##VIDEO ID:QIHs0hejUDc## the time now is uh 700 p.m. I'll Now call 
this meeting to order can everybody hear   me loud I know uh sorry who has the uh thing 
to adjust the microphone mine's not working   either y sorry one second hello hello NOP 
hello hello they're not working hello uhoh sorry we're just working on the sound here for a second check check check check check check check check okay oh there there you go okay you know you 
know what I'm just going to start over again   this way it's on record uh the time now 
is 7:01 I'm going to call this meeting to order at this time if you can please silence 
your cell phones electronic devices that' be   appreciated uh your greeters tonight is uh city 
engineer Alex Schumann and fire chief Howard Bailey we have also in the room here uh to my far 
right and your far left recording secretary Taylor Lochert city clerk Susan Dauderis uh Deputy Mayor Zone 
one commissioner Lori Tolland good evening everyone   uh zone two commissioner Travis Sargent is 
absent uh zone three commissioner Kristin Deaton   good evening zone four commissioner 
Harold Briley good evening everyone   and welcome um we city manager is not here 
so we'll have assistant city manager Claire Whitley also assistant city manager 
Shawn Finley City attorney Randy Hayes   and to my far left and your far right 
we have police chief Jesse Godfrey   and again fire chief Howard 
Bailey and I am mayor Jason Leslie at this time I'm going to call up um   father Roy Allison to do the 
um invocation um at this time or Pilot Jonathan Johnny Campos 
and all those whose lives were   lost in the crash of the American 
Airlines plane with a military   helicopter oh Lord give peace to these 
grieving families and to their friends almighty God and Heavenly Father we give you 
thanks for this beautiful city of Ormond Beach   we pray for Jason our mayor Lori our Deputy Mayor 
and Zone one commissioner for Travis Kristin and   Harold our City Commissioners for Joyce our city 
manager and Randy our City attorney for their   commitment to serve the people and businesses 
of this great community may the discussions and   decisions made here this evening provide for the 
needs of our community and may bring you honor   and Glory pour out your blessings of Peace 
protection and provision for our First Responders   our city employees Civic leaders and for all who 
live and work in this great City help us to break   down the walls of violence hatred and anger and 
fill our hearts with care compassion and love   for all people thank you almighty God for the gift 
of life for we know that life is precious and for   the many blessings you provide for us guide us and 
direct us to use those blessings to be a blessing   to others not only this night but always and I 
pray this in Jesus name amen I pledge allegiance   to the flag of the United States of America 
and to the Republic for which it stands one   nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice 
for all thank you Father you all can be seated okay at this time we're going to move on 
to presentation and Proclamation section   section of the agenda today we have 
one Proclamation uh this is a time   we can acknowledge and celebrate individuals 
organizations and other community successes   or achievements within our wonderful City 
I'd like to invite Mary Smith president of   Ormond Beach historical society and Stacy 
Simmons Secretary of obhs and chair   of the American Revolution experience 
travel exhibit committee to receive the proclamation come on come on over come on over she's under the weather oh that's okay we   have a lot of that going on right 
now who would like to hold up the don't hide your face hello whereas on July 
4th 2026 our nation will commemorate the    250th anniversary of the signing of Declaration of 
Independence and whereas the journey toward this   historic milestone provides an opportunity 
to reflect on our nation's past honor the   contributions of all Americans and look ahead 
to future generations who will carry forward   the ideals of democracy and individual liberty 
that make the United States un unique nation and   the world community and whereas the Ormond Beach 
Historical Society founded in 1976 as the Ormond   Beach historical trust shares the rich history 
of Ormond Beach through education and preservation   and whereas The National Society Daughters 
of the American Revolution a non-political   women's service organization established in 
1890 includes members descended from Patriots   of the American Revolution and whereas from 
the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party   in 2023 to the upcoming 250th anniversary of 
the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 2033 we   celebrate our nation's history and the Patriots 
who fought for independence ensuring Liberty and   the establishment of a new nation and whereas 
the Ormond Beach Historical Society welcomes the   American Revolution experience traveling exhibit 
to the Anderson price memorial building in Ormond   Beach Florida from February 22nd through March 
3rd 2025 now therefore I Jason Leslie mayor of   the city of Ormond Beach do hereby Proclaim 
February 22nd 2025 as the opening day the   American Revolution experience congratulations 
thank you now it's time for a group photo follow their instructions this is a new Podium 
