Listen to all the cities. >> Good afternoon. I'd like to call to order this city commission meeting for this the 11th day of August 2025 at 6 pm. >> Can I get a roll call, please?
>> Yes, Mr. Mayor, Commissioner Dles >> here, >> Commissioner Mercer >> here, >> Commissioner Dancer who is not present, Mayor Promates, who is not present, and Mayor Bird Song. >> Thank you. We will have our invocation by Pastor John Hullman of St. Paul
Worship Center and we'll be led in the pledge of allegiance by Vanessa Castillo. Please stand if favor. Thank you. Will you bow with me, please? Our kind father, we pause here to say thank you for one more opportunity. God, we thank you for allowing us to come
together. God, we pray tonight for every city employee. God, we pray for all of our city commissioners. And God, most of all, ask that you bless our dear mayor. God, we need you as never before. We're asking you, God, that you would help us on tonight as they conduct your
business. Oh God, I pray that we will be respectful of one another, that peace would abide and we be considerate of one another. God, I pray that the decisions that are made here tonight would be beneficial for all of the great citizens of the city of Winter Haven. God, we want to end this prayer the same matter
in which we started by telling you thank you. We thank you in advance for what you about to do and we thank you for what you have already done. These and many blessings we ask in Jesus name I pray. Amen. >> Amen. >> I aliance 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. All right. We have uh no presentations and no developments of note.
Commissioners, you have the minutes. >> Entertain a motion. >> Make a motion to approve the minutes. >> All right. I will now uh close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to any of these minutes may do so at this time.
Seeing none, we close the public hearing. Reopen the commission meeting. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Post the same sign. Hearing none. The minutes are adopted. Okay. The next item is our comments from
the audience. Slip. There's no one. All right. Huh? No one signed up to address us. However, um if there's someone that would like to
address us that didn't sign up, you can do so at this time. All right, moving right along. We have no ordinances. Uh second reading. Um so, commissioners, we have the consent agenda.
>> Mr. Mayor, >> yes. I'll make a motion to approve this consent agenda agenda in its entirety. >> Thank you. All right. Our closed commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to any item on the consent agenda may do so at
this time. Seeing none, close the public hearing. Reopen the city commission meeting. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> Posted by the same sign. Hearing none, the consent agenda is adopted.
Resolution R2534, would you read about Tai Lonely, city attorney? >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Resolution R-25-34, a resolution confirming the acceptance of a portion of the improvements, infrastructure, and dedications in favor of the public/ city of Winterhaven as noted on that certain platitled
Willoughbrook North recorded in the office of a clerk of the circuit court in for Poke County, Florida and plat 214, pages 4 through 19, public records of Poke County, Florida, and authorizing the city manager to partially release the performance bond posted to guarantee completion of required improvements and
infrastructure and to accept a new performance bond to guarantee completion of all required improvements and infrastructure that remain uncompleted for this subdivision and providing for the administrative correction from scribes errors severability and providing for an effective date. The general location subdivision is
generally located south of Lousern Park Road, State Road 544 and west and the west shore of Lake Fanny. Thank you. >> Thank you, city manager. >> Good evening, mayor and commissioners. On March 10th of this year, the commission approved resolution R2503
platting the Willowbrook North subdivision, which is depicted on your screen in the blue outline. Uh, actually, it goes beyond the blue outline, but we're going to spoke focus specifically on the blue outline this evening. This subdivision consists of 132.9 plus or minus acres that contains
434 building lots and nine common lots. KRPC Willoughbrook LLC, the developer, submitted a performance bond in the amount of 7,235,221.79 to guarantee completion of all required infrastructure and improvements for the subdivision. Incomplete improvements
included earthwork, sanitary sewer, potable water, storm water management, off-site roadway improvements, and engineering certification. While the developer platted Willowbrook North as a single-phase subdivision plat, they chose to break the installation of required infrastructure
into four phases. At this time, they have completed the required infrastructure for phases one and two and are now seeking the city's acceptance of those improvements to be dedicated to the city and to modify the performance bond previously noted as part of the subdivision plat approval
process. Staff has performed inspections of these improvements and has found them ready for acceptance within phases one and two. As work is incomp excuse me, as work is incomplete for phases three and four, a modified performance bond in the
amount of 5,69,7118 has been submitted to ensure completion of the infrastructure in those areas. So again, phase one and two has been completed and ready for acceptance. Phase three and four remains incomplete and a performance bond has been issued
to ensure that completion of those staff recommends the city commission approve resolution R25-34 this evening. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. Mayor. >> Yes. >> Motion to approve resolution R2534
in public hearing. >> Thank you. I will close the commission meeting. Open the public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to resolution R2534 may do so at this time. Seeing none, close the public hearing. Reopen the commission meeting. Any
discussion? All those in favor of the motion say I. >> I. >> Opposes by the same sign. Hearing none. Resolution R25 34 is adopted. We have no ordinances
first reading. We have no new business. Commission less on reports. Commissioner Mercer. >> Okay. Um I did attend the Talot House ministry.
