people who work here, their love for the community, how hard it is to run a whole city, um the intricacies of it, and the why. It answers so many questions about the why things are done their way they're done. So, it does it empowers
you to love where you live more and to get more involved. And I think the important message here is the confidence that I've really feel now of the people running each each of these departments. You know, they are running multi-million
dollar businesses all separately but coming together with tax dollars that that come through and that is by far not an easy task. >> Departments that we've been to seem to have improved with the growth in the city. So the mere fact that we've grown
such a major amount, department has have grown, the staff has grown, the offerings have grown and the um need for involvement from the residents has also grown. >> I think parks and wreck really showed up and did an amazing job. They had a bunch
of staff people. They kind of brought us around, had different speakers. I think they take the prize for the best uh overall display >> places that I didn't think I would enjoy as much. like I didn't think I'd enjoy public works as much as I did. I loved it and it seemed to me that there were
the more questions that were asked. >> The economic development council, I think that is just a a again it all points to uh live, work and play within our community. >> I think there's a lot of misunderstanding out there about really how these departments work, how the city
really works. And I think by offering a class like this, you get such an exposure to so many different departments and meet so many different people. you can't help but want to be a part of it. >> If you plan on living here and living amongst the community and understanding
the growth and understanding what we need, definitely join the Northport University. You're going to be pleasantly surprised. >> I would absolutely say do it because you don't know until you know. And you can go online and you can read all these things, but a lot of it is the
experience and sitting across from from whether it's the the chief of police, the the chief of fire, rescue, utilities, all these, you know, administration, all these departments are absolutely you want you meet the leaders. You can look into their eye and
ask pertinent questions that are important to you. to understand of where they're at, where they're going, what are their constraints, and how we can be as residents try and give them the resources they need to provide the services that we're asking them to provide.
>> I'm more in love with Northport than I've ever been. >> Hey, Brandon, what are you listening to? >> Just listen to my CPR playlist. What's on that? >> Staying alive. >> I'm Zach and this is Travis from Northport Fire Rescue.
>> And I'm Brandon. And this is Brett from the Northport Aquatic Center. >> Did you know a lot of the songs that you listen to on a daily basis follow the beats of CPR, 100 to 120 beats per minute. >> CPR saves lives.
>> Hey, Northport. I'm here with Ryan from our engineering division in public works and we're in an area that is experiencing some drainage concerns that were brought to us by some residents. So Ryan, what are some things you do when you get onto a scene like this to see what the issue may be?
>> First thing we do is we start at the bottom of the system, the outfall, how it connects into the uh canal. Then we start working our way up. We go through the cross drains, the culverts, the under drains, and we look at every way the water flows downward. And we look for blockages, uh, sumped uh, dirt pile
up and even sometimes could potentially collapsed uh, coverts underneath. And you got to remember, you can't report your uh, water being an issue until we have 72 hours of no rainfall. And let's say it rains on Tuesday and a couple days go by and that second day it rains
again, you got to restart your 72 hours. We have to spend time of our water inside the system in order to clean it and in order to slow it down. Otherwise, we're going to end up washing out our neighbors below us. >> Absolutely. So, tell us about what's happening here. >> Right here, we have a rather large uh
blockage inside the system. This is clearly a um illegal dump of some sort, uh a tree obviously, and this will slow down the water. If we could see on the north side of it, or north as in the upper part of the drainage way, it's full of water. But when we look at our
footage from down below, it's dry. So this is a huge point of collab collecting water. These systems really fail sometimes with like a a death by a thousand cuts. You get a um a sump here, a collapsed uh covert pipe, a blockage like this, and it slowly adds up.
>> That makes sense. So if anybody out there is seeing issues like this or experiencing it in your neighborhood, you're welcome to report it um through our Northreport system, which is at northportfl.govnorthreport /northreports or you can give the public works
customer service a call. In Northport, families are finding more and more places built just for them. We opened um this past June. We are an indoor play center for children ages 0 to 7. We do open play sessions, birthday
parties, special events, and classes here at the play center. for me. Um, you know, being a Northport resident, there was really not a whole lot in Northport for children. Um, besides the local parks, so it was super important for me to have something in the community to be
able to offer to families with young children. You want to have that option to be able to still get out of the house with the kids, get their energy out, and not have to hike all the way up somewhere with traffic. and you can just go to a spot near you and just make
those special memories that are close to home. >> Playtime Paradise isn't the only new spot making Playtime local. Do the Beach is a immersive indoor adventure park. We are primarily an inflatable based attraction. We have over 14 different ride attractions scattered throughout
the park. With growing young families pouring into Northport and growing the city, we just knew there was such a need for families to have an outlet and some some good entertainment, active entertainment for children. One of our core beliefs as a as a company is encouraging kids to get involved in
active and social play, getting them away from their screens and using their imaginations. >> From slides to inflatables, dance classes, birthday parties, Northport is growing and so are the options for young families right here at home. The community has welcomed us with open arms.
>> We are thrilled to be here. >> It shows families that there's a place for them um to grow as a young family in Northport. >> While you're watching me run away from this hurricane, you could be signing up for emergency alerts. Sign up at alertsacount.com
today. Welcome to the brand new Northport Podcast Network. We're so excited to introduce you to our revamped lineup of shows created to keep you connected, informed, and inspired about everything happening in our city. >> That's right. With three unique shows
under one network, there's something for everyone. >> First up is Northport. Now Madison and I will rotate hosting this fast-paced news-driven podcast to bring you the latest city updates, event previews, and important information all in one quick listen. >> Think of it as your weekly guide to
staying in the know about what's happening in Northport. >> Next, we have Northport Stories. Laura and I will share heartfelt and inspiring tales from around our community. stories that showcase the people, places, and moments that make our city special. >> And don't worry, Voices of Northport
isn't going anywhere. I'll continue bringing you even more personal stories and interviews with residents who shaped our city. And last, but not least, Northport Living. Cody and I will also rotate hosting this show, which is all about tips, events, and lifestyle ideas
to help you make the most of life right here in Northport. Whether you're looking for family-friendly activities, ways to get involved, or helpful home and garden tips, Northport Living has you covered. With breaking news, heartfelt stories, or practical tips, the Northport Podcast Network is your
go-to source for all things Northport. >> Make sure to subscribe to the Northport Podcast Network wherever you listen and join us as we celebrate and connect with our amazing community. >> Northport Now will be released bi-weekly. >> Northport Stories and Living will be monthly. A schedule will be available on
social media and our website. Hello everyone, Devon Pulis here, aquatics manager. Welcome to my crib. We have fun here at the crib. Programs included. Become a pass member. Play all year long. Hey, at the crib, we do have
rules. We take all payments here at the crib. Apple Pay, Mastercard, Visa, cash. You pay right here to enjoy the crib. Let's enter through the gate. Child proof, most adult proof.