I don't know how it is it's not easy thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] that's always fun right at at this time we will hear from those of 
you who have signed a card to speak about   any item which is not on the printed 
agenda for this meeting as well as any   items on the consent agenda each person 
will be given 3 minutes and and the first   one o sorry is our commissioner Troy Kent 
councilman oh sorry councilman thanks former [Music] commissioner you got some fans 
know Debbie Kruck Forester you got to   love her thanks Debbie uh mayor and 
commission it's great to see you all   first time in the chambers since your update the 
Dais looks great you all look great the monitors are   you know it's all futuristic it it it looks like 
home but doesn't look like home at the same time I   wanted to come in and on behalf of my lovely wife 
Heather and myself and our our entire Kent family   we just wanted to thank you you were able to get 
something across the finish line that I tried to   do for 16 years um 16 of my 19 years uh working 
in in these chamber Chambers and that is you were   able to remove fluoride from our drinking water 
and I just personally wanted to come down and   thank you now I know that you're going to have 
two hearings on this I know you're going to have   some people uh hammering you with emails and phone 
calls about why it was a terrible idea to take it   out take floride out of the water and I just want 
to remind you of a couple of things okay at best   it's a medicine at worst it's a poison but let's 
just say it we're going to call it a medicine   don't medicate me and my family with our water 
supply okay you can't go to the drugstore and get   the fluoride that they put in that water unless 
you had a prescription from a medical doctor so   why are you putting it in the water supply I just 
tell you this as some more background so that when   people are are calling you and telling you I want 
it in my water there's other ways they can get it   but if you put it in the water we can't take it 
out unless we buy crazy expensive um services at   our own home to remove that from our water and we 
shouldn't have to do that so I wanted to publicly   come down and just say thank you thank you thank 
you on behalf of the entire Kent family um I had   no idea that was happening and I woke up and read 
it and and I was overjoyed the second thing is I   want you to get something else across the finish 
line that I could not get across and if I have   to I will meet each of you individually so that 
you all don't violate sunshine, and I would like   to drive with you on Riverside Drive you heard 
me talk about it before and there are two very   effective um speed humps that are there that they 
slow down the traffic like they're supposed to on   fluhart I'm an advocate for that what I'm not 
an advocate for is they are the exact same color   as the roadway they're black you cannot see them 
at night you come up and you hammer them and I'm   okay with them but I want you all to put flashing 
lights at the exact location of where they are and   there's two of them um I live in that area and I 
forget about them and you know I'm I'm older but   I'm not older so I I just it's something else I 
want you all to get across the finish line that   I couldn't thank you for the great work that 
you do every day Randy good to see you thank   you councilman Troy Kent we really appreciate 
it and we appreciate your service too by the way all right next one we have is uh Debbie Forester good evening everybody Debbie Kruck 
Forester founder and Commander of Ormond strong   a Grassroots nonprofit supporting military 
veterans First Responders their families in   our community 3 days ago actually February 
1st began the start of Black History Month   which originated in 1926 when historian 
um Carter G Woodson designated a week in   February to celebrate and educate people 
about black history and culture choosing   this month because it included the birthdays of 
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas in 1976   President Gerald Ford officially expanded 
the celebration to a full month making it   Black History Month Nationwide in the spirit of 
Carter G Woodson I would like to um honor and   acknowledge a few of Our Heroes Tuskegee Airman 
with the first African-American military pilots   in the United States who trained and fought in 
World War II their service helped pave the way   for desegregation of the United States military 
my grandpa was Battle of the Bulge and he spoke   about this um at length to us um our local hero 
Mary uh McLoud Bethune everyone knows who she is   um her statue was given to the National Statuary 
Hall collection by Florida in 2021 in World War   II Mary saw military service and defense related 
jobs as an opportunity for black women to become   a part of history when the women's auxiliary 
corpse the wax were created in 1942 it was the   first time women could serve in the Army and 
roles other than nurses having worked closely   with the Roosevelt administration Bethune was 
one of the most influential leaders of her   time with her influence and persistence some 
6,500 African Americans served as wax over the   course of World War II in closing it's important 
to celebrate Black History Month first there's   still a lot to learn about black history um black 