Um, one of the things I wasn't aware of is that they had um purchased that from the Salvation Army and um it's um a dedicated homeless um I guess you'd say um building for women and children um
that will provide shelter. Um, the other thing I did was the public safety oath and we got to meet all uh some new people and some people that were promoted uh in the police and fire and so that was quite interesting. So, thank
you and thank all of you for the job that you do every day. Uh, and that's all I have. >> All right, Commissioner Dison. >> Good evening. I have um uh was able to attend of course the uh planning commission meeting as well as ribbon
cutings for the uh language and and learning as and also the Talbert House. Uh as Commissioner Mercer had mentioned that the Talbert House was um um quite I was you know able to offer
prayer for that uh that uh recognition and ribbon cutting uh but also to view the uh facilities. Um I think it was over 60 beds that are made available for um women and children
and uh and it's just great to have that resource in our community available. I think they said they would be uh perhaps had people already on a waiting list about 13 families and uh they would expect within two weeks they were
actually going to be uh bringing people in. So, uh that may be starting very very soon. So, uh we're again grateful to have that available as much needed uh in the community and um I'm just happy to uh to see that back up and running.
Uh other than that, Mr. Mayor, that's all that I have uh for now. All right. All right. Thank you. I attended both of the uh ribbon cutings, language and learning school and the uh Tabith House.
also uh had a reception with the uh EDC at the new state house at uh over on uh central >> area >> area and also chaired the central Florida regional planning council
meeting and doublechaired the the uh PRWC and we had some real action at the at the uh PRWC. We had it was at Advent
Fieldhouse and we had Zoom and somebody hacked the Zoom >> and displayed triple quadruple X-rated pornography.
>> Oh my god. >> On the screen. >> Wow. Yes, that actually happened. >> Yeah, I saw it. >> Terrible. >> We were disgraceful. >> Not only that, but there not only did
they display pornography, they just some very, very, very racist remarks against people of color, Jews. Yes.
very very very I've never seen anything like that in all of my years. All right. Uh, city attorney. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Nothing this evening. >> All right. Uh, city manager, I know you
have some things. >> Yes, sir. Thank you. First of all, my apologies to the extent that that meeting was hijacked. That was the first I've heard of that. We've had that happen one other time during my career here at a at a community at a meeting at
the airport and it is uh very disruptive and very immature and I'm hopeful that we can take some action to find out who's responsible for that. Um I do have a couple items this evening. First of all, item 16A,
we are uh engaging a uh RFQ for construction manager at risk or Seymar services for our Cypresswood and Pard Road water production facilities. Uh that RFQ will be released and uh we would like to see if the commission
would like to have a liaison appointed to that. >> I will commissioner >> Mercer >> Mercer. >> Very well. We'll let uh Bethany Owen, our procurement manager, know that. And then also seeking a commission liaison
assignment. Um I mentioned to you during some prior meetings, I see Nancy Hurley and Cedric are here. Um we have prepared a request for application for the local government area of opportunity, the LGAO.
that is a um uh part of the affordable housing financing package. Uh we can only uh uh I guess issue that LGAO commitment to one applicant and so we've created an
RFA process for that and we would like to have a commission leaison. I would say first and foremost that the selection committee for that LGAO RFA will be uh members of the affordable housing advisory committee and
commissioner Dancler is your liaison appointment to the affordable housing uh committee. So um certainly he would have some some knowledge of that but leave that to you all to decide who would be your liaison for that effort.
All right. Uh, Commissioner Dlesling, you express >> I mean, uh, if he's there, so to speak, you know, I guess, uh, I don't know if that's going to be just overkill or what, you know, in terms of
>> he he's not on the selection committee that um, of the members that are on the the selection committee for this RFA, it is I'm going to look to Cedric real quick. five members of the AHACK um of the I think they have nine or 10 members
on the AHACK. Um so they've already identified who those five are. There's not a commission appointee at this point. >> There's not necessarily an overlap with regards to that. >> Okay. I I I'd be more than willing to do that. >> Okay. >> So, Miss Hurley and Cedric, that for
your purposes, we'll put Commissioner Dan or Commissioner Dles as the commission liaison for that. A couple other items if I may, Mr. Mayor, >> go ahead. >> So, first of all, today was first day of school in Pulk County Public Schools. Um, we had a number of our uh staff out
today and they will be out tomorrow as well uh with a presence in our school zones to bring awareness to motorists that school is back in session. Uh we do ask for some patience and grace from motorists in the area as people are
still trying to find their way in and around schools particularly at Elbert Elementary and we're working closely with that school and the school administration uh at at Superintendent Hyde's office and with the safe school team through the sheriff's office to make sure
everything flows accordingly there. usually takes us about no less than a week, but realistically about two weeks to get through all of the chaos and congestion that comes about with school up reopening. So, um it was a good day uh in terms of getting children to
school. Um tomorrow, uh is the Pulk County Legislative Delegation meeting. So, as you know, legislative session in Florida will kick off in January this year. It's it's the every other year early session.
