're still talking on it, right? >> Yeah, I hadn't even give my inputs. Yeah, >> we were still sharing inputs.
>> But I mean, if you want to remake it, sir, feel free. So, I'll say my motion again that we modify public commentary to audience participation limited to agenda items while continuing public comment on agenda items as required by law and establish monthly community town
halls on the Saturday prior to the 4th Tuesday commission meeting from 9 to 11. That's my motion. >> Thank you for that. So, I have a motion um from Commissioner Ward to for the Saturday before the
fourth Tuesday meeting of the city commission from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. >> Unless someone wants to propose a different time, but I'm I'm I'm of course flexible on that. >> But the the key
um element there is you're asking for a suspension of non-specific agenda item public commentary for this two or three months. >> No, I didn't put a time frame. No, >> I was the one that said we should contest it in the in the manner in which
he wants to do it. We've done it we've done it three times with public commentary in the meeting as well, but now he want his motion wants to remove public commentary. I think we all know how everybody else feels about it. But in fairness to him and if you want to
test it the way the way he says the true the true the the true feeling that he's proposed he's he's he's made his statement but we haven't done it that way yet. So if we do it that way when and see and and you really get the
you'll get the you'll get the feel you'll get the opinions you'll get you know so I mean if we even if we did one more meeting that way that's all I was saying is just test it one more time the way the manner in which he's talking I'm not you know
am I ready to go his way? No but I'm I want I'd like to try it his way if he if if he if that's what he wants to do for two more meetings. So, just for the sake of clarity, I acknowledge your motion, Commissioner War, and uh what's the time frame in your motion? Are you acceptable
with Commissioner Pero's two-month trial or you trying to do this indefinitely or >> try for two months and then >> I mean, >> I don't understand if we either want to do this or we don't. You know what I'm saying? This this was the talk I had at the last was it the last commission meeting
>> true look at it >> and and I just think I mean if you feel truly feel you need to keep public commentary then make the motion but I truly feel that this is the best way to go based on the feedback we receive from town halls and the research I've done
and and and that so that's just how I feel. Mayor, >> Commissioner Tinder. >> Um, I want to make sure that I understand what Jamie just said because I was under the impression that we would always have public commentary at our
regular commission meetings, but they could only uh we would only do commentary on agenda items. >> Yes. >> Now, uh uh Mr. Warick, are you saying that you want to discontinue public commentary completely?
at uh city meetings. Okay. >> No, no. What I'm saying is the the public commentary would be replaced with audience participation and they could speak on any agenda item during audience participation. Then on the actual agenda items, there'll be
commentary on that when we go take action on those also. >> Oh, so they would still get to have public commentary on agenda items. Correct. Always >> during a commission meeting. >> Correct. That's for state law.
>> It's just >> Oh, okay. Awesome. >> He's just advocating for the removal of general commentary at the end of the commission, >> right? >> Yeah. Okay. As long as they get to um voice their opinion on regular
um items that we're discussing at the agenda, uh then I think that's great. And for those who want to come on a Saturday and voice their opinion again or whatever, I think we should give it a shot and see. >> So I
>> I don't think it I my personal opinion is I would start to bark if we continue to only have 10 or 15 people there, >> right, >> on Saturdays, you know. >> I agree.
Um, okay. So, we have Commi Commissioner Warick's motion. Uh, do I have a second? >> Yes. >> Okay. So, I have a motion and a second. Um, I'll open the floor for general
commentary. I see Mr. Hines first and then Mr. Scay and Miss Parker after that. So, come on up, Mr. Hines. Good evening. >> Evening. 1603 Rhode Island Avenue, Lin Haven, Florida. You have 10 minutes of verbal diarrhea about the
same issue. What Jamie said was what should have been done the first time around. If you have a issue come up on the agenda that someone want to speak on, they can speak on it. If it's not on the agenda, they should come up here and talk from Port St. Joe, Bay County, Southport, wherever talking about all kind of crazy stuff. That's why your
meeting should be an hour because normal person attention span is only 45 minutes. You start these two hour meeting, people started to walk out because they had something to say and they couldn't say it. So he was right with what he said. We should cut out the regular agenda item letting them speak
commentary. If they want to speak on weekends, they can come and y'all get paid. I know it's part-time pay, but it's a full-time job. So if you have to come in here and sit here for three hours on Saturday and only one person show up, that's your job. You here for the citizen, not for yourself.
That's my opinion. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Gray. >> Um, before I share my thoughts, I'd like to to get a yes or no on a clarification. Would this audience participation be after item three, additions, deletions, modifications of
the agenda? So the way we operate currently with the city commission is the general commentary is at the end of the meeting uh prior to the mayor's report and the commissioner report. >> I'm aware of where it is. I'm asking will audience participation be at the
beginning of the agenda or will it stay at the end because what I say depends on your answer. So, right for mayor, if it's audience participation for the items only, it would be appropriate for it to be before the items as they work through the agenda if that's what they're only
if that's what the audience participation is specific for. >> Copy. >> So, if that's the case, if your intent is to allow somebody to come in and for example, I could come in earlier and I could have spoken on every agenda item on this agenda for three minutes.
