16. >> 16. All right, we'll go ahead and call this meeting to order. and welcome to our city council meeting. In the interest of time, efficiency, and ensuring that everyone who wishes to address the council is given the opportunity to do so, the following will
apply to all comments made by the public. If you desire to be recognized by the chair, please fill out a request form and present it to the city clerk present in the council chambers. Each speaker shall be allotted three minutes to address the council unless such time is extended by the mayor or by questions
from council. group shall designate a spokesperson to avoid repetition of comments. Every effort will be made to avoid interrupting speakers. Thank you for participating in your city government and please silence all electronic devices. And I'll call this meeting to order now. And can we please have the everyone
please stand for the invocation by Father Derek Sana from St. Thomas Aquinus Catholic Church. Let us pray. Lord, at Christmas you came to us as the prince of peace and brought us hope by
your birth in Bethlehem. As we begin this new year, we pray for peace in our world, peace in our beautiful city of St. Cloud, and most importantly, peace in our hearts. May our hearts continue to be filled with
hope and faith as we begin this year. We ask you to pour out your spirit on our leaders, on our mayor, our city council and the staff of our city. We ask you to bless in a special way our
first responders, those at the front lines. May they know of your presence with them. And we pray Lord that tonight we will approach this meeting in a positive spirit always
keeping in mind the common good of every citizen and the dignity of every human person. We ask this in your most precious name. Amen. >> Thank you father. Uh please remain
standing for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you. Please be seated. >> Will the clerk please call the role? >> Mayor Robertson >> here. >> Deputy Mayor Gilbert >> here. >> Council member Paul >> here. >> Council member Urban >> here. >> Council member Fletcher >> here. >> All right. First we have an agenda update. City manager.
>> We have none at this time. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. All right. And we have a presentation of employee of the month for the month of January to Michael Wager. Mayor, council, citizens, and staff. Tonight I have the honor of recognizing our employee of the month, Michael
Wager, or as most of us know him, Mikey. Mikey is our Sexton here in Parks and Recreation. Now, if you're wondering what in the world is a Sexton, don't worry. I am here to explain. It's easier described by slightly modifying our
parks motto. So for me, it starts in parks, but for Mikey, it ends in parks. So in short, m Mikey maintains Mount P Cemetery. But in true form, that job doesn't even begin to paint the full picture. Since at least February, Mikey
has also been an important member of our special events team, where he's a driving force behind Trail of Terror. He spent countless hours in the pre-planning months walking Peg Horn Park, mapping storylines, and helping craft an entirely new and unique concept for the event. All of this was done
outside of the scope of his regular duties. Not because he was asked, but because he genuinely loves the event and wanted to see the entire parks and recreation team shine. His love for all things horror is the reason this story came to life and the reason it will continue to live on year after year.
Mikey's work is a perfect example of innovation and improvement. He developed a brand new concept for building temporary walls that can be reused each year, saving money and maximizing efficiency. But did he stop there? No. Mikey is the reason the trailer terror
build is as is as successful as it is. He researched, tested, and refined methods to make every element better than the last. I can only imagine how many off-the-clock hours were spent exploring new crafting ideas, all of which he brought back to make trail even more horrifying in the best way
possible. From fake fires to a water well, from tables to shelving units, Mikey turned ideas into reality with creativity and precision. There was never a quest a request too big or a detail too small. And there was nothing brought to Mikey that he ever said no to, even if it was a last minute 24-hour
notice request for a windmill. At the same time, Mikey truly embodies empowerment and teamwork. He was out at Peg Horn Park day in and day out teaching our recreational aids how to build what was on the agenda, empowering them to learn new skills and take pride in their work. He made sure everyone had
the tools they needed and that proper protective equipment was always worn, even keeping extra on hand so that no one ever had to leave their shift. He even took the time to patiently teach one special events manager how to safely and effectively operate a table saw simply because I said in passing that I
thought I would be really good at it. Mikey never hesitates to share his knowledge, build confidence in others, and encourage the crew to try something new. No idea is too big and no detail is too small. And even after months of planning, building, and teaching, Mikey was still the first to arrive and the
last to leave, making sure every last task was taken care of. On the final night, he even spotted an opportunity to capture content for next year and made sure it happened, continuing to build on a story that, thanks to Mikey's creativity, is truly 365 days in the
making. I could go on and on about the deserved recognition all night, but what what it comes down to is this. Mikey's tireless dedication, creative skills, and the ability to lift everyone around him made Trail of Terror not just a successful event, but a perfect example of what parks and recreation can achieve
when passion meets collaboration. Please join me in in congratulating Mikey. How are you? >> So great. >> Yeah, Mike, I'm incredibly proud of you, man. I've known you since you were probably eight years old. your whole family, public servants here, brother's
an officer, uh, brother-in-law is our park ranger. I mean, these guys, this amazing family. Your mom obviously is looking down. So proud of you, you know. Hi, brother. Take it easy. >> Jay, it's been a while. you you were behind the curtain for about three months.