>> Hey, what's that? >> Good morning, everybody. Today is November 3rd, 2025. It's 10:00 a.m. We're in city chambers. I call the city commission workshop meeting daughter commissioners present. Commissioner Dval, Mr. Langden, Mayor
Stokes, Vice Mayor Emerich, and Commissioner Petra Squarum present for the meeting. Also present, City Manager Fletcher, City Attorney Fuino, City Clerk FA, Board Specialist Linder. Uh we've got Captain Kane back there, and
Fire Chief Titus. And let's see, Trish, you want to lead us in that pledge. >> 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. >> Do we have any public comments? All right, then we'll move right into presentations. Uh 25-2970. City manager, your item, sir. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. 25-2970
is the presentation regarding recent Arizona flood deployment by Mike Novarez, our deputy emergency manager, and I will turn it over to him to lead the presentation. >> Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. >> All right. Good morning, commissioners. Uh thank you very much for the opportunity today to speak to you. Thank
you, city manager, for for arranging this. Uh, so recently I had the opportunity to deploy out to Arizona. Uh, they had a flash flooding disaster recently at the beginning of October. They had some monsoon flooding come through and they had widespread flooding
throughout the state, particularly in the Hila County area. So, I had the opportunity to deploy out there into their state EOC and serve as the logistics supervisor for the state of Arizona. So it was a fantastic opportunity for me to deploy out there, help the residents of Arizona as well as
learn how the state EOC operates out there and bring some of those lessons back here to Northport. Uh so in that role, I served as the so logistics supervisor and what I was responsible for was procuring resources for all the cities, the counties, the tribes, and the state out there in Arizona.
And then I titled it as disasters in the desert because I felt like it it ran pretty well. So the it was a statewide impact. They had monsoon rainfall throughout the entire state, but really in the Hila County area is where they saw the worst of that. Uh it's a small county to the
east of Phoenix about 2 hours away. They've had two municipalities, the city of Globe and town of Miami. Uh overall, the population of Hila counties. Uh it's a rural fiscally constrained county. They have 54,000 people. Uh and a lot of them are in city of Globe, which is their their county seat. Uh so they saw
flash flooding throughout the entirety of the the county uh particularly in those municipalities and they got experienced about 3 ines of rainfall in a short period of time. Now I came out there from Florida. I heard 3 inches of rainfall and I said well that's a Tuesday. Uh but in the desert 3 in of
rainfall is catastrophic for them. Uh so they had four fatalities actually from this particular event. It was rapid onset flash flooding. Uh it was all throughout their their county especially in the cities. Uh it knocked out the main road between Hila County and Phoenix, which is where all of their resources would come in. And then there
was a propane distribution facility that was on a hill in Globe. The water swept through that propane facility and knocked over a thousand propane tanks down into the city, which created a hazmat incident that needed special special team to come in. So these are the pictures there. You see
in the top right is the flash flooding going through the city. uh bottom right you see those propane tanks stacked up there that needed that incident management team to come in and deal with the hazmat situation and then you see some of the damage and debris that they had from from this uh I like to start out with talking
about helping hands because honestly the first resource requests that we get in for these disasters as people whether that be emergency management law enforcement fire rescue utility really when uh governments are overwhelmed is bringing in that mutual aid support and that's how I came into Arizona uh so I
came in through the EMAC, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is that state-to-state mutual aid. So, I was actually taken in as an agent of the state of Florida for those two weeks and deployed over to Arizona. Uh, and when you bring in people, really the most important thing is you want to bring in qualified people, but you also want to
bring in people that are experienced and trusted. And a lot of that is through relationship building. So, in Hurricane Ian, actually, I was working down in Lee County as the logistics chief. I had the opportunity to work with both the director and deputy director of Arizona who came in as mutual aid there. They
saw me working as logistics chief in Lee County and said that you know we have when we have our own disaster we need to bring in Mike he's experienced and trusted to come in and run our logistics. So developing those relationships ahead of time in emergency management is super important. Uh and then from that too now I have people
from Arizona from Texas from California that had said during this disaster hey if Northport ever gets hit we want to come down and help you all. So it was it was really a great opportunity there as well. So challenges uh every disaster has challenges. That's why they call it a disaster. Um but really learning from
those challenges was what I can bring back here and make the city more resilient in the future. Um the thing that was unique about this is that it was a no-nice event. Uh I think in Florida we get into the mindset of hurricanes a lot of time which are you know devastating disasters but they're usually nice enough to give us a couple
days notice that we may or may not get hit by a hurricane. Uh this was it rained overnight on a Friday and then the National Weather Service was issuing flash flood emergencies and Swift Water Rescue was going out in the middle of the night on Friday into Saturday and pulling people from their homes. So a
lot of times most disasters don't have notice and you need to rapidly respond. Any, you know, time frame that slows that down is is life saving. Um the next big thing too is experience and planning gaps. So Arizona doesn't get
disasters like Florida does. They have fires every now and again, but with the hurricanes that threaten us, we go through our process of testing our emergency management program. We ramp up our EOC more times than we would like to. Uh Arizona didn't really have that. This is the first time that a lot of these folks were going through a major
disaster at the state level and at the local level. So they didn't have the experience and they had plans in place but these disasters always stress test those plans and those processes and those procedures and uh in a disaster things break and that's a lot of the going forward learning part pro process. So uh in particular in my role in
logistics one of the big failings that I saw was their primary logistics contract that they had was bid in a way that was competitive but it was bid in a way that FEMA wouldn't reimburse it. So that was a pivot that they had to make on the fly because when we saw that if they use that contract down years down the line
when FEMA goes to pay the back FEMA would just say no you didn't use a contract that we approve of. So they had to make the move on the fly to go to other contracts and push those contracts out to the cities and the locals to use those as well. So it was going through that process there and then they're not their their lack of familiarity with
some of the FEMA processes just because they didn't they don't get the uh disasters that we do. uh that really went double to for the the locals, the cities and the counties there. Uh they were small fiscally constrained counties. They don't have emergency management. They don't have
EOCC's. So they were hit especially hard. They didn't they had to bring in EM through mutual aid, but until those emergency managers got there, they didn't really have anybody to advocate for those cities. So we heard after the fact that they were feeling like they were underserved. They didn't have that voice to ask for the things that they
needed. uh they didn't have the EOC so they were trying to use city hall they were trying to use conference rooms and they didn't have enough space they didn't have redundant power they didn't have redundant water all those things were knocked out they had people working out of their trucks because there just was no space there they didn't have
anywhere to put people so it was very reminiscent of what we dealt with back in Hurricane Ian and they saw very much the same thing there and then the federal posture too was another interesting thing to see when I went out to Arizona so first I didn't have on my bingo card that I would be running a disaster during a federal government
shutdown. Uh but that was it gave us some challenges. Uh FEMA was there but they had like a skeleton crew and then there were other agencies there too that were involved but they had even less of a footprint or the people that they needed were on furlow. So not everything is FEMA for disasters.
most of it is they're the primary agency but depending upon the type of disaster or depending upon the location of the jurisdiction other agencies have different programs also that they use in there and um trying to figure out which program was going to be correct for the
type of um type of damage that they had was really confusing and I know enough about FEMA and enough about um these programs to be dangerous but they didn't have the subject matter experts because they weren't really used to this so I'm very thankful that here in the city, we have a really cracked grants team that's
able to kind of know these programs really well and we have them in our EOC so they're able to kind of deconlict and know the prog the the process better than uh we saw in Arizona. So two with this we had to balance uh response with recovery.