However, I use that three minutes. Um, so allow basically what you're allowing is somebody who did who didn't want to send you an email or call you in advance can come in and share their thoughts before you make a motion in a second. Once you make that motion in a second, they can come back up again. Maybe they
don't like your motion, right? And then they retry to convince you to change it. Uh, you're like Sam said, you're just changing this this communication styles. Um, it's a little bit redundant to be able to speak to the uh agenda items before the agenda items. I mean, you
could, and I don't know, Rob, if this is legal or not, but do you have to allow the public commentary after the motions or just at some point on the agenda item? >> Mayor, may I? >> Yes, please. So, the the public has to
have an opportunity to be able to provide comment before the motion is voted upon. So, that can be >> Does it have to be after the motion, but before the vote? >> Doesn't necessarily have to be after the motion. It can be at any stage in the in the process. >> Okay. So, if time is of a of an essence,
and I appreciate you wanting to get us out early because if we get out early tonight, I can go do some Door Dash deliveries and make some money. Um, but if time is of the essence, why not just change your format to get rid of audience participation and you as chair mayor, you may allow audience
participation on each agenda item before any motions are made. That can be a rule that you as chairman inflict on the rest of your peers and yourself because you can make motions as well. Um, so you could say, "Hey, we're going to have some discussion. Is there any any
audience participation?" We come up, we say our thoughts. Okay, now's the time for a motion if you have one. Motion's made. Discussion of the commission ensues. No more audience participation. We had our time. It's voted on. It moves on. you can get rid of that whole 35 45
minutes of audience participation and just give us the chance agenda item by agenda item. Maybe it takes longer because I need to talk about all 18, you know, or maybe it doesn't because I only have one I need to talk about. But that's just a thought that I have because I mean if we're going to change
around the processes kind of may maybe just think about what's going to be more effective for the citizens to engage with our representatives. Whether that be three minutes at the beginning or three minutes on the agenda item trying
to convince you or my personal favorite I'll just send you a darn email, right? Um, that that's my preference because as soon as the agenda comes out, I can I can start formulating my emails to you guys. I'm sure you've gotten some on Thursday or Friday nights at 11:00 p.m.,
right? Um, so that's kind of my thoughts on that is just is I can respect wanting to get rid of the public commentary and move it to the town halls. I I I'm okay with trying the idea. I personally think that every opportunity to hear from the public is
better than not having the opportunity. But if you guys are going to try it before you buy it, fine. I don't like it. But I respect you guys trying it. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Parker. >> No, that's a good point. Something I didn't even factor in, but we I think we
would have to change where we would put audience participation if this were to pass. So, obviously, I wouldn't want it after we already voted on everything. Good evening, Miss Parker. >> Jerry Parker, Red Place, guys. I've been here since 2002.
2002. I came to two commission meetings when Walter Kelly was mayor here. It was a crap show. I didn't come to any more commission meetings. After the hurricane, there were problems.
I came all the time. People need to be able to speak up. A lot of people sit here and don't speak up, and that's okay. But there are some individuals that want to be heard in
this room during a commission meeting. Now, Jamie, if you want to do these town halls, fine, do them. But look how it's dwindling. 10 people, the last one, that's ridiculous.
And the same people, some of the same exact people are coming for that town hall. Cannot these same exact people come to the commission meeting and have their commentary. I I think I think y'all are doing
something. You are doing something wrong. I I don't agree with the town hall. If you want to do the town halls, do the town halls, but public commentary needs to be done in the commission meeting. During a commission meeting,
do I have to wait a month? A month when I when I pull up something and say, "Oh, I need to go to the commission meeting and and say something." I can't say something unless it's on an agenda item for a month. No, I'm sorry. That's
wrong. We need to stay with the commentary during commission meetings. If you want to have the town halls, have the town halls. But we need to be able. There's people that have dignity here
that want things to be heard by this commission. Do you know how many times I have stood up here and said stuff about people like Marggo Anderson, James Finch? You
know how many times we were bered by Mayor Nelson in reference to that and how did I help with the with the committee to get him gone? Guys,
this is this is not something that's unusual. Y'all need to stay with com um commentary. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Parker. Mr. Basher. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. Couple things. First thing
is there are 11 citizens at this commission meeting. So, it's not a whole lot different than a town hall meeting. Um, we've not had what I would call an acid test of this yet. We've not had a contentious issue come up while we've done these town hall meetings. So, we've
not seen what's going to happen if you say, "Oh, let's um not allow people to park their RVs in their yard." Something like that. something that's going to bring people out. We've not seen that yet. And what we went through in the past with public commentary that lasted so long was we had contentious
issues and people came and talked. So, that's something to consider going forward. We've really not acid tested this. Um, and I agree with Mrs. Parker to a degree on the time is of the essence. Do we want to wait a month to if a contentious issue does occur that
we want to bring to the commission, do we need to wait a month? Now, that's not to say I can email y'all. I can phone y'all. I can come see you. Y'all are all available. I don't have to stand up and say it publicly so the public sees it. So, you can be contacted if if necessary
and try to get something added to the agenda. Um, I just wanted to make sure that you understood that it's not been acid tested yet. When that h when that occurs, you'll know if it's really going to work or not. But until that does, I mean, it's just not going to lengthen anything out. I don't I don't disagree
with the two-month test to see, but if we don't have an issue that comes up, is it really going to be a valid test? I can't say one way or the other. Just food for thought. >> Fair point. Thank you, Mr. Basher. All right. Any other questions or excuse
me, public commentary? >> Okay. So, I have a motion by Commissioner Warick and I have a second by Commissioner Tinder. Mayor, if I may, before we call the vote, um, Commissioner Mor, if you would consider instead of making it concrete
on the third Friday or I'm sorry, third Saturday of the month, um, we could look at that at the first meeting of every month. That way, if we have a three-day weekend like we did last weekend, we could adjust accordingly. Yeah. >> Um, instead of keep, you know, keep that a little more fluid date instead of making it in the motion of what what
Saturday it is. >> Yeah, I'm I'd be good with that. If we we happen to have one like we just had where it's a holiday, we can change it. I'm good with that. So, I don't know how I need to. So, it would just be uh continue with the public commentary with
at least one meeting once a month and as scheduled uh by city staff or the commission and then eliminate uh public commentary at the uh >> well, replace public commentary with audience participation >> unless
we dictate and and we'll normally have it on the Saturday prior to the fourth Tuesday commission meeting unless we decide to move it because it's a holiday weekend. >> Fair. >> And to clarify, this is not for a month
or two. This is indefinite. Correct. >> Or until otherwise changed by the commission. >> Mayor. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. I'm totally confused now because I can only hear half of what everybody is saying.