history unites us celebrating differences has   countless benefits um we better understand 
how important our own stories are and Black   History Month reminds us to dig deeper and think 
bigger thank you very much Ormond strong out thanks Debbie um next is uh Jennifer Bright [Applause]  good evening I'd like to thank those of 
you that made a real effort to speak in to the   mics so the folks in the back of the room could 
hear it's appreciated and I hope it continues   there's been a lot of talk about the Sunshine Law 
this last month the Florida's Attorney General's   office concluded that the Sunshine Law does 
not apply to a political forum sponsored by a   private Civic club during which Commissioners 
express their position on matters that may   foreseeably come before the commission so long 
as the Commissioners avoid discussions amongst   themselves on these issues the the Sunshine 
Law does not apply to private citizens unless   they are part of a board or Commission in other 
words the Sunshine Law is meant to provide right   of access to governmental proceedings of public 
boards and commissions at local levels reason I   state this is as of the January 21st meeting 
I have reached out three times and requested   an in-person meeting with my commissioner since 
that's what he chooses to do not email and he has   not responded to my request for a meeting as for 
the consent items the city has a very misleading   title the agenda item uh that is in agreement 
with the city between the city and hope place in   Daytona Beach the staff report shows 29,900 
for Hope Place which is great but then they threw   in $169,000 project for a sidewalk replacement in 
Ormond Beach why is the city putting in a sidewalk   replacement under the title of a homeless shelter 
does this mean the city will no longer be funding   One Step facility or is this money in addition 
to another agenda item the city put out a work   bid and then staff suggested that the lowest 
bid should not be taken and that the bid so   why do we have a bidding process if the city 
is going to suggest that we select a bid that   comes in higher than the lowest amount the last 
one in question is the waste management renewal   the agenda packet does not contain an estimated 
cost of this renewal we don't know how long the   contract is for and we don't even know if 
it was opened up for bids with all these   unanswered questions how are our elected officials 
supposed to make good informed decisions thank you okay this time we're going to move we have 
no more uh public comment cards here so we're   going to move over to approval of the minutes the 
minutes for the January 21st 2025 City Commission   meeting have been sent to the commission for 
review and post it to the city's website does   any uh does anyone have any corrections or 
changes sorry Mr Mayor some moved second   all those in favor by say I oppose uh all the 
eyes have it approved now we're going to move   on to seven um the following item is a community 
redevelopment item the city commission serves as   the community redevelopment agency of the city and 
must review this item and make a recommendation as   a CRA therefore we will recess the city commission 
meeting and call the CRA meeting to order I will   now open the public hearings um Madame secretary 
please read the title 7A RESOLUTION NO. 2025-45:  A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION, ALSO ACTING AS THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, OF THE CITY OF ORMOND BEACH, FLORIDA ACCEPTING A PROPOSAL FROM ZEV COHEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. TO PROVIDE CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION SERVICES FOR THE CASSEN PARK REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A WORK AUTHORIZATION AND PAYMENT THEREFOR; AND SETTING FORTH AN EFFECTIVE DATE. number 2025-45 read by title only um do we need 
the uh city engineer Alex Schuman to speak on   the item move approval oh hold on I got a card 
okay if not not then we will call up Jennifer bright uh City staff wants to hire the construction 
Administration services in the amount of $ 63,395   for the Cassen park Redevelopment project 
within the staff report there is conflicting   information which states the proposal fee is 
2.5% of the construction amount at $2.4 plus   million this breaks down to $ 61,226 what 
amount is the city really voting on to pass   are we we forking out 63,000 or 61,000 since 
there's conflicting information thank you with   that I have no other cards um any discussion 
seeing none is there a motion so move second can we ask a question yeah sure I I was 
I was just want to have for disc if you   want to do a second we can go discussion 
if you want second okay uh discussion now   so question for staff for Claire or Shawn 
can you address the um inconsistency I'm   going to I'm going to assume that it's a 
rounding error or it's it's a rounded you   know 2.65 I we can do some math right 
here and find what 60 three it's for $63,395 I'm going to assume that that's 
probably 2.51% 2.52% so I think that   I think that someone probably where they could 
have rounded to the hundred's place rounded to   the 10 place we're voting on The the number 
we're voting on the on the bottom line here   of $ 63,395 which represents approximately 