Sorry. Um, so really when you think response, that's the on the news part. That's the first couple days of those life- saving measures and that goes on for a little bit. But once you, you know, finish with swiftwater rescue, once that life safety elements complete, that's really the end of that response
phase. Then you move right into recovery. And recovery still very much happens within that EOC. That's where your debris is happening, your infrastructure restoration is happening, the sheltering is happening. So all of those actions that that recovery phase was very much ramping up even when response ended. So we still had the EOC
activated for the entire two weeks that I was there and and moving on past that. Um so those two things happened kind of in tandem and and there's a lot of coordination that goes into that. But if it wasn't fun enough there, in addition to the first disaster, they decided to have two more disasters. And I say they
decided to as in mother nature decided to have two more disasters. So, in about a week into the time that I was there, they had hurricanes Priscilla and Raymond coming right at them afterwards, about a week after the the flooding event, and they could handle no more
rain after all that. They were already inundated from that first flooding event. So, having a hurricane come their way and bringing all that additional rain would have been absolutely catastrophic. So all of those recovery operations, the debris, the the clearing, all of that suddenly became response operations because if they had
failed, then it would suddenly be again life-saving impacts that would have to happen. So things like cleaning out culverts underneath roadways, those became response because if those culverts weren't cleaned out, then those roadways would have been washed away and you would have disconnection again to those communities. So everything kind of
ramped back up into life-saving measures and they had a sense of urgency again that came with response. Uh, I actually ended up leaving before the impacts happened. Thankfully, no hurricanes actually made landfall. They they broke up and kind of fizzled out before they made it there, but they still had
rainfall impacts and storms that came over Arizona. So, they did see the impacts of that, and that's what you're seeing on the screen there is uh they had a micro burst storm come through a suburb of Arizona, which is basically a severe storm that had up to hurricane speed winds. So, they had a second event
there. And then Hila County did experience flooding again from rainfall that they got. So the water infrastructure, their their utilities that they just put back together all got washed out right again. So it really they did have a secondary impact again from that. So it required kind of longer
scale response. Uh the key takeaways though that I can kind of see there and bring back are these six. So it's that importance of local capacity. So having an emergency management program and an EOC allowed those it it showed a gap there in
Arizona because they didn't have those things. They couldn't really well advocate for themselves or they couldn't manage the emergency at the local level without having the EM and the EOC. So we're we're very thankful here that the city places a um priority on emergency management. We do have an emergency
management program here. So that that's you know a very big plus for us here. and I saw that failing that happened in Arizona for those cities that didn't have those. Uh, another big one I didn't really talk about is damage assessments. So, the damage assessments is the process of going through and cataloging
all the damages to residential as well as to the public infrastructure. Uh, all of those are incredibly important to do and to do as quickly as possible because that's how you make the ask to FEMA and to the government to show this is the damage and so please turn on this program, this program, and this program.
So the longer that those went or the the more disorganized that they are, the the harder it is to make that ask to the government to turn on the various different programs that the the residents need. U so we have a very organized damage assessment approach here in the city. It's led by development services and we get to
practice that unfortunately because we do get hit by the storms. But having that put into place and managed well is very important. Uh the next part of that too is the 24-hour readiness. I think we sometimes pigeon hole ourselves into hurricanes and those events that happen no notice in the middle of the night
because of course it's not 9 to5 for disasters uh leaves a gap. So any time that it takes to set up an EOC or bring in your responders is critical especially on those very rapid onset events. Uh this one I would say less understanding federal and state programs
and more the federal posture. So the federal government came in and FEMA was there, but what we were getting was a lot of push towards local and state self-reliance. So FEMA was there doing the damage assessments with us, but they were pushing a lot towards what are the
maintenance records on this piece of equipment that was damaged or this facility that was damaged. So they were pushing towards, you know, FEMA only comes in for the absolute catastrophic level of disasters and pushing more towards local self-sufficiency. Uh the city of Globe ended up spending
somewhere in the ballpark of $15 to $20 million for a fiscally constrained city that only had a budget of $60 million. They didn't really have a disaster fund. So they had to go towards emergency borrowing to take out money to fund all of those uh critical emergency response
actions that they were taking there. So it's good that we here at the city have a disaster reserve that we use in order to go for uh any sort of impacts that we have here. But I saw that very much happen in the city of Globe and FEMA was
pushing more towards that self-reliance and towards making sure the due diligence that they're going to return things to predesaster state and if you don't if you can't show what the predesaster state was there, they're much more likely to deny that or not count that in damage. Uh, response is a sprint. Recovery is a
marathon. We know that from Hurricane Ian. We're still recovering here from Hurricane Ian. Response is typically a couple days. When that life safety part ends, that's the end of response. And then recovery, that's really where the big lift is. And then relationship building and mutual aid. So, not just me
going out there, but uh, having those partners that can come in and help us in our own disaster and return the favor and understanding, you know, who's capable and experienced to bring in help out is is very important and impactful. But disaster management isn't just government. So we have to have good
relationship with our county partners, our state partners, our federal partners, but also those local nonprofits and private sector partners, too, because we use those contracted services. We we work with those nonprofit groups that are doing a lot of good work during that recovery process. And having those relationships ahead of time is is very impactful and helpful.
That way, we're not trying to Google a number on the fly to figure out who we need to call in order to help us out with this particular thing. That's something that's really big that we do here in emergency management. Having that EM program really emphasizes that. And the last thing, I don't really have it one here, but I talked a whole lot
about challenges, but there's also a lot of good that we see in disaster response. A lot of neighbors helping neighbors. You have city, county, you have staff that come in that might or might not be emergency managers that are working long hours in a stressful situation away from their families and they're just there doing the good work.
and the director of Arizona would say at the end of every single one of his briefings, everything that you need to do should be through the lens of being in the best interest of the disaster survivor. And I think that that was really impactful to hear. So with that, any questions?