>> I'm sorry, ma'am. Go ahead. I'll clarify. >> It's okay. It Okay, I need clarification. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Um, first of all, uh, I just made a motion to do this indefinitely. That's my first first question.
>> Um, and my second question, >> yes, that's Commissioner Warick just verified that he's wanting to do this indefinitely, not not the twomon additional test. Commissioner Pero had recommended, but indefinitely until we change it.
>> Okay. But it what we're talking about is we would still allow audience participation and comments on agenda items. Is that correct? >> Yes, ma'am. So,
what exactly is it we're taking away to replace with Saturday? >> We're replacing the public commentary with audience participation where the only things that they can speak about is agenda items. >> Okay. Okay.
>> Does that make sense? >> What? Yes, it does. >> Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. want to second that. >> Are you still wanting to second that, Commissioner Tinder? >> You know, I'm having second thoughts
about seconding it. Uh >> well, in order to remove the motion, >> yeah. Yeah, I have to I have to remove my motion because I it generally just feels like we're taking something away from the public, not giving them anything in
addition to >> we have to vote. So, I am going to I do want to take back my motion. >> Well, just a point of order, Commissioner Tinder. Since you have seconded, we need to go ahead and vote. Uh, but that doesn't preclude you voting up or down. Okay.
>> Or another. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. So, we do have we did have a motion and a second. We've had public commentary. We now unless there's other questions or comments from the commission, I'll ask the city manager to
call the role. Yep. City Manager. >> Commissioner War. >> Yes. Commissioner Tinder. >> No. >> Commissioner Peebles. >> I'm going to vote uh no because I'm not comfortable with the removal of the public commentary.
>> Commissioner Pero. Um I'm I'm going to say that I'm in I'm in favor of town hall. Um, and I would love to have tested it without public commentary for a brief time to make the decision afterward, but the way it's presented, I'm going to
vote no. >> Mayor Lowry, >> I'm also going to vote no. I'm not a fan of removing general commentary, but I I am willing to support the town halls as an additive forum. So, the motion fails 14.
>> All right. Mayor, before we go on, I would request uh some direction for Mr. Jackson. So, we need some staff needs some direction on town halls. Do we keep them on the calendar? Do we remove them? Uh staff needs to know what we're doing with with town halls moving forward. I'll make another motion to uh do the
town halls but um the time period that you suggested in terms of the flexibility but to continue public commentary in the uh in the normal scheduled commission meetings.
>> Okay. Just for clarification, is there a time limit on that commission peoples or just indefinitely? Um, well, I don't it's it's tough because I don't want to I'm I don't think I'm ever going to support removing public
commentary and so there'd be really no reason to test it for me. So, I'm going to say in um indefinitely. So, indefinite uh monthly town halls,
unless it's a a holiday weekend, the Saturday before our fourth Tuesday meeting, um with continued city commission general commentary. Okay, I have a motion. Do I have a second?
Okay, I don't have a second. The motion fails. Um, so the guidance >> I'll make a motion and I'll make a motion to to continue the town halls for
for the next let's say two months and remove public commentary from the meetings for those for those two and add audience participation on agenda items and then revisit the whole thing so it doesn't it doesn't die and we can we can
see what the town hall concept is and it's in its truest form. >> Okay. So, Commissioner Pero, I have a motion to basically continue what we've been doing, but with no general public
commentary for two months to my words pressurize the system, right? Um, that's your motion, but it's only for the two-month period. So, I have a motion from Commissioner Perno. Do I have a second?
hearing. No second. That motion also fails. So, at this point, commission, where do we as a team want to go with town halls? Do y'all want to pause them for the summer and look at re-engaging in the fall?