And so we will appear before them tomorrow. That meeting begins at 100 pm at the Pulk County Board of County Commission chambers in BTO. Um I'm prepared to provide comments to the delegation. And I think Katrina has told
me I have uh three minutes in which to get uh key points across which for your benefit will focus on property tax reform, tourist development taxes, uh safeguarding our community redevelopment agencies,
the issues that we see with Senate Bill 180 and the overreach of those prohibitions that go beyond emergency management. And uh we will also be highlighting our uh primary appropriation request for TW the 26th
session which is uh to see if the state will officially um transfer ownership of the Florida Citrus Building to the city of Winter Haven. So I think we have a a strong case for that. uh in the amount of money
that we have invested in that property since acquiring our lease in 2017, we have spent beyond $3 million in improving that facility and have continued to make it available for the community to use. So, I think we have a
a solid case to be heard there. Um, but I will make those comments uh tomorrow sometime after 1:00, whatever our timing is. Um, I see Miss Scubna here this evening. Thank you for for being here. Here, I do want to go back to some uh points that you brought up regarding the
skate park uh at our last meeting and for the benefit of the commission. Immediately following that meeting, um I had a number of staff inspect the skate park the following morning. So that was on July 28th was when we last met. The morning of July 29th, uh representatives
from parks and recreation as well as from my office did an inspection of the skate park. Um there was no no graffiti at that point that had that was visible at the skate park. park, it had all all been painted over. That is a practice that we have within our parks,
particularly when graffiti occurs on walls and stuff, is to quickly get it painted over. One thing we did learn is that um and this came from one of the adult skaters that was down there at the time was that uh the need for us to look further into different types of paint to
use because apparently when you use a a traditional straightforward type of paint on that it creates a little slicker environment that doesn't have the textured grip that the the facility would normally have. So we're exploring some other options there. Um, police department also did an inspection of the
area and has increased their surveillance with visits multiple times per day. That is coming directly from Chief Monroe. Um, they uh certainly encourage any users with that are down there that have concerns or see things that are going on to contact the police
department, but they are going through that site multiple times per day. Uh we are exploring some lighting options including having met with a solar light company to evaluate some options that would allow for solar lighting to be installed that could also be
programmable and dimmable so as not to disrupt adjacent properties. Um we've identified some locations where that could potentially occur but need to do a little more due diligence on how that would come to be. Our IT department is exploring the opportunity for some
security systems in there to that would involve cameras using uh kind of the fisheye camera system that that gives you a a very wide view of what's happening in the area. Um, we've identified a location for that and are looking at either pulling that directly
off of our existing fiber optic network, which is in close proximity or operating it off of a cellular service, which we've done in some other areas in advance of being able to connect into fiber. Staff's also exploring the opportunity for additional benches and
seating areas. Um, the issue of fencing is being explored. We don't have a an answer on that one just yet. I will say that in terms of the water fountain uh that was requested, one of the challenges there is just the availability of water in close proximity and the fact that we would have to do
that as a loop system is what creates such a a significant cost for it. Um but we have not ruled out some other options there. Uh deputy city manager even uh began contemplating a vandalproof uh vending machine at low cost that we
could distribute water through. um if that becomes an option. So, we are exploring all the concerns that came forward and uh we take that very seriously. I am happy to report though that when we went down there the our staff is on top of the graffiti and taking care of that. Um that's something
that can get out of hand very quickly. People like to tag those types of facilities and sometimes that can be gang related and we don't want to have that in any of our parks, let alone our skate park. Um last thing I'll mention, actually two other things. One, we did have a very unfortunate event today that I think you
were alerted to this afternoon. Um, we had one of our city vehicles be completely consumed in a fire outside of the garden center. Uh, that involves some of our employees that were working there to do routine improvements. Um,
one of our employees uh ended up uh experiencing some injuries as a result of that. The vehicle was a total loss. I think the only thing we realized that may be salvageable on that was perhaps one front tire and maybe a headlight.