2.5% great thank you any other discussion um well all those in favor uh to approve say 
I I I I all those oppose okay uh the ayes   have it the uh I will now close the public 
hearing and reconvene the city commission meeting um items on the consent agenda are 
deemed routine um and non-controversial the   action proposed is stated for each item 
unless a City Commissioner removes an   item from the consent agenda no discussion 
on individual items will occur and a single   motion will approve all items does any member 
of the commission wish to pull any items from   the consent agenda I know that oh go ahead uh 
commissioner Deaton I'd like to pull 8 e please 8 e okay um I'm sorry which one are you 
pulling I could didn't hear you 8 e um Claire were you guys pull yes mayor 
staff would like to pull item 8 G we'll   be revising it and bringing it back 
at the next commission meeting okay   so you're going to pull 8g and you're going to 
just bring it back at another uh meeting okay 8G no no cards okay then so then we will go ahead 
and make a motion here to uh approve um the items   on the agenda Mr Mayor I move to approve the 
consent agenda um less 8e second okay and 8G   you're correct yeah okay okay um any discussion 
seeing none uh city clerk please please call   the vote commissioner Deaton yes commissioner 
Briley yes commissioner Tolland yes mayor Leslie yes um do you want to read the title for 8e 8e 
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-49:  A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ORMOND BEACH AND HALIFAX URBAN MINISTRIES, INC., REGARDING HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION SERVICES PROVIDED AT HOPE PLACE; AND SETTING FORTH AN EFFECTIVE DATE.   it it did seem like a large amount and I would 
just like staff to speak to it if you could please   no and and I think that the confusion here is in 
the summary um what what you're actually voting on   is just that that agreement with Hope Place the 
summary there puts in puts some background that   in on June 4th you approved a or that commission 
at the time approved a plan for the um this year's   cdbg funds which included two projects or which 
which which had two place two two expenses the   sidewalk which is a separate item which which 
we brought to you separately and the Hope Place   distribution so this is you know the the title of 
it accurately respects um what we're doing and and   those attachments for the Hope place um agreement 
is attached there is no there is no you're not   voting on anything related to sidewalks with this 
item already approved yep okay so uh any other   discussion before we go call a vote um thank you 
okay thank you commissioner Deaton uh call the vote   please commissioner Briley yes commissioner 
Tolland yes commissioner Deaton yes mayor Leslie yes we're going to move to nine 
now public hearings and I will now   the open the public hearings and city 
clerk please read 9A ORDINANCE NO. 2025-08: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1, GENERAL ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE II, ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT, SECTION 1-19, APPEALS; AMENDING CHAPTER 1, GENERAL ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE III, DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS, SECTION 1-22, DEFINITIONS OF TERMS AND WORDS; AMENDING CHAPTER 2, DISTRICT AND GENERAL REGULATIONS, ARTICLE II, DISTRICT REGULATIONS, SECTION 2-35, PRD, PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, SUBSECTION (H) RECREATIONAL FACILITIES; AMENDING CHAPTER 2, DISTRICT AND  GENERAL REGULATIONS, ARTICLE VI, OVERLAY DISTRICTS, SECTION 2-73, GREENBELT AND GATEWAY PRESERVATION DISTRICTS; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, SECTION 3-03, TREE REMOVAL PROCESS; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, SECTION 3-04, TREE PROTECTION AND REPLACEMENT; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, SECTION 3-05, LANDSCAPE AND IRRIGATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, SECTION 3-06, BUFFER AREA REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, SECTION 3-07, RESERVED, TO CREATE SECTION 3-07, EXISTING DEVELOPMENTS LANDSCAPING; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, SECTION 3-08, MAINTENANCE OF PLANTINGS AND IRRIGATION  SYSTEMS/ENFORCEMENT; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, BY REPEALING SECTION 3-09, LAND CLEARING, AND CREATING SECTION 3-09, TREE ABUSE; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, BY REPEALING SECTION 3-10, GRADING AND FILLING, AND CREATING SECTION 3-10, LAND ALTERATION PERMITS; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ARTICLE I, LANDSCAPING, BY REPEALING SECTION 3-11, MINING AND EXCAVATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 4, PLAN REVIEW AND SUBDIVISION, ARTICLE I, SITE PLAN REVIEW PROCEDURES, SECTION 4-02, SITE PLAN APPROVAL REQUIRED; THRESHOLDS, AND AMENDING CHAPTER 4, PLAN REVIEW AND SUBDIVISION, ARTICLE  I, SITE PLAN REVIEW PROCEDURES, SECTION 4-07, RESTRICTION ON RELEASE OF PERMITS OF THE CITY OF ORMOND BEACH LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE TO UPDATE LANDSCAPING STANDARDS; REPEALING ALL INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES OR PARTS THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND SETTING FORTH AN EFFECTIVE DATE.    