I uh what came to mind as you took us through this was >> what impressions what lessons you think you learned by being there with regard to federal response the FEMA response
cuz clearly you know when it when it hits the fan the next time here their reactions and their response and their assistance is going to be probably dramatically different than it's been in the past. So, what's our takeaways and what where do we have to tweak what
we're doing or how we're doing it or what provisions do we need to make for where they're going to fall short, >> right? So, FE FEMA's approach is definitely that the federal government comes in when it's beyond the capabilities of the local level and the state level. So they go through and
they're when they come in and they're going to help us with the damage assessments to determine what is the impact of this disaster because the federal government will step in when it is a disaster that's beyond the capabilities of the local government. And there's really two big parts of FEMA
response. There's individual assistance and there's public assistance. The individual assistance is the money and the support that they provide directly to the residents that are impacted. And then the public assistance is the support that they provide to the government for the damages and for the emergency protective measures and debris
that we're doing. So what they're coming in to see is is this disaster truly beyond the scale and and ability of the local government and the state government. So for that we want to first and foremost have everything dialed in to prove to FEMA that this is the actual
impacts of this particular disaster. So those damage assessment processes and having that that in there and also to show the actual impacts of you know this this damage is from this disaster and it's not from a previous unmaintained thing because that's the first thing
they're going to go to to try and stop that. And and to that point, you know, what kind of shape are we in or what do we think we might have to do? Cuz you had made the comment, you know, FEMA's ability or FEMA's process to come in and
look and see, like you say, what's been impacted by this storm. What are the pre-torm or pre- disaster conditions of the infrastructure and the assets? How what kind of sh I would assume we're in good shape, but I don't I'm asking what
kind of shape are we in to be able to respond to that so we don't run into the problem of well we can't really here we don't really have the evidence we need to show that this government building that government building this this piece of infrastructure was in the condition it was in what is there anything more we
need to do than we've been doing >> I can highlight so part of what we do in EM here and it's a lesson learned from our previous disasters is We part of our checklist of hurricane preparedness again looking in the hurricane lens that is our most frequent disaster here. We
go through the process of actually using drones and looking at the state of all of our government buildings and our infrastructure ahead of time to show what the predesaster state is. And it goes a long way to showing FEMA, okay, this is the current state of this building prior to the disaster. Here's
what it looks like now. The difference between 3 days in which it was cataloged. you can show clearly that this is an impact from that particular disaster. So we we've experienced it and we we've put some lessons learned and processes in place for that very thing. >> Appreciate it. >> That's all I had. Anybody else?
Commissioner Lang. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um we routinely when there's a disaster send someone from the city to sit in the county's EOC. Once we have our own, would we invite
someone from the county and the state to sit with us? Is that customary or? >> Yep. Yes, we would. So, in particular, if it is a disaster that impacts Northport specifically, unless a countywide like a hurricane disaster and we are the main focus of it, the county
may completely come down and embed in our EOC and then the entire disaster response is led from our EOC. So if it's a wildfire particularly in Northport, the county will just come down and actually be only in our EOC, not in theirs, so that they're here to support us in the local level.
>> That would have been enormously helpful after Ian >> because we were really impacted if you went to the city of Sarasota, it was business as usual. So >> and the state will do the same thing. If we are the primary impact, the state liaison will come down into our EOC if we have space and if we have a place to
put them and they'll be here to coordinate directly for us. We saw it in Fort Lauderdale after the Broward storms. We saw it in Ian, too, but we didn't really have a place for the FDM rep to be full-time. >> Who determines that? And how do they determine that? That Northport is more
of the focal point of a disaster than the county or >> it's really going to be damage assessments would probably be your primary indicator. So getting again getting those damage assessments to show there's you know this many residences impacted Northport versus this many impacted in the city of Sarasota and
Venice. And if you can make the case to the state that we're the primary impact from this particular disaster that's where the focus of their support is going to be. Same thing for the county as well. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. You're welcome. >> Else Commissioner Dell.
>> Thank you Mayor. Um, I'm happy you got the opportunity to go somewhere else. You know, still an emergency geographically different. Um, some
like your very last slide, uh, you know, warning you to, you know, keep your door closed. Um, that's something that we probably wouldn't have happen here. Um, but I I do have
experience with that. Uh, also when you get out in the desert, out in places like that, at night time it does cool down. And those venomous snakes, they like your warm tires and they will wrap
themselves around them. uh when you're walking back to your vehicle, be careful. But what impressed me about that was and and in the pictures, the propane tanks in my mind, I'm thinking that was good
for you to see those things because those things that happened as a result of the disaster, some of those things are localized to there. But we also have things that would be localized to us. So it's a good
thing, you know, what to make sure that we look at things such as, you know, when we have some flood waters and the flood waters go down. Um, some of our residents, you know, might find a a residual alligator in their
swimming pool. Uh, but you know, those are things that are going to be localized to us. Um, and it's good that you got that experience, you know, to see that, um, there's all the other things, you know, after the flood, uh, you know, the propane tanks, you know, a
propane tank just hanging around somewhere that can be dangerous, you know, so we have to be prepared to, you know, how do we take care of those? Uh, we don't want a child walking along and, hey, what's this? Um, you know, so I
really appreciate appreciate your efforts. Thank you. And I think too it it really helps break that hurricane mindset that sometimes we definitely pigeon hole ourselves into. Like this was that rapid onset flooding. Recently we also saw in Lake County just the past
night they had 20 ines of rainfall overnight and they had bridges washed out there too. So we very much get inundation of rain and flooding here in Florida that are not just tied to hurricanes. And so it's seeing and being conscious that especially flooding can happen very quickly and it's not just
limited to places with elevation changes. >> Langman. >> Uh thank you mayor. The the whole conversation about the propane tanks. We don't really have those. And well, we do
in terms of our gas grills and things, but we do have septic systems and drones won't pick this up. So, what happens when an area is heavily
flooded? And I'm thinking of Ian, what happens to those leech fields? We call them leechfields in New Hampshire. I forget what we called them here, but how do we assess the environmental impact of
that? And did we after Ian? >> So, I can speak to my understanding of it, though I might have to phone a friend particularly on the utility side for it. I know in my experience with Ian, which was the Lee County experience instead of the Northport one, we leaned
very heavily on which is worse, we leaned very heavily on the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Emer of Environmental Protection because they had from a state level an understanding of all of the different locations of those um drainage fields, those the um septic tanks and
then what spillway and and what damages from those and what the environmental impacts of them were. So we lean very heavily on state partners for those if we didn't have the expertise in the county at the time to deal with that because it was very much reportable
incidences when you had spillover from damaged septic tanks particularly it was the damaged septic tanks that were spilling out and so all that day-to-day would be normal reportable instances that we would put to the state anyway through the state watch office. So having those actually those partners
were in the EOC at the time in Lake County. So we were able to give locations to them and they were able to go out and do inspections of those to see the impact of those the image. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Good commissioner. >> I'm all set. Thank you.