>> All right. First up, we have the consent agenda. Next portion of tonight's meeting is the consent agenda, which contains items that have been determined to be routine and non-controversial. If anyone in the audience wish to address particular item on the consent agenda, now is the opportunity for you to do so. Additionally, if staff members of the
city council wish to speak on a consent item, they have the same opportunity. Will the clerk please read as resolution A? >> Oh, I'm sorry. Nope. Any anybody on council want to pull for discussion? >> All right. Can I get a motion?
>> Motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Motion to approve. Council member Urban. >> Second. >> Second from Deputy Mayor Gilbert. >> So the clerk, please call the RO. >> Council member Urban. >> Hi. >> Deputy Mayor Gilbert. >> Hi. >> Council member Fletcher. >> Hi. >> Council member Paul. >> I. >> Mayor Robertson. >> I. >> Motion carries 5-0.
>> All right. And next we have the citizens forum. Any person who desires to comment on any item not on this agenda is provided this opportunity to address the city council. Each person is requested to complete a sign-in form to be provided to the presiding officer prior to as soon as practical thereafter the person addresses the council.
And first up we have Miss Terresa Melhot. Terresa Milhot 2924 Kbury Circle St. Cloud Florida. I sent everyone an email today staff and city council. I don't know if you all had a chance to see it, but I'm here to uh voice my support for
Shaniah Shelton for the position of education program supervisor position at Hopkins Park. For over 10 years, I have been going to events at Hopkins Park. And she is the one constant that I have always seen out there working hard,
doing everything, throwing anything you need. And I'll just read my letter I sent to you today for those that may not have seen it. I'm writing you today to voice my support for Shaniah Shelton for the position of education program supervisor position at Hopkins Park. For
years, I have witnessed her growth and her dedication to Hopkins Park and the children of our community. She has worked tirelessly for St. Cloud, bringing professionalism and dedication to any and all events held there. Her can do attitude and positive attitude
bring out the best in all people. She will do whatever necessary to foster a great learning environment and her organ organizational skills plus boundless energy is exactly what St. Cloud needs. I have attended numerous events where I have seen her perform these skill sets
over and over again. Like I said, for probably 10 years. She is the only choice in my books because seeing truth in action is what I am basing my support for her on. I plan to speak tonight which I am. She constantly has furthered her education and grown and I know St.
Cloud will be rewarded over and over again if she is hard to this position. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Teresa. Um, I'll be the first to say obviously while we do appreciate I've seen all the social media posts and the emails, council
can't weigh in on that. You know, that's uh we're not allowed to >> I also, you know, emailed >> No, I'm not talking about you just we got millions of when I say we got emails all over the place. >> Oh, I'm sure today. >> So, you were one of >> a thousand >> 25. Okay. >> So, it was all over social media. That's
the city under the city manager's purview. So, okay. any emails. If if y'all want to support anybody to be hired, that's the city manager. So, oh, over here now. >> Well, and I and I sent her an email, too. I did send her an email, too. >> And just did she was probably the only
person that sent me back a response, too. >> And we're not allowed to. That's all. >> Okay. That's okay. >> That's Yeah, there's laws. >> I just wanted y'all to know I was going to be here and speaking. And I want to say uh congratulations on a well a nice event New Year's Eve. >> Thank you. It was great seeing you out there. Uh, and I commented already to
our police chief, our fire department, police chief, uh, police department did an amazing job keeping everybody safe. We all had >> I felt super safe. Absolutely. >> And the council's chamber looks nice, too. And the chairs are wonderful. Thank you for moving back here. Thank you. >> 20 years later,
>> mayor, if I could address address that. So, I did receive several emails. Um, I did pass them to the parks and recreation department who will be making that decision. um also provided to our HR department to put in her file. So, thank you.
>> All right. And next up, we have Representative Paula Stark. >> Good evening, council members, city manager, city attorney. Thank you um for allowing me to have just a few minutes. I know you all know I'm here because I have sent all of you a text message and
I've had some conversations with staff um Stephanie and she has gone to the deputy uh city manager and it it does appear like that we are going to try to address the issue I'm bringing forward tonight. So I appreciate all of the feedback and the input. I do understand
that it's being put on an agenda coming up in February, but since I will be in Tallahassee representing you, I will not be here. So, I felt it necessary to come forward and at least express to you personally and publicly that I think that we need to address our parking
issue at our marina during the evening hours when we're trying to make our river boat successful.