this is the second reading of ordinance number 2025-08 the reading here do you guys need Steven 
Spraker to speak yeah okay I have two cards   so I just want to let you know um before we 
can go to we'll go to discussion a little bit   you um in the meantime uh Jennifer 
bright wants to speak on this item the property owner Bill of Rights in Florida 
serves to inform and protect Property Owners   it outlines their rights and responsibilities 
emphasizing property rights as the Cornerstone   of individual liberty and economic Prosperity the 
bill affirms that the right to acquire possess   and protect property without undue interference 
subject to reasonable regulations serving in the   public interest this uh these ch changes in 
this uh there's quite a few changes that can   cause potential safety concerns and unnecessary 
expense and possible hardships to homeowners thank you um next card we have is Ed lome Mr Mayor Deputy Mayor Commissioners City 
staff leaders of our First Responders thank you   all for everything you do here uh I'm here as 
a citizen I live at King's Crossing subdivision   and I have some of you have been aware that I 
got caught up in the city uh ordinances of tree   removal and I wanted to speak not on that on that 
tonight that's not what I'm here for what I'm here   for is to um speak for people moving forward 
in this community on two specific areas cause I   only got two and a half minutes left one area is 
Public Safety uh and the other area is education   and on the public safety side all you have to 
do is Google trees falling into houses killing   or injuring people and you'll find hundreds of 
listings you don't have to go very far to find   one that happened here at Ormond Beach during 
Hurricane Milton a couple was killed in their   house when a tree fell into it now I was trying 
to take proactive action with mine by removing a   very large tree approximately the weight of two 
school buses Hollow to the core diseased on the   outside branches that were known to fall 12 ft 
from my house standing 80 ft tall 20t from my   neighbor's house so not knowing much about the 
tree ordinances of Ormond Beach and not knowing   much about tree removal in general uh I hired a 
professional um company to come and remove move   and haul away the tree and um that takes me to 
area two which is education and this is what   I'm really hoping you guys can address moving 
forward because I'm a smart guy I can speak   intelligently about a lot of things but I can't 
speak intelligently about the tree ordinances at   least I couldn't up to that point of Ormond Beach 
so I hired a professional thought that I was doing   the right thing to remove a dangerous tree with 
an upcoming storm season that was advertised to be   extremely dangerous and active and found myself uh 
in the bad graces of the city so uh my suggestion   would be is that any entity you allow to issue 
permits or to cut down trees professionally with   uh you know whatever their license is that 
you require them to either have a certified   Arborist on staff who can handle such requests 
or at the very least give written disclosure   to the homeowner that there's a responsibility 
that the city requires you to meet in order to   remove a tree of any kind in the city of Ormond 
Beach I think that second thing is probably the   most important of the two um but I would also 
say moving forward as new development happens   consider that a lot of development is happening in 
areas where Oaks are already um uh in present so   anyway thank you thank you um I I I know 
you want to say something about this yeah   yes please I brought this up at our last meeting 
and and uh I thank Mr lacome for coming tonight he   and I have had several discussions on this um as 
as he pointed out the the couple that was killed   during Hurricane milton were were close friends 
of mine and um that was a tree that they had   discussed that particular tree is Apparently one 
they had discussed about having removed they had   move forward about doing anything with it but I 
think to uh my point last meeting and and and I   thank Mr lacome for for pointing out that sometimes 
when you hire for instance when you hire a general   contractor to build a house in the city of Ormond 
beach he knows he has to go down the city hall and   pick up permits he has to pull permits to build 
that house when you look in the phone book and you   call someone to cut a tree down you kind of figure 
that they may also be the ones that they come out   tell you you're going to cut the tree down they're 
going to go down to the city and pull a permit um   now most of these people if I'm not mistaken Randy 
can probably help me out have business licenses in   the city of Ormond Beach So to that end if they have 
a business license to the city of Ormond Beach they   should have some sort of understanding that either 
they are responsible for pulling the permit which   actually falls on the resident but they need 
to let the residents know I mean they have to   they should have to you give them something in 
writing stating listen here's our contract to   cut the tree down but either you or we will go 
down to City Hall and pull the permit for you I   think there's a lot of confusion I don't think a 
lot of tree surgeons do that I also think there's   confusion between what's a tree surgeon and what's 
an arborist a tree surgeon look at a tree and tell   you that the tree may need to come down but 
they're not a certified Arborist so I think   if we can clean up some of this education and 
listen there are dangerous trees I think there's   something that passed uh I think maybe last year 
in Tallahasse there was a bill that passed that   that speaks to potentially or imminent potentially 
dangerous trees I guess um as long as a certified   Arbor signs off on it uh Randy you can correct me 
if I'm wrong on this but I don't even think they   have to come to the city for a they don't have 
to apply for a permit if an arborist will tell   them that it's a a dangerous tree or an imminent 
tree um you know there there are actually several   layers of issues in the topicy can you just put 
that microphone a little closer cuz I don't think   anybody can hear you I I think it's picking up 
I think it's oh for recording purposes it's it's   picking so um there are uh several issues uh that 