>> Um I just had one other thought as I was listening to you all talk. you know what, if anything, I mean, we have, I believe, 70 HOA communities in the city of Northport, thereabouts. Maybe my number is a little off. And I
believe there are only two or three C teams. uh two of which I believe are based up in Wellen Park, one down in Legacy, but is there has there been any discussion
um or talk about how we may position ourselves and and the city and our and our partnerships with these communities going forward? I know many of them, you know, jumped right out if they were in the position to and had the reserve
monies or the cash availability to hire their debris removal companies and then seek FEMA reimbursements on their own. Some reached out to the city and wanted the city to help. I know we helped and I know that we focus on, you know, we prioritize
based on need and based on those areas of the city that have have resources or the ability to pull resources. But are we giving thought to some of this? Cuz I'm expecting we're not going to get a real strong
support from FEMA andor the county. I mean, when we go through this again, because we will, um, you know, are we working with these organizations to to make them aware of how different our
response may be after the next major storm than it was after Ian, cuz whether this city's in a position to spend another 60, 70, 80 million of its reserves with no borrowing ability, I mean, that's our only alternative. We're
going to tap those reserves again heavy. If we get doubled up or tripled up in storms, we're in deep stuff. So, the amount of money we allocate to the first storm into the pipeline is going to be a discussion in this city about how much
money we spend and how much we take. And so to the extent that these communities, these neighborhood communities are more self-sufficient and additionally we help them develop or encourage them to develop SER teams that can help their ne
their their own community members and educate them on what they can and can't do. We had one community up there that took it on themselves. They really responded well. They got out there, they cut down a ton of trees on their main district roads and lo and behold found that they didn't know what the in the
world they were doing in terms of preparing themselves to deal with a governmental agency like FEMA. And I believe it it impacted them significantly when it came to the ability to try to get reimbursed. So, can we or should we and can we and have
we been thinking about that because they're going to be out there and they're going to need help and I wouldn't want us to at that point turn around and say, "Well, sorry about your luck, but you know, we're not going to be able to respond as well as we did or as comprehensially." So, the more we can
help them stand on our own two feet and be self-sufficient, the better, in my opinion. >> Yeah. Uh, thank you, Mayor. There there's a couple elements to that question and we've been laying the groundwork for some of them. Uh first and foremost, we need to have an agreement with the community because it's private property to even enter
there and do any of that debris collection. So, we've been trying to get those ahead of time. Previously, FEMA would only accept them per disaster, disaster disaster to disaster. The state is working to change that and do a yearly allowance to allow entry into a
community. But unless FE unless the disaster is declared and FEMA turns on a particular program called PPDR, which is the private property debris removal, FEMA will not pay a dollar for any debris that's removed from an HOA community because it is on private
property. So unless FEMA turns on that particular program, if the city goes through and removes any debris, even if they if even if we have access to go in there, it would be at our cost to do so to remove any of the debris from any of those HOA communities. Which is why
again education when you consider there's that many gated or that many HOA communities I I I would venture a guess that less than 5% of their boards have
any clue as to what they should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing. They are citizens within our city and while they have their own organizational structure and boards, you know, to the extent we can educate so they're better
prepared and encourage them to form these search teams because they are invaluable in some of these communities. I mean to have a city this big with this size population and only have three circuits. Now I know it's not our responsibility as a city to do it, but we could
educate. we could teach a little bit and there's probably some willingness on the part of these communities to to to look to us for that education. So >> we can build that into our we do hurricane seminars with a lot of these communities each year on hurricane preparedness. Something that we can
build in just as an awareness factor so that they can know that >> because the landscape's changing with FEMA and to the extent we're going to know certainly before the average citizen out there or you all will even before us. So the more we can help people the better. Commissioner Langman.
>> Yeah, just a a quick comment uh and question really for city manager. We do have regular somewhat regular meetings with our HOA folks here in the city. Is that correct? >> That is true.
>> Gee, that that might be a great vehicle for efficiently doing some education and encouraging the development of CS to the mayor's point. >> Sure. Absolutely. It's something we can I believe we've spoke to the group before and it's something we can continually do to reinforce it.
>> Thanks, Michael. Anything else, commissioners? >> Michael, thanks. That was a real helpful presentation. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> All right. Uh let us see any uh public comment. There is not. >> There is none. Moving on to
uh 25-2985. City manager, your item, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This item 25-2985 is the presentation by development services providing an update regarding potential new development projects recently submitted to the development
review committee for review. And I will turn it over to development services director Elena Ray for the presentation. >> Good morning. Um this presentation we're we're very happy to provide this as part of our
efforts to give the commission more information about things that are potentially coming to the city. Um these are um these presentations uh as well as the economic development update that will be coming
to you quarterly uh are an effort to ensure that you get information in a timely manner. I know sometimes you get uh you'll see things on social media. Somebody will be talking about uh development that they saw. Um everything that you will see today is public
record, which is why we're showing it to you. We want to make sure you're able to get information from us. Uh and if you do encounter things on social media, you'll have that information or out and about and someone asks you about it, you will have that information. Um some key
points about this presentation and the items that are in here is that um these are potential projects that have been recently submitted for review either through a formal development petition or through um a request for a
pre-application meeting. So all of these projects have gone through um a review with our development review committee for either preapp or for their formal um submitt. So these are public records. Um they had
have been on a DRC agenda. Uh the agendas are out there for the public and all of the information that you will see today is also and available for the public. Um certain projects are very preliminary. There's no guarantee that
they will come or that they will look the same or um anything will happen. Um there are uh a lot of steps between now and if they ever break ground. So just bear in mind that things that you see
may or may not happen. Uh we we certainly hope that they do. Um, this is also not an exhaustive list of all projects that staff is currently working on. These are simply some that are more visible, high uh more of an interest to the public. Uh, so uh they're the ones
that you may get questions on. The first one we'll start with, and everybody is very aware of this, is Sarasota Memorial Hospital, the Sumpter campus. This is phase two. So um as a reminder phase one for this project was
simply the infrastructure the horizontal infrastructure for the development. Um phase two is the actual vertical construction and initially they had proposed to build a a structure that was I believe five or six stories high. Um
they did get their additional funding from their board and have decided that they are not going to phase that construction. and they are going to build all nine stories uh within this first phase. Three of those stories will be shell space. So the top three floors
um are going to be uh the the structure will be built but the interior uh will not be fitted out until um a future time. They do believe based on their projections that it's probably going to
occur sooner rather than later um simply because of the the continued growth in the area. This first phase also includes um let me go back that that nine stories is what they will be building. That will be in their first phase. That will be the
tallest building in Northport uh when it's constructed. So that's going to be a significant milestone for the history of this city. Um the first this phase also includes their threestory medical office building which will house se
60,000 square feet of medical professional offices. And this uh facility will also include a helellipad. So they will be able to take those critical patients that are in need of medical services. Um, as a reminder, the groundbreaking is
coming up on November 7th. I know you all got invitations to that. Uh, they are very excited. We are very excited to participate in that. Exalt Health is another of our healthc care providers that has um put down a footprint in Northport and is already
expanding. Um the facility next door to this is currently under construction and that's a rehabilitation hospital. Um it's a it's about a 40,000 square foot rehabilitation hospital. So if you see
it just right there at at uh 41 between Pino and Mezo Drive, that's what's currently under construction. This is their second phase and it's a 40,000 foot medical office building. So they they are putting down a pretty significant um presence here in
Northport. Uh next on our healthcare agenda is our uh new VA clinic. This is the relocation from Charlotte County uh that I'm sure you've heard about. Uh it is a new
almost a little over 28,000 square foot facility uh that will service veterans in Charlotte County and Sarasota County. Um it is a um a definite improvement for veterans in South Ca South County uh who
are currently required to drive a fairly long distance to get their medical services. This is on Price Boulevard and Main Street just right out here in front of City Hall next to the gallery. So, uh, a very exciting, um, development for Northport and for our veterans in this
area. Advent Health, uh, they are coming in strong to Southwest Florida. Uh, this is the the private healthc care company that took over Shoreoint uh, in
Charlotte County. They have um we have heard they've made significant improvements to the operations in uh that facility and they have closed and purchased and are now
the owners of the little over 17 acre parcel on uh 41 between Salford and Cranberry. And this is the uh property that is right behind and next to racetrack
um between racetrack and cocoa plum. So it is a significant property with high visibility uh on 41. They did hold a pre-application meeting on October 3rd. So they have been in
spoke with staff. Staff has reviewed um not only their first phase but potential future phases. And I want to to stress this as we move to these next slides. These are very preliminary potential and they're very non-committal on future
phases and there is no timeline for this but it is public record and it's significant which is why we wanted to provide you with this information. Their first phase is proposed to be a 24 bed one-story standalone emergency room.