You're good with that? All right. So, I have head nods from Commissioner Perno and Commissioner Peebles. Commissioner Tender, how do you feel about that, ma'am? >> Yeah, just suspending them through the summer. >> Yes, ma'am. And starting back up in the fall,
>> I do agree with that. >> And fall meaning September. Is that acceptable to everyone? >> Yeah, I think we'd have to before we start them back up again, we'd probably have to vote though, right? Or or we'd have to vote to suspend if
we're going to do that, right? >> So, I would just defer to Mr. objection, but I would request a motion for whatever your direction for staff is. >> You all can can set a a restart date right now. You wouldn't have to revote again. That's the that's the pleasure of the commission.
>> So, we don't have to do an official vote to suspend it. >> Uh, city manager, if if you can help me remember, was the official vote to enact it? >> There was a vote to enact it >> and that was permanent or was it a time? >> It was for a three-month period, a three-month trial. Yes, sir. has
expired, >> which Okay. So, if it's expired, it's expired. You would need a vote to suspend it at this point. >> So, my question would be maybe since it's expired, we could just revisit it in the fall and then vote to add it back, >> right?
>> We will add it to the second meeting in September to discuss moving forward. >> Sounds good. Thank y'all for that. I know that was kind of painful to watch uh audience but that is public democracy and sausage making. So thank you for
your patience. We will move forward. Um item number nine on the discussion or new business rather discuss and possible approval of firstn net fleet telematics for government firstn net telematics realtime services for 34 police vehicles
and deputy police chief Steven Finger. Uh before I get started I want to say hello to commissioner Tinder and hope she's uh recovering well. I missed seeing her at uh Victoria's lunchtime. >> Did you hear that, Commissioner Tinder?
>> Uh no, I did not. >> So, Deputy Chief Infinginger just said he wanted to say he missed you and uh it's not the same going into Victoria's and not seeing you there. >> Oh, well, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
>> Go ahead, sir. Mayor, you said a mouthful there. So, I'll try and uh simplify this, put it in a reader digest version. So, um our police department's had GPS on our um patrol vehicles. It's actually in the laptop computers for several years. So, dispatchers, they've
got a big screen they can look at and they can see where everybody is. Uh it's a big officer safety thing. It also helps them dispatch people to calls faster because you got a guy that's right down the road from a call. You'd probably rather dispatch him than somebody on the other side of town. So,
what happened was last summer um our operating system we run through the Bay County Sheriff's Office. They did a software upgrade. At the same time, we're transitioning from modems and cars, which is where our GPS was to air cards in the laptops. And basically, the
two weren't talking. So, we haven't had any GPS that was reliable and really worked for quite a while um months since probably fall of last year. So, um Chief Blanchard started looking into getting
us uh some working GPS and what he found was this um first net um the AT&T fleet telematics. So, and he found that for the police department so that we we'll have these GPS devices in our vehicles so we everybody will know where
everybody's at, their speeds. It records all kinds of stuff. While he was looking into that, he also looked at the city as a whole because we've got GPS devices on uh work trucks, all city vehicles, so we know everybody can keep track of them. So, what he did is he worked out this
deal with AT&T because the city was using a different vendor and he wound up saving the city uh $25,000 by not only the police department going to this but the city joining it as well. So, that's what this is
reader digest version >> mayor to to add to that too. The this item is just for the 34 for the police department. Once we get these established, we will bring uh Miss Myers is reviewing the Sam Sarah contract. We will bring that to the city uh
commission to terminate that contract and then we'll bring you back the remaining 200 and something vehicles um for these. But this item tonight is just police department only. >> But the net $25,000 savings would be for the entire city >> once we go to the entire city. Yes, sir.
They want, and correct me if I'm wrong, but they wanted to test these first to see how it goes compared to what we currently have, making sure that we don't lose any extra functionality we currently have. >> That's correct. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. >> Thank you.
>> Typically, th this is $611 uh per month, so it doesn't look like it's going to be over the 35,000. However, we already pay FirstNet substantially over 35,000 a year for our city cell phones, which is why it's coming to the commission. It's this item is only $611 a month, but we
spend over 35 grand annually with um FirstNet. >> Any other questions among the commission? >> I'd like to motion to approve. >> All right. I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and a second. Thank you,
Deputy Chief. Um I'll open the floor for general commentary. There are any questions regarding this item? Hearing nine. Uh, city manager, would you call the role? >> Commissioner Peebles? >> Yes. >> Commissioner Pero? >> Yes.
>> Commissioner War? >> Yes. >> Commissioner Tinder? >> Yes. >> Mayor Lowry? >> Yes. The eyes have it. Thank you. Item number 10, discussion and possible approval of resolution 26-05-558
calling for a referendum. City attorney. >> Uh, yes, Mayor. This is resolution number 2026-05-558. It's a resolution of the city of Linhaven, Florida, calling for a referendum related to the proposed charter amendments, setting the date of the referendum to be August 18th, 2026,
and providing for notice thereof, establishing the ballot titles and questions for referendum, authorizing city manager to make such corrections and amendments as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this resolution, and providing an immediately effective date. Okay, thank you for that. Um, any
questions or discussion amongst the commission for this item? If not, may I get a motion to approve? A motion to approve. >> Thank you. >> Thank you to the for to everybody that made this happen. I know a lot of work went into it.