Everything else was just gone. Um, but the employee uh did have to be transported uh to Tampa General Hospital uh for part of the protocol dealing with burns. I'm happy to report that he is doing well and we'll keep him and his
family in our prayers and thoughts. Um we expect uh for him to be released if not later this evening tomorrow and um we'll uh we'll provide you further updates on that. Uh but that was a a rather scary situation. I do want to commend the men and women of our uh
police and fire department. Um Mr. Hunt is here this evening. He was one of the people that I happened to walk in who was working on one of our employees. And it's always special when you know you see the the work that our our firefighters and paramedics do and and when it's happening to one of your
family members or as we see all of our employees as our family members, it is very important and and the work that they do and the compassion they uh they display is is simply outstanding. So thank you. Um finally uh beginning
Wednesday evening is the Florida League of Cities Conference. So, I believe the three of you will all be traveling um to Orlando for that conference, as will Commissioner or Mayor Prom Yates. Uh myself and Katrina Hill will be joining
you uh Wednesday evening through Saturday morning at the conference to learn as much as we can about what's happening at the legislative level and the issues facing the league. Um there is a uh full session, I think it's Saturday morning, Mr. mayor in which you
will be the voting delegate for the city of Winter Haven. Um, and we Katrina and I are there to support you all in any way during that time. Deputy City Manager Carnival will handle things here during that those three or four days.
>> That's everything I have. Thank you. >> Thank you, Deputy City Manager. >> Nothing this evening, sir. Thank you. >> City Clerk, >> nothing this evening. Deputy City Clerk, emergency matters not received for the agenda. I will allow if there's someone
that would like to address us. I saw a few people come in after the meeting. If there's someone that would like to address the commission, you may do so at this time. Come forward, state your name and address for the record, and you'll have five minutes.
>> Desiree Howell. I represent the courtyard by Marriott which is 6625 Cypress Gardens Boulevard. Um I am here to seek some help. We have been there for six and a half years now and we have
been battling trash that is coming off a runoff between Chase Bank and our property into the lake right in front of our hotel. Um it's not very appealing. I've dug out chairs, air mattresses out
of the lake. It can't be good for the ecosystem as well. Um, our owner is actually about to build another hotel right next to ours. Uh, he pays his taxes and he just wants to see what kind of help he can get and some kind of
resolution with either blocking it or we get it's the county, it's the city. So, we're just trying to get a resolution of what's going to be a win-win for the community. >> Yeah, I had seen something
>> deputy city manager. We've worked on this a number of times, Desiree and other folks out there. Um MJ probably has a little more insight, but we'll try and give a little >> Yeah. So, the the short of it is that's a that's an FDOT. Cyber Garden Boulevard through that area
is an FDOT. So, that's a state road. Um, and that drainage system is part of the state's drainage network. Uh, so we've worked with them over the years to try to keep that clean, but that is uh an ongoing conversation we have with them and something we will continue to press on. >> Okay. Yeah. All right. >> And I know that our team has gone out
and tried to tried to do some cleaning there. >> We've been in Yeah, we've been in contact. We just >> nothing has been resolved. And like I said, my owner, he pays his taxes. You know, he's about to build another hotel in the community. So, we just really need your help. Desiree, what we can do
is um try and see if we can get the um natural resources folks. I know that they've come out and tried to pull debris out. You know, it's outside of of an area that that they normally maintain, but just to try and >> help you all achieve your goals. So,
we'll we'll pass that along to that time. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Is there anyone else? >> That's all right. Oh, come forward. State your name and address for the record. You have five minutes.
>> I'm actually here to represent um citizens and vis visitors of Winter Haven. My mom is a resident here. Um she lives at 595 Lake Martha Drive Northeast. And >> excuse me. Uh you're here representing
who? the citizens and visitors of Winter Haven as an advocate. >> And my mother lives here. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Did you state your name and address for the record? >> Uh her it's 595 Lake Martha Drive Northeast and I am Sheri Groover.
>> All right. >> Yes. Um I just wanted to read something that I was sent by Winter Haven. Um it is a statement of how the employees here are to uh represent. It is says an employee of the city represents the city in all of his
dealings with the public and in a special way. City employees are goodwill ambassadors. Such status involves a degree of duty obligation regarding public and private conduct that is not common to other classes of employees. A
city's employees appearance, attitude, behavior, all annails to customers. The taxpayers. My mom's a taxpayer and I'm a taxpayer whenever I visit. What may be expected from the city's government? For these reason, the city stresses
importance of professionalism, respectfulness, honesty, a good public image, and courteous behavior as a minimum standards for employees. Um, I've been fighting for 11 years to get
accountability in my brother's uh incident where no CPR was rendered. He was not given any CPR. No equipment was brought to the home for a cardiac call. Uh, the people that were involved still collecting taxpayer money. I have a
YouTube channel called Cookie CBI, like FBI, but CBI. Please visit my YouTube channel. I'm exposing all of it over there because people in Winter Haven need to know what's going on and the government officials have allowed for it. Thank you.
>> Anyone else? Going once. Going twice. Gone. Entertain a motion for join. So move. We stand joint.