Um these are becoming as you know very popular. Uh there's another one on 41 in Charlotte County just over the county line. Um there's one under con that's uh open in Wellen Park and these are an alternative to the the hospitals the
full scale hospitals uh to provide those immediate services. future phases which are again very preliminary is a full scale hospital on this site.
Uh 120 bed fivestory hospital uh that would incorporate the 24 bed emergency room and also include a 60,000 square foot fourstory medical office building.
There is no timeline for this. uh we we have not been given and they will not give us any indication as to uh when this might happen. Um they still have a lot of studies to do before they move to this phase.
Uh but they do project out long-term the potential for a full 240 bed hospital. um that would include all of the previously built facilities as well as a three-story parking garage. So, they are
uh in investing in Southwest Florida, they are looking at the long game and the needs of this area as we continue to grow. Um I did get a question I I recently um was a speaker for the Chamber of
Commerce's government um committee and the question was asked is there a fear that we will become oversaturated with health care. My response to that was that the development that we're seeing in
health care right now is a response to this area being underserved in healthcare for many years. So there's a a game of catchup that's being played now regarding healthcare
and they are also looking at the long-term growth projections and we've done those growth projections. They've done growth growth projections. Um we've provided that information out there. This area is going to continue to grow.
there's a lot of land and still a lot of interest in Southwest Florida. So, if these health care facilities who are very very good at projecting their long-term needs, if they see the need
and are projecting these types of developments over the next however many years, um they they know that it's likely to occur. So, it's not a an issue, I don't think, of of being oversaturated, but more right now the
the intense development that we're seeing really is an area that's been underserved for a very long time and now everything is lining up. One of the needs that hospitals have and healthc care facilities have in providing new
facilities to an area is the ability for their doctors and their executive level staffs to be in living in close proximity to the hospitals. This area in South County has not had previously a lot of areas where the
doctors and the executive levels wanted to live. We do now. And so I've I've had talks about this very issue with um some of the members of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board and their executives and
that is the key component in providing these healthc care services to this area is having those places where they want to live. Moving on to non-healthc care because we have a lot of that. Um, Northport Gymnastics, some of you are might be
familiar with this um, organization, this company. They do have a facility currently, a 20,000 foot facility uh, that they lease up just uh, east, I'm sorry, west of Toledo Blade, north of Price. Um, they are expanding, looking
at expanding uh, and relocating. So, this would be a new facility that is right across from Price from the new Imagine School. It's also in pretty close proximity to two other elementary schools. So, a lot
of access to kids um as part of their relocation and expansion. They are also reworking their business plan to provide daycare um which is a a huge need in this area. they are working to provide
um afterchool gymnastics programming. Uh so having the proximity to Imagine School right across the street as well as other elementary schools um is a huge win for uh this this area and what's
being provided uh to kids uh for uh entertainment um daycare provisions uh just a really great opportunity uh cocoa plum expansion. So, we we get questions and I'm sure you do too all
the time. What's happening with the big yellow building at Sunturn 41? Uh, that seems to be one of the the most popular questions I think on social media. U, these are the um proposed plans for that area. So, this development in the black
outline is everything from the existing Publix to Sumpter. It includes a redevelopment of the existing building. They are looking at keeping that structure but but remodeling it and revamping it and adding in addition to that another
156,000 square feet of retail space. So this would provide for some fairly large uh retail tenants as all the way down to smaller tenants um restaurants uh all of those types of uses. Um you'll notice that um it does say in the far corner
one of the other frequent questions we get is what's going to happen with the vacant Wendy's. So Benderson does not own the vacant Wendy's property. That's they they >> they'd like to >> they they would they've tried uh they've not been successful. Um but that
property has sold uh to another entity and will redevelop into a credit union. So they have submitted plans um to redevelop that uh into a a mid Florida
credit union. Um so we do expect this to move forward. They they have purchased uh and closed on the property. uh price crossing out parcel. Um people have said, "Why is that parcel right next to Burger King? Why has that been
vacant for so long? Nothing's happened there." We do have a development proposal in on that uh for a bank and a dental office. Um the bank would have an ATM drive-thru. Uh the the plans that you see here. Um so that is under formal
review currently. Heron Creek retail. Um we've we've seen movement on the Heron Creek area and this is uh just south of White Ibis and O'Reilly auto parts store. Um it would be two buildings, 8,400 square ft of retail space total uh with two quick
service restaurants with drive-throughs. We do not have names of those restaurants, so I can't share those with you. But I can pretty certainly say that it will not be Chick-fil-A because simply looking at the drive-thru cues, there is no way that you will get that
many cars on that property. So, uh, unfortunately, uh, no Chick-fil-A, but once we we have information on that and we are are um given um permission to share that, that will that will be
coming out. Um, and then next, the learning experience, as we mentioned, daycare is something that's greatly needed in this city. And uh this is a national daycare provider that is proposing a development
south of Price right here next to the neighborhood Walmart. Um so right on as you go across Main Street uh across Price um this is a this is a a highly
rated national uh provider. uh they are looking at providing a 10,000 square foot daycare facility uh with a 5,000 square foot outdoor playground and they expect to serve about 171 children. So that's a that's a pretty significant dent into what we need here in
Northport. We need a lot more. Uh but this is certainly a start and it's u showing that we are um getting recognized. I will tell you that this is one of the contacts that was made by our economic development team at a trade show. So, it is already starting to pay
off the efforts that the the new efforts that we started last year um to get our name out there and target um those those businesses that we know we need here in in the city. So, more information, and I know we've
provided this to you before, but we always want to put this out there for everybody. We do have a current development project map um at the link that's available in this presentation for anybody um in the public and the commission to access. Also, the development review committee packets are
published online. So, they are there um even after the meetings. People can go there and look at all the meetings that we've had this year and pull up all the packets and and the agenda materials are in there. And then on December 1st, you're going to have um at your
commission workshop a quarterly economic development presentation. This presentation was sort of at the 10,000 foot level. That presentation will be more like the 50 to 100,000 square or foot level. So it's going to be more of
a what are we doing from a programmatic standpoint um and some highlevel discussion about potential uh development. this is really, you know, the the applications that we're seeing come in. Um, and with that, I'm happy to
answer any questions. >> Hey, Commissioner, before I recognize commissioner questions and comments, I just want to say that for some, you know, ever since the modifications and adoption and the fact
that, you know, a lot of our projects that conform with the comp plan, the ULDC get administratively approved. I and others have been asking for this kind of um update and I have to tell you not only for us but for the public at
large. Thank you for hearing us. Thank you for listening. Thank you for doing this. I would get this out all over the city because with the disclaimer you mentioned because we know none of this is etched in stone but this is what
people want. By God, I would love them all to be talking about this rather than some of the other subjects they tend to dwell on from time to time which really aren't in the best interest of the city at large. So, thank you so much for hearing us and listening. And