>> Indeed. I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Commissioner Pero. I have a motion by Commissioner Peoples and a second by Commissioner Pero. Are there any questions uh or general comments regarding this item with the general
public? Okay. Hearing none, city manager, the role. >> Commissioner Peebles, >> yes. >> Commissioner Pero, >> yes. >> Commissioner Ward, >> yes. Commissioner Tinder. >> Commissioner Tinder, >> did we lose you?
>> Commissioner Tinder, we can't hear you. >> There you are. >> Okay. My answer is yes. >> Okay. Thank you, ma'am. >> Mayor Lowry, >> yes. So, 50. Thank you for that, city attorney and uh city manager for pushing
that forward. Uh dis number 11, new business discussion only for the way forward to go through the ordinance by chapter. Commissioner Peebles. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um few years ago we started going through the ordinances
that we have in our city because they um a lot of them have not been updated since like 1996. And I think a lot of good progress was made with that. But we kind of stalled out there for a bit. And I think as our us as commissioners, one of our main roles is to go over ordinances. That's
one of the the main purpose of this position. And I think it's time to re-review things. We've seen some great things happen like you know we saw update my one of my favorites is updating the ordinance on this seems minor but to me it's important updating the ordinance on the amount of grass
that can be over 12 in rather than the entire yard we cut it down to 50%. Um really by updating ordinances and looking for tiny things like that we can save effort from u code enforcement being called out but
it can also help save some confusion among the citizens. I think it's a win-win by for both the citizen side of things and code enforcement to remove any possible confusion so that we don't have, you know, maybe just people going
out and causing unnecessary strife over not understanding the ordinance because maybe it's outdated or something like that. So, I'm not looking for like a major overhaul or anything like that. I just want to continue to go through these ordinances and make updates that will prevent any possible confusion or
maybe there's something that we didn't even realize was in the ordinance that just doesn't make sense anymore. I'm not looking to start add this is not to add any uh add any more requirements to the citizens. It's more to help prevent pre
prevent confusion or anything like that. So, that being said, CJ was kind enough to um give me a list of all the ordinances that we've updated uh relatively recently. So, um I do have a list of ordinances by chapter that we have not updated recently. And I was
hoping that uh with everyone else's help here, we can kind of decide a way forward on how we want to look at these. Um if there's one that particularly sticks out to anybody, um that's fine by me. I really don't have a we can go by number. We can go by what we decide as a
commission is high low on the um you know low on the total pole or or of high priority whatever whatever route we want to take. But right now the ones that have not been updated recently uh are buildings and regulations which is chapter 14. Chapter 15 is
communications. Chapter 30 is fire prevention and protection. Chapter 34 human relations. Chapter 42 parks and recreation. And we touched on that a little bit, but it was just about the park hours that we talked about. Um, we didn't really do like an
extensive look at that. Chapter 54, which is solid waste. Chapter 58, which is streets, sidewalks, and other public spaces. Chapter 66, which is traffic, traffic, and vehicles. Golf carts have been updated recently, but outside of that, nothing else really has been
updated. Chapter 70, which is utilities, and chapter 74, which is waterways. Um, I don't know if any of you all have looked at the chapters recently, but that does not mean we have 74 chapters to go through. There's, uh, if I would guess, there's probably more close to 20
to 25 chapters. Um, but does anything stick out that anyone wants to tackle first? Well, and just a point of clarification, Commissioner Peebles. Uh, do any of these, like for example, the you said the fire there was one for obviously
we'd have to have fire department input there as well. Do any of these require kind of a tiger team, if you will. >> Um, we don't really need a tiger team. seem to be more so like we would just get it in the we'd know well ahead of time um which chapter we're looking at
and that way we can either reach out to the department heads ourselves or have them come and we can ask their opinion. This is more so that we can talk to the SMEES, get their idea or the for those of you that weren't military subject matter expert um and ask them those
questions and maybe something that we can go through the ordinance as well and kind of scrub over it from a citizen standpoint that can help out the citizens understand it better. I'll give an example. In the past when we were going through those, my opinion is whenever you read an ordinance, it's not
just to make something legal or something not legal. It should also be a rule book. So like if you're playing basketball or baseball or whatever, you want you want to periodically go over that rulebook because if there's a a certain rule that's confusing, you want to update it so you don't have to argue
about it later. And that's kind of the the route I want to take. >> Uh mayor, >> yes, ma'am. Uh, I totally agree with Commissioner uh, Peoples because I see some ugly ugly Facebook
confrontations going back and forth on what time you can mow your yard and all kinds of uh, things and people being downright about it. Um, I I would definitely make a motion to pass this.
>> Okay. Thank you, ma'am. Any other comments or thoughts amongst the commission? >> Just curious what was the motion? >> She made a motion. >> She said she would support she would
motion but um she's she's supporting Commissioner Peele's effort request here. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you, ma'am. >> Yeah. I don't I don't think this is necessarily an actionable item. It's just if so the I I don't want this to be
like a me just hey reaching out to CJ every once in a while be like hey do you mind putting this on the agenda? I kind of wanted to bring it before all of you so that we could kind of brainstorm this thing cuz it's going to be a team effort. So I really just was kind of getting an idea of like if do we want to go chapter by chapter like we did in the
past or do we is there a certain specific chapter we want to look at first? >> Chapter go ahead. We we did uh chapter by chapter stuff before. We did it at our premeings. So what where where are we going to do this? Are we going to do it in commission meetings? We're going to do workshops. What are we going to
do? >> Yeah. So I mean we'll have it in the we'll know ahead of time um what chapter it is cuz we'll set a way forward and we don't have to do anything in the uh like a like we did in the pre-commission meetings. We could just send red lines
to uh we could just send red lines or updates or whatever and then that that chapter will be on the agenda and then we will talk about it and we can either accept the changes or discuss and make changes live and then vote on that
ordinance to be updated. >> Commissioner Peoples, if I may, I would recommend that we chapter 42, I believe, is the parks. Um that we continue on with that one. Miss Myers has some modifications that we talked about the last meeting, you know, with the park hours and everything that didn't make this agenda. Um, so if her and Mr.