are kind of layered into that that question uh   there is a statute that uh does allow a property 
owner any onuses on a property owner because the   property owner owns the property and typically 
the property owner is responsible for all work   that is conducted on the property um that provides 
an opportunity for a property own property owner   to um uh get an  an arborus or whatever the 
legal term is in a statute um to assess a tree   and make a determination as to whether or not it's 
dead dying or diseased and if so then a permit is   not required but they've got to have that paper 
in hand right if they don't have that then that's   the problem because you can't look back after the 
act and say well I didn't know because ultimately   the property owner is responsible um educational 
purposes uh we can amend the ordinance to require   uh the contractors if you will uh to inform the 
property owner but what's the penalty if they   don't ultimately the property owner is still 
responsible right so what's the penalty to the   contractor um I suppose they can't do business in 
s Ormond Beach well if we if if we say you just don't   issue them a license or revoke their license 
it it's it's not quite as simple as that and   I think ultimately the responsibility falls on 
the property owner as it rightfully should okay   um we can look to see what other jurisdictions 
are doing on this question and whether there's   other ways that we might be able to amend the 
ordinance is there any way I'm just I'm sorry   to interrupt you but is there any way because 
I've had experience with this thing too with   these trees and I I you know have a lot of concern 
but is there a way that we can when a contractor   you know files for a permit that the city can at 
least send notice to the property owner of you   know some other steps they might have to take 
and other things they might have to do that to   be aware of that maybe the contractor might not 
be you know telling them about probably lots of   things that could be done you could probably post 
it on your website right um people know where the   website is at but I would submit that if a if a 
contractor is not pulling the permit then they're   not advising the property owner that they need to 
get permit and they and they won't do that so I   think and and I'm all in favor of amending the 
ordinance if it's going to be effective but if   in the end what we do is we create another layer 
that there's no way to enforce then what's the   purpose that's been accomplished because you 
haven't really fixed the concern that you've   expressed right so that's just food from thought 
but if you want us to take a look at it from a   staff perspective we can and Steven I don't know 
or Shawn if you want to weigh into that or not I I think it's worth looking at at some different 
options and and certainly you know we could   probably come up with a couple different ideas 
that that maybe would you know help us to get   the word out and it could be something simple 
as as if when a and this all is dependent on   someone pulling a permit of course but if someone 
does pull a permit that's that's an arbest or I'm   sorry tree company you know we could you know the 
number of historic trees that are taken down each   year are pretty in you know pretty slim Slim that 
on those occasions we can maybe I think you know   reach out directly to the homeowner you know 
from staff-wise and say just to just to follow   up with you we understand you're taking this tree 
down you know here here's some additional steps   before you get that tree pulled out that you may 
be responsible for so there's there let's let's   take a look at and see what's practical and and 
what we really think will do some good effort um   I think if you don't pull permit then then all 
bets are off the table though right can can I   just add it it is a balancing act we do encourage 
the preservation of trees we are Tree City USA and   it's it's balancing that um and I just do want to 
thank Mr lacome we worked um very very hard lots of   time on resolving you know your issue and I hope 
um that was successfully reached and as very happy   with that outcome and I hope you were as well 
because we do understand the residents sometimes   get caught in between a business that is not as 
forthcoming and transparent as they should be   and the the homeowner sometimes pays the price 
yes so thank you for your patience and working   through that I wanted to go first oh than Claire 
there you go Deputy Mayor, Claire thank you for   for saying that what what I wanted to just add to 
this conversation is a lot of the tree companies   that are around are not really tree companies 
you know they they they troll the neighborhoods   they look take one tree down they're knocking on 
your door saying oh we're certified blah blah blah   and they're not and we can't expect them that 
they will never pull permits um so I think the   education piece the looking at the ordinances 
but I I think it's more education than anything   and you know we we just updated this ordinance 
you know and there is there are conversation in   there for dangerous trees that is a discussion 
in it so dangerous trees can be taken down but   we just have companies that that are unethical and 
they're taking trees down left and right so anyway   that's all I wanted to add and I just don't want 
to confuse that I'm totally pro tree but you know   you do get those you run to those circumstances 
where you do have a dangerous tree and I've seen   perfectly healthy trees that potentially dangerous 
trees because they have a certain lean or you know   whatever so um commissioner Deaton do you want to say 
something no not really I I wanted to chime in on   what commissioner Tolland said um you know a lot of 
these companies are are not very forthcoming and   they're going to knock in your door and my concern 
of course lies with potentially the naive or the   elderly resident who might just be more trusting 
and um so if we could harp on the education piece   or you know I I don't think there's anything we 
can do to make those companies be more truthful   um or pull the permits properly I I just that's 
where my my heart goes as the people that might   be more naive and so uh as Shawn and Steven you'll 