additionally, I'll say across the board when it comes to hearing how much this existing board wants to know more about things and understand the issues that you all bring before us. So when it comes to the
agendas we get and the staff reports I've noticed personally and and I hope and I speak for my fellow commissioners but certainly I speak for myself the depth at which and the comprehensiveness at which those staff reports are being
prepared now are marked difference from a year or so back. I mean the pros, the cons, a 360 degree 65 degree view of the issue then along with your recommendations has really helped me
anyway in trying to get a a better perspective on these things. So thank you so much and with that Commissioner Lang. >> Yeah, thank you Mayor Ditto. I was going to touch on some of the same points. So thank you for saving time for
me. >> You've been stealing your glory. Um, I'm very excited about potentially so much health care coming to the city because all I see are job, jobs, jobs
and and I get so excited. But that also raises a concern. So, I think some of what I'm about to say might fall somewhere in between your report and and what we're going to see from our EDC group. But if if it really belongs to
EDC, then this might be a request. Um my concern is um I don't think we're prepared to deliver the skilled labor force um yet. I I know there are plans
and discussions, but um either do you know or could you put a bug in Mr. Mirman's head? I'd really like an update on what's happening with the expansion of our technical college. Uh, one of the things
I was particularly pleased with was the state college system giving them the okay to provide RN nursing programs, which was not the case um, in the past, but I haven't seen any dirt turned yet.
So, I'm concerned about that. And related to that, are there any efforts to attract other schools to this area? You know, this Kaplan nursing, I think, is one of the schools
in the area. There are a number of others. So, I'd be very interested if we're not doing that that perhaps now is a great time to start seeding um some of those educational institutions to come
here. And I know from previous work that having those kinds of educational opportunities as well is a huge lift to general economic development here. it could attract a lot of other development
in pharmaceuticals instrumentation um that kind of thing. So do you have anything you can share today or are you going to carry that request back to Mr. Mirman? >> Both. Both. >> So um I will put that bug in Mr. Mirman's ear u so that he can uh provide
some of that information during his presentation next month. Um, I will I will tell you that I do know we have a lot of health care providers who live here in Northport and commute to hospitals elsewhere. I don't know what Sarasota and the city of Sarasota is
going to do because I've spent a lot of time there and a lot of them come from here. >> They do. We have a lot of um uh we have a lot of people especially in nursing and the technical fields who live here and they commute to Venice uh the
Sumpter I'm sorry the the Venice uh hospital at Laurel. They commute to downtown Sarasota. They're commuting to Lee County uh to Charlotte County. And I can tell you they I know from Sarasota
Memorial they are standing in line to take positions here in Northport because they want to live and work with >> here. So um I know that they are there are a lot of health care professionals who are very very excited about the new
health care opportunities that we have coming in Northport um because they're going to now be working near their home. Uh so I think that from from that standpoint I think not only will we see a lot of people not having to get on 75
every day uh but we will attract more health care workers uh who want to live in close proximity to these exciting new developments >> and and that's the perfect segue into my final question which is a housing
question. Um, and I know we've had a lot on our plate and we haven't done an update to our housing assessments uh in quite a while. You and I have talked about that in the past, but we're seeing a lot of more multi-
um >> and I know some of the folks I speak with expressed some concern, are we overbuilding there and all of that. So, I'm wondering if if today you can give us just a little bit of information on
um is the multifamily housing that development that we're seeing aligned with the pay scales. Not everyone uh who's staffing those hospitals will have an MD next to their name. There'll be
technicians and nurses and LPNs and um >> is is the multi- higher density housing development that we're seeing in line with what those job uh pay scales will be. >> So there's there's a couple of different
categories with our multif family. We have the market rate multif family, >> right? >> And then we have the affordable housing. And um when we when we say affordable housing, it it's not what people consider, for instance, section 8
housing, it's housing that's based on income, but it could be up to 120% of the area median income. So these are households that could still be making a a significant amount of money, but they do they they're still at that 120% of
our AMI. Um we have uh a few of those developments that are coming in. We also have some market rate that are coming in and they serve different needs in different different segments of the population. The the market rate I think we've seen a
little bit of a softening from the lending standpoint in multif family over the last year. Um so that has slowed down in somewhat but we're still seeing a move forward. um affordable housing uh
is very dependent on the government loans, the um Florida state and uh LITC funding, those types of things. So, um it's it those are dependent upon those those grant cycles. um the the
affordable housing market. We do have a couple of developments that are one under construction right now um and and couple of others that are looking at moving forward through the development process. as far as their alignment with our
needs. We have um people who are at that higher um salary level. Those MDs sometimes they will move into an area and not want to buy something
immediately. They want to get a feel for the area. So, they will rent for a while. Um, we have people who uh come down part-time during the year. They'll be here five months out of the year, but they want to know that their spot is secured and they will rent for the
entire year even though they're only here uh for a specific time of the year. Um but then those technical positions um the the um you know all of the people who work the sonogram machines and the
MRIs and you know clean the hospital rooms and all of all of those things that people tend not to think about. Um a lot of those positions will fall into that 120% AMI or or less. So it is
important that we have those those quote affordable housing. We could um those are really workforce housing. That is workforce housing for our um people who who do those very necessary jobs. So I I
don't think we're not seeing an oversaturation in the market. If we were, the construction would would stop. We would not continue to get development petitions in if we were in an oversaturated market. And um the the housing assessments that have been done
regionally have proved that out. Um and those assessments that have been done um for Sarasota County uh show that there is still a a great need for that here in Northport and South County. >> Thank you for that. I'm all set. Thank
you. Miss >> Before I recognize Commissioner Duval, just to pony off at that point, have yet. Do we know whether there's interest on the part of some of these health larger health care providers who are coming whether it's SMH or Advent or
some of the others to provide assistance in the way of workforce housing for their people and the reason I say it's interesting it's a side story it's not healthcare related but um Fins
and Sharkies their owners you know one of the things Nick Patro does as you know he's mayor here in the city of Venice. But his involvement in his family's businesses there are in connection with maintaining a set of
properties, providing housing for their employees. They have over 300 people that work in their organization and for years they've been doing this and that was something I learned recently much to my surprise and I thought it was great and I'm wondering
have we had any discussions? Is there any interest? Cuz that will be a concern and there's plenty of, you know, let's face it, the prices out there on one bedrooms are pretty hefty. The workforce housing niche is an important niche for us as Commissioner Langden says. So, do
we hear anything from them or are they is that not really on their radar at this point? >> We really haven't heard any from them as to those providers um building and owning and maintaining those facilities. that's really not their wheelhouse. Um,
so they really are uh more looking at the private >> developers to to uh build and maintain those. >> Thank you. Uh, Commissioner Duval. >> Thank you, Mayor.