Jackson could review those, we could get that that one finalized. That could be the first one we look at and then kind of make our way through the rest of them. >> Yeah. I mean, I I like the idea because I've looked at that one recently as well. So,
>> um, just my first blush thoughts. Um, I applaud your effort to get this underway. Because of sunshine laws, we can't sit around a table and have a soda and kind of work through it. So, if uh if you're willing to be our commission
point person here and coordinate with CJ to basically identify the chapter uh after we get past parks first, you basically you and CJ send out the homework and we can review and we can do that shuffle back and forth with the city manager and CJ providing our edits
and comments. >> Yeah, definitely. I'm I'm down with that. >> Is that acceptable to the rest of the commission? Commissioner Tinder, you good with that? >> Uh, yes, sir. I'm good with that. >> Thank you, ma'am. Commissioner Ward.
>> Sure. Okay. So, there we go. That's not really a votable item, per se, but it sounds like we're in violin agreement here. So, Commissioner Peebles and CJ, looks like y'all going to be giving us some homework. So, thank you for your due diligence in advance. All right,
that closes out the normal business agenda. We did not make uh the hour endeavor, but we'll see if we can get y'all out of here before the hour and a half. Um we have public commentary now and we have our own charter review
committee vice chair, Mr. Gray. Come on up. >> The other person I believe signed up for Special Olympics because that's what she had comments wise. >> Okay, >> Miss Parker, you'll be >> make sure I wasn't cutting anybody off. Um, first off, I want to say I
appreciate you guys starting with parks. Um, let's go ahead and put it in there that people getting special event permits and carrying the proper insurance can provide low al low low volume alcohol at their special events.
This is probably familiar to three, four, four of the five of you. Uh, mayor, it's probably not familiar to you, but prior to your tutelage, I pushed an effort to allow special event promoters to have proper insuranceances
and processes in place. I presented a very beautifully written uh plan on how the city could review these and make sure everything was going to be done professionally and safely to have events such as brunch by the bay where you couldn't enjoy a mimosa and uh at a food
truck event out, you know, by Kinsaw. Um I appreciate Commissioner Peebles pushing for help push for that. Uh former Commissioner Vandergrift uh helped a little bit. uh ultimately it didn't go forth any further, but uh now it's a good opportunity for that to come
back to life. So, I look forward to talking about that again. Um, additionally, I wanted to bring up um I'm sure you guys got my email about the Jackson County possible data center. This is hot topic in the news. A lot of
people are anti-data center. We're using a data center right now to deal with YouTube, right? We use data centers daily. Anybody who uses Facebook, Instagram, Chat, GPT, doesn't matter. If you're on the internet, you're using a data center. Data centers are not new
things. The amount of them are, how much they do and how big they are is new to us. That's why it's becoming popular. Um, there's a lot of information out there about data centers and uh, as we know, development is inevitable, but how
you control development is within your control. and specifically it's within our city's control. So I would like to, you know, bring public attention to the fact that I don't I think it's a lofty goal to say we're never going to have a data center anywhere near us. I think
it's a better realistic goal to say, hey, there's a lot we can do in city code, ordinances, charter, etc. to uh ensure that not just data centers but any industrial commercial developments that create a high demand on our resources in our community are very
scrutinized and really to the point where they need to be self- sustaining. We don't need a cement factory that's pulling water from the aquafer to help make, you know, everything needed for cement or or a aquaculture facility growing catfish that sucks the aquafer
dry um to grow these, you know, farm-raised catfish. There's a lot of things that we can do as a community to protect our resources and be the example for the rest of Bay County and Northwest Florida to protect our natural resources and develop responsibly. So, I encourage
you guys to look into that. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Skra. >> Miss Parker. >> Good evening, Times Two >> guys. Okay, one of the things I really want to talk about is about how long did it take
to fire Gainor and do a recall on Nelson. Can you imagine if it took one month to get them fired right along with Remy? Think about that. Think about that, Jamie.
If it took them, if we only did a town hall once a month, can you imagine not getting them recalled, not getting them fired? And look at the stuff that Remy did. You know how long it took for for Gainer to
get fired? Six years. Do you know how many times I stood up at this podium and gave information that was 100% correct? guys, y'all need to look at things a little bit differently.