you'll like look at some options and then get back   to the commission let us know all we appreciate 
it um all right well we're still on 9A here yeah   I would be honored to uh make a motion to accept 
ordinance may I do this youu may ordinance number 2025-08 Any discussion? Susan please call the vote Commissioner Tolland yes commissioner Deaton yes commissioner Briley 
yes mayor Leslie yes I will now close the public   hearings uh we're going to move on to 10 uh 
to staff and commission reports suggestions   and request starting with um the assistant city 
manager Claire Whitley good evening thank you um   the 2025 Citizens Academy will begin on April 
17th the program is 6 weeks on Thursdays from   6:00 to 8:00 p.m. with graduation at the June 
3rd City commission meeting we're pleased to   announce the class is full again this is only 
our second uh second time holding the class we   had such success with the program last year and 
we're looking forward to another great group and   exciting program so um lastly the movies 
on the Halifax I'm excited about this one   on Friday February 7th at 6:00 p.m. on the lawn 
at Rockefeller Garden for movies on the Halifax   this month's free movie feature is 50 First Dates 
always fun can't see that one too many times well   thank you Claire thank you um assistant city manager 
Shawn Finley no nothing further have a good night   thanks Shawn uh City attorney Randy nothing thank 
you okay and then this evening we will start with   um commissioner Deaton thank you um I don't tend 
to mix my business City matters I find it to   be a conflict of interest however I received 
nine phone calls this week and so I figured it   needed to be addressed this past week The Ormond 
Observer did an interview that prompted multiple   local licensed real estate professionals 
and mortgage professionals to contact me   with concerns over misinformation stated in the 
article for transparency and for those of you not   aware my full-time job for the last decade is a 
licensed residential mortgage lender not only do   I originate mortgages but as a sales manager I 
also train and coach other loan office officers   I reviewed the interview and I understand their 
concerns they stem from the possibility of the   misinformation scaring away potential buyers 
to our area the numbers stated in the article   are inaccurate to note and to my knowledge 
the interviewee is not licensed to do real   estate or mortgages in the State of Florida as 
a licensed mortgage professional we analyze each   applicant's credit and debt to income to determine 
what they qualify for this is not a one-size   fits-all industry as a professional courtesy I 
do not get involved in the real estate side of   the transaction and I expect licensed real estate 
professionals to revert mortgage related questions   to a licensed mortgage professional I think it is 
very important to be mindful when we're publicly   stating as elected officials we are often 
held to a higher standard due to our titles with   that being said I just simply encourage that we 
be more conscious about what we are speaking to   lastly our country suffered immense loss this past 
week Ormond Beach tragically lost Captain Jonathan   Campos the pilot of the American Airlines plane 
in the DC DC air collision Jonathan was an Embry   Riddle graduate and a zone three resident 
my husband had the pleasure of teaching and   knowing Jonathan through Embry Riddle please 
join me in keeping his family in our thoughts   as well as the families of all of those Fallen 
this past week thank you for being here and have   a great night commissioner Briley thank you mayor 
um I really don't have much this evening except I   just still want to mention a couple things one 
um last Monday we attended the ribbon cutting   for the Doug Thomas Way Extension and uh want to 
say how well deserved that was Mr Thomas um Doug   has been a champion of of recreation Ormond Beach for 
many many years and we appreciate your all of your   contributions not just to Recreation but the city 
as a whole so thank you sir um and the only other   thing I have this evening is I was sorry to learn 
of the passing of Sans laster um Sans was a gentleman   who had a transportation and engineering firm uh 
in Ormond Beach for for quite a few years and uh   would appear before us regularly with different 
projects and was always a professional uh if if   Sans laster told you something you could probably 
take to the bank um he was just probably one of   the best uh of the folks in his industry so I 
just want to uh say how sorry I am uh and and   pass along my condolences to family with that Mr 
Mayor I'll say good night thank you Deputy Mayor Tolland   uh thank you very much um I do want to um let you 
know that I did attend the scenic loop and Trail   meeting uh last week and they were absolutely 
ecstatic to be included in the comp plan update   so thank you Mr spraker for including that um and 
also just let you know that I was in inducted into the   Volusia league of cities board of directors and I'm 
looking forward to representing Ormond Beach as we   collaborate with other municipalities promoting 
home role and um our advocacy in Tallahassee um I   was honored to witness and enjoy the Ormond Beach 
fire department's first banquet at Sr Perrott uh   the fire department Community celebrated their 
own Heroes and they lifted up their Brotherhood   it was really a lot of fun to to see all those 
folks enjoying themselves and being honored um   and I will say I am very sorry to have missed 
the Doug Thomas way ribbon cutting um my heart   was there with um you all as Commissioners and you 
Mr Thomas as you celebrated my absolute favorite   resident and his very generous community-minded 
ways um has worked a lifetime and I mean a very   long lifetime promoting recreation and our youth 
and I'm sincerely thankful for him so thank you   did you a call Doug old I just called him 
old yes I did um uh let's see and to the gentleman   I'm sorry I forgot your name but I I do appreciate 
your comments um about the tree ordinance and and   it seems like we really heard what what you had 
to say and I'm sorry you experienced whatever you   experienced um and I also want to thank staff and 