Um, I was happy to hear you say, um, that sometime soon we're going to be looking at the 10,000 square foot area. Also, we recently uh have talked about
looking at our CIP and repriator reprioritizing our CIP projects. And I think that goes along with it. We want we want to try to make those two
meld so that we're um providing the projects that are going to help at that 10,000 square foot level because you know that's what we don't have is that technical and um
going along with that um two other factors STC okay ST STC is such a valuable resource to us and I hope that
between your department and STC that there's a a flow of information going back and forth looking at things. um this Sarasota Memorial Hospital, you know, this
not just, you know, and and I have friends, you know, but I wrote her name down, you know, she works at the Venice and, you know, for her to not have to travel back and forth. Um, and I'm sure it is going to be a
Sarasota Warrior, you know, they're going to be saying, "Wait a minute, you can't all leave and go to Northport." Um but you know as as you mentioned you know like the people that maintain you know the equipment for the MRIs you know these are um I instrumentation and
control people that are going to be calibrating all these things. Um they're at a little bit higher pay level. Um these are the things that are coming with this. this is, you know, this is so exciting
uh for this and um I hope that that 10,000 square foot level meeting that you talked about and our C cip level meeting that we've been talking about that we can get them close to each other. Um but but
thanks for the insight on things. >> You're you're very welcome. I can tell you as far as our relationship with STC and Sarasota County School Board, we do have a great relationship with them. We're part of a working group um for the uh Sarasota County Schools. Uh where we
look at the future needs of our community from an educational standpoint. Uh we have met many times with uh the leadership for STC and discussed the long range needs. uh we were a big part of the discussions in
the expansion that's occurring now with STC. Um, I have been involved with STC and um the Sarasota County programming throughout Sarasota County for many,
many years uh in efforts to ensure that we have the technical expertise that we need in this area, not just for healthcare, building inspections, technical trades. I have been beating that drum for many years and um so we
are we are very involved in that and have great discussions with them about um making sure that our future needs are met. >> Thank you Selena Commissioner Petro. >> Thank you mayor. I have a couple questions. I'll be quick. Uh Ekos Arbor
Park is that the land clearing that relates to that development that they do in phase two? The land clearing that is occurring now is phase two of EOS at Arbor Park directly behind uh the public's on price. Uh so they that phase
is for any age level. Um the phase behind it the first phase that is already constructed and open was a 55 plus uh and up 55 plus community. Uh but this phase will be for families or anybody. Um
>> six 66 units. >> 66 units. Correct. >> And is it going to be still um uh for limited income or >> It is. It's for limited income. I believe it's for 120% um or lower of AMI.
>> So 55 plus can still >> absolutely any any age would qualify for this one. >> Okay. And uh next question is healthc care facilities um which ones are nonforprofit besides advanc health
and um this leads to my question is uh how are they structured as far as the tax base paying property taxes. >> So SMH is the only nonprofit um and it does not um it does get ex exempt from
taxes. Um so that that is the only one. All of the rest of them will pay full taxes. >> Do they pay impact fees? >> Impact fees as well. >> So they would not be responsible for paying advalorum and nonadalorm or how
does it >> SMH is not SMH does not pay advorum uh because they are not for they are nonprofit. They are a they are what's considered a government entity.
>> And what is what about non advil still >> well they'll still pay for their their um trash service and those types of things. Yeah. Um but they're they're exempt from adorum tax. >> So just SMH that's it. And how's impact
fee? That was my main main question that I was leading to. On what level are they exempt and if were they not exempt and if they are exempt do we have to contribute because by the state law we have to >> currently they are not exempt uh no
healthc care facility even SMH is currently not exempt >> um there will be an item coming to you soon uh for consideration of exempting government projects including the city currently pays impact fees to itself
Mhm. >> Um which increases the cost of projects to the taxpayers. But um there will be an item coming to you for consideration um to look at impact fees for government entities such as SMH and the city. Um
not the the for-profit healthc care, the Advent Health, the Exalt Health, those will pay impact fees. They are not exempt from impact fees. Um if the commission were to exempt um for instance SMH from impact fees or the
city itself the city's projects from impact fees the city does not have to cover those um those would those would not be we would not be required to come up with the funds to make up that difference >> for the SMH. >> Correct. >> Okay. So to add to and I'm interjecting
because I want to add to what you were saying. If SMH builds an office, a medical office building like on the Venice campus, I don't know who built that, but right adjacent to the hospital is a multi-story medical office building. Is that
>> It is exempt. >> It's still exempt, >> right? And and and um Venice and Sarasota County do exempt those taxes. So, it's exempt for property tax, but they still pay impact. Everybody pays impact fees so far. >> Well, not in Venice or Sarasota County. They don't.
>> Not for Sarasota. I got you. Okay. >> And this I guess that relates to the new project of Imagine School campus. Are they because it's a mixed type of
breed. Do they are they going to pay any impact fees? not impact these on the property taxes or >> Yes. Because it's it's not um it's a it's a charter school. >> It's a hybrid. Okay. And impact fees, they still have to cover that,
>> right? >> Okay. That's it. Thank you. >> Thanks, guys. Good questions. Anything else, folks? Again, Miss Lane, thank you so much for all this wonder.
>> And uh it really was helpful to us. I hope it's helpful to our citizenry. I'm sure communication is going to somehow find a way to get some of this stuff out there, but boy, you know, this is stuff >> worth talking about. It's lots of good news. Yeah, we they're keeping us
>> We like good news. Thank you very much. >> You're very welcome. Thank you. >> All right. Any public comment on this? And what about any general public comments? There's none. >> Well, with that, I can't think of any reason to keep us any longer. It's 11:14. Unless there's anything else, I
turn this workshop.