Jamie and you in particular. So, this town hall once a month negates citizens the ability to appine on public commentary as they desire to provide
information to this commission. I hope y'all understand what I'm saying. Thank you. >> Thank you, ma'am. All right, I'll open the floor for any additional commentary. Mr. Thompson,
good evening. >> Hello, I'm Bernie Thompson. Um, tomorrow, um, I'm going to publish an expose about the flop cameras and Linhaven and it's going to all of you are in it. But there's something I noticed that I
want to bring to your attention that I don't think you know, and I'm angry about it, but I'm going to discipline myself best I can to ask you all to look into it before I uh carry on. And that
is the um flock representative who came here on December 30th of 2025. Uh Carrie McCormack, he told you that these are point andoot pictures just of public license plates on public
roads. They're public pictures, right? They're not traceable. He called it a myth. And but here's the thing. According to Florida statutes, the data on these license plate readers
are confidential. So you can say all you want that you think they're just public pictures. They're confidential. Here's the statute. It is 316.0777 0777
2014 statute that labels every piece of data from a license plate reader as confidential and that's the reason they're exempt from public records except for your own. So if that's true,
if now you know those are confidential records, you sent more than what was it uh 20 to to um 1,500 agencies. You guys sent
confidential data to more than 1,500 agencies across the country. Las Vegas, Los Angeles. Do you know what their retention is? Or just regular old data?
That's confidential data. You guys had 21,000 hits of hot lists. Hot list hits. Those are supposed to be for criminals. 21,000. 22,000 population in Linhaven. Will you
commit to answering? I'm I'm asking, is my license plate on your hot list? Every citizen should be able to ask that and get a straight answer from you. But here's the other thing, Sam. You said you're a cyber security professional
and you're allowing confidential information. It's what the what's the state has designated it to get out of your control. You don't know who accesses it. You don't know anything about who audits it. Know nothing about
that confidential information. You guys got to do a better job with that. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Any other general comments tonight? >> All right. Hearing none, we'll move into
the mayor and commissioner's reports. I don't really have a mayor's report tonight other than we had a good town hall this past weekend. Uh good discussion, kind of a two-hour at length discussion with 10 of our hardcore uh regulars and I very much appreciate
that. Um and many of you are here tonight. So, thank y'all sincerely. That's all I have. Uh we'll start on the left hand side and and work our way to the right. Commissioner Pero, you're up first, sir. >> Thank you, Mayor. I don't have much report other than yeah, I did attend a
town hall. Um I also was a participant in the 99th Sherman Invitational golf tournament. I won't tell you how I did, but I played. So, um um but um I got to say
I turn on the TV and look at news and to see a positive segment about a leadership course from our from our police was amazing. Was really a good feeling, you
know. and Chief Johnson, the work you guys are doing. Chief Blanchard, Chief Johnson, thank you guys. Um, um, Deputy Chief Enfinger and the rest of y'all, I think you you've embraced
everything and man, it's just it just seems like it's a it's a it's a good feeling to to to to be a part of, you know. Um, I saw the I saw the group picture of the leadership conference and it didn't look like anybody had a bad
time. They were smiling. They were happy. They were accomplished, you know. So, to me, I thought it was it was it was a wonderful thing. Um, we just actually attended a a chamber uh right prior to the meeting, we attended a a
chamber um ribbon cutting for the for the new playground at King Griffin, right? and it was a positive atmosphere. So, it's just great to see positive things happening in Lin Haven, you know. Um, and I know, don't we have a concert
in the park coming up with Will? >> June 5th. Yes, sir. >> June 5th. We won't have a meeting before that, right? >> No, sir. >> We got to let people know. But, well, I tell you, that's going to be a good concert. Um, so with all that being said, and uh Johnny and Michelle, thank
you guys for attending the the town halls. I I just want you to know I'm not a I'm not a proponent of of of being against the town halls and but you know, I I I I would have thought we'd have tried it without the public commentary,
but hey, it is what it is and we could revisit it in September. And Bernie, thank you for what you do and I appreciate everything. I appreciate the people that come to these meetings. Ryan, George Hines, Jr., thank you.
Y'all are uh y'all are good. Um and and Al, you know, I you're the you're the president of the chamber and I've seen you in the audience now every meeting since you've been president of the chamber and you're a Linhaven resident. Thank you, buddy. Appreciate y'all.
That's uh that's my report. And thank you to our first responders and and uh and dispatchers. Thank you, sir. Commissioner Peeles. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, this was a fun meeting. Thanks for everyone for coming. We had some uh healthy debates up here.