the community for their input um presenting the   updated comprehensive plan um it was a labor of 
love um even though I know we legally had to do   it um but you could you know technically you 
could skim over some stuff and get away with   it but our staff did not do that they looked at 
every detail and I'm very appreciative of that   and it's reflected in the quality of the work and 
I will say I'm really looking forward to further   discussion on storm water management as well I 
know we've tasked you with a big task but I think   all of us and all the residents will benefit from 
that research so with all of that I'll say good   night thank you deputy mayor um on the uh consent 
agenda um we had um I have actually nominated two   people to be Goodwill ambassadors who I think 
are still in here uh Debbie Forester and Marvin   Miller um want to thank you very much for 
for doing this it's much appreciated um and and before you uh leave uhu see the city clerk 
I want to give each one of you a challenge coin   from the city as a token of appreciation for 
myself and the commission here for doing what   you do so I'm going to pass that over here to so 
we going to bring them up at some point I didn't   know if it was appropriate but we can do that 
at the end of the meeting if you want just do a   quick photo they get their their their certificate 
right okay well I just wanted to give that to them   in the meantime just in case they didn't get it 
um and then also we uh we had some big birthdays   that we celebrated and we I think some of you 
all signed a card right for 104th birthday and   uh this was recommended by Susan our city clerk 
so thank you Susan to um for big birthday celebr   ations to have I'm going to pass it around to you 
guys if you haven't seen it um it'll have your   signatures already on it um as a happy birthday 
and uh and then I'll just personalize a little   note in there and sign as well so I wanted you to 
see that I thought that was a great recommendation   and thank you very much Susan oh and I'll pass 
it over here to you Deputy Mayor thank you uh   this past Friday I had the uh privilege to read a 
proclamation for the 2025 annual Shabbat service   at Temple uh Beth um that was a really nice 
service um Marvin um wasn't able to attend I   remember but he was under the weather but it was 
a great group and we had um uh six rabbis from   different areas of the of Volusia and Flagler County 
uh they were really happy that I stopped by read   the proclamation and then I stayed all way to the 
end because they they usually have good dessert so   I was happy to do that um the other thing is 
is that I um got appointed on the first step   shelter board and uh so one of the things that I 
wanted to do was go drive around with an officer   do a ride along and you know talk to homeless 
people and see what's going on and maybe we   can encourage them to go into the program uh 
so they can get off the street um one of the   officers I rode with was Lieutenant uh Larson uh 
who's very helpful knowledgeable about everything   that goes on in the in the city um and uh so we 
had one individual that was living in his mini  van and uh he was pretty comfortable for the most 
part but it was cold that night um this when the   temperatures were a little colder than usual and 
uh you know he didn't want to go in the program um   he just said basically that I just need a job um 
he had a stroke um cuz you could tell by the way   he talked but he was pretty vocal about it too and 
um so Lieutenant Larson said that you know I know   somebody that works at the car wash nearby and 
maybe I could help you out and so um because you   know the first step shelter was just you know he 
was comfy he just need a little help and sometimes   you know that's just not a fit for everybody that 
program well I'm happy to announce that um before   I came to the meeting tonight Lieutenant Larson 
sent me a a text message with the uh picture of   the individual um who is now working at the 
car wash and uh he helped facilitate that um   by uh getting him uh you know the job and getting 
him straight so I'm really happy that that kind   of made my day because uh I was thinking about 
this individual and in fact my last board meeting   I brought that up in the situation with this 
individual how not everybody you know is going   to be a good fit for the program and we need to 
find other ways to help these people so they don't   end up losing their car and so on and end up in 
the street so uh thank you to the or Beach Police   Department uh everything that you guys do um I 
mean the amount of work that they do is incredible   um we you know were just taking interviews taking 
some information from them seeing if they need any   help with anything it was like I said on that time 
it was extremely cold um so it was a really great   experience and I I did about maybe 8 hours a ride 
in um in two different chefs um we have the Super   Bowl so we had the Chiefs and Eagles that's a hard 
one there right we've seen the Chiefs many times   and we got the Eagles and um the the last thing 
is um in in the last meeting uh Deputy Mayor you   brought up the uh six step plan seven step plan 
that was brought up by councilman Kent and uh   I wanted to touch on that too the last meeting 
but I got a little sidetracked um but I I was just   wondering if the commission would be in support of 
just you know maybe sending a letter to the County   Council the members and just saying hey you know 
we really support what councilman Trent uh Kent   said and regard to his uh six seven step program 
I think it was a six step program yeah I I I don't   I don't have any objection to anything he said 
in there but I was thinking maybe that would be   something we could incorporate to our storm water 
Workshop okay yeah that's a good idea so we can do   that too um that's what I was thinking you know 
cuz there were a lot of elements in there that   that we could have that we have to elaborate on so 
okay I would like to get staff input as well and   and all but I I do think there's a lot of Merit 
to those steps yeah and like I said I just when   you brought it up I meant to you know kind of 
piggyback off that and I just got sidetracked   so I wanted to bring it up again tonight um um so 
with that um I will adjourn the meeting thank you