It's what it's all about. So, it's good meeting. Thank you to everyone that came out tonight and giving your feedback on everything as always. Uh, as for my report, you know, I spent a lot of my time looking through um ordinances and and that kind of thing. We had the town
hall. Uh, Commissioner Pero and I are both part of the TPO board, so we have our quarterly meeting tomorrow. Hopefully, uh, that goes well and we'll continue to fight for state funding for the city of Linhaven. Um, and with that, I just want to say
thanks to staff. Um, baseball and softball season's coming to a close. It was great season. Um, I might actually get to watch some some uh youth sports tonight because there's still some some time left. And uh I'm going to be
playing co-ed softball in the summer. So I hope to see some of you guys out there playing too. Not we're not going to win any games, but um you guys if you guys want to win some games, come play against us. All right, and that's my report. Um I'm
looking forward to seeing you all and thanks thanks for being so engaged. I appreciate it. Oh, sorry. One last thing. Uh, one thing I did have written down for my report, the reason I forgot about is because Ryan kind of already talked about it. If you could uh, help me brainstorm, I do think the way
forward with data centers is since we're in the state of Florida, we can't necessarily stop things from happening. But what we can do is write policies in place to make sure that we're protected from anything that could harm us. So, we do need to, I think, start doing some research on some policies that we can
have ahead of time in case data centers ever try to come here. Um, that way we'll be protected of any, you know, there's pros and cons to a data center. So, let's remove the cons by having policies in place. Um, so I don't want to pretend to be an expert on that stuff. So, I need help. So, but uh all
right, that's that's my report. >> Thank you, sir. Commissioner Tinder. >> Hello. Okay. Um, I'm sorry, I'm reading my notes here. Uh, first of all, I want to thank everybody for all the kind wishes
and and the emails and stuff that I get. Uh, I without me going out and doing jumping jacks, I should be at the next meeting without doubt and uh I'm eager for that. I did have uh
one question. Actually, I had two, but I'll keep it to one. Um, I wanted I wanted to ask the city manager, where are we on the 10th Street project by the school? Is that where are we with that?
>> So, they're continuing to work. Uh, they've got a few tie-ins to do around the school. They will do those June 2nd after school lets out and all the school uh kids and traffic get out of the way. Um, but they are still way ahead of schedule. The contract ends in August and they should be done well before that.
Okay, good. So, a I can tell people set they're going to start on the 2nd of June. >> Okay, >> go ahead. >> Yeah. >> Okay. I I'm just keeping up with that one. Um, and um, yeah, I just appreciate
everything and and the fact that everybody tries to stay on things that matter and uh, and I think the public has every right of speech and I think that's so important that we allow it. And sometimes it can be aggravating and
downright frustrating, but uh, what's important to one person is not always important to another. but it doesn't make it unimportant. So, uh I I appreciate everybody's input and thank you so much. That's all I have
tonight. >> Thank you, mayor. We look forward to having you on the dis with us next commission meeting. Commissioner Ward, >> I am ready. I am ready. >> All right. So, um, after the last meeting, um, that Friday, I had the
pleasure of sitting down with our new planning director, Miss Grand Prix, Miss Grand Prix. And, uh, talked with her for a couple hours and man, she is phenomenal. She has got all kinds of knowledge and information and is exactly what Lyn Haven needs in a planning
director. And so, I appreciate you sitting down and talking with me. Uh, one of the things she mentioned to me was our comp plan ULDC is in desperate need of being updated. And I was like, really interesting. So, we had a long good conversation about that. Um, I also
went to the King Griffin uh playground um groundbreaking with the A County Chamber of Commerce. It was uh it was good. I I actually tested one of the slides to make sure it was ADA compatible. So, we should be good there. Um, as far as the data centers and AI
factories, I've been doing some research on that. I actually uh sat down with Mr. Lightfoot and um had some discussions with him to make sure that we stay ahead of that. Um there are some things the federal government and our state government has done to try to provide
some protection uh as far as some of the things that were discussed as far as infrastructure and that but we need to do our due diligence to make sure we protect Linhaven from anything like that. Um so um yeah there that's with that and
last thing I had was uh um I think that was since our last commission meeting was the touch a truck event. Um if you didn't go to that was a phenomenal event. Um had a great time. I asked uh Mr. Lightoot I was like how much coordination did this take? And he goes I didn't do any of it. It was all the
Chief Blanchards. Um so you know Chief Blancers new police chief and uh he's been doing phenomenal work and this is just another great thing him and his team have coordinated on and uh a lot of people I think you guys said you had over a thousand people 1500.
Yeah, there was a lot of people there. A lot of lot of food and that and a lot of people enjoyed it. So, I appreciate the city supporting that and everyone who came out for that. So, that's all I have. >> Thank you, sir. Now, we'll move on to the city manager report. >> Yes, sir. Uh, we've got a volleyball
camp June 11th and 12th. Registration is open now and will close June 10th. Um, so if your child is interested in the volleyball camp over the summer, get them registered for that. a lot of work going on and uh with staff building the budget out. Just a reminder, we will have our first workshop June 4th. Uh of
course, the budget won't be completed, but we will have several topics to discuss that night and uh present to the commission. Atlantic Pipe, uh the contract you all piggybacked off, approved to piggyback off of, I believe last meeting, they have started work on Vermont Avenue.
Been getting reports as the meeting went on tonight for cleaning that storm water pipe uh so that they can begin the lining of it. Um, as Commissioner Pero mentioned, we do have the makeup concert. June 5th with the Will Thompson band. Um, and then Commissioner Tinder, just making
sure you got it that June 2nd um, will be the tie-ins there at Alabama and 10th of near the water and and get those yards restored um, and get that handled. And any questions for Miss Roman with the checklist? >> Any uh, any particular finance report
from you tonight, ma'am? nothing tonight. >> Thank you for the awesome Bean County work you do for all of us. >> Thank you, sir. >> Yes, ma'am. All right. Well, if and last, but certainly not least, our uh city attorney back from a vacation in
Hawaii visiting his daughter. Um you look a little tanned and very relaxed, sir. So, good on you. What do you have for us tonight? >> I have no report, mayor. >> All right. Well, thank you for what