e e e e e good evening I'd like to call to all of this agenda review uh for this for our meeting is going to be on the
24th um can I get a roll call please yes commissioner dollison who is not here this evening commissioner Mercer here commissioner Dan danor here mayor proen Yates here and mayor Birdsong here all right these presentations will
come on Monday am I correct that is correct sir all right and then we'll have uh comments from the uh we have our minuts and then we have comments from the audience and then we'll be into our
second readings [Music] 0255 so this is uh the one that we had an individual speak at at the first reading this is the rezoning of a parcel from industrial Light to commercial Highway C3 this is at the corner of
dundy Road and I believe it's considered Carl or Overlook Drive there as you see on the map um that vacant land that's been cleared to the north that's the site of the future Publix at the corner of of Country Club Road and um in dundy road so you can get a general sense of
the area there there's been no changes since first reading all right thank you moving on to um 02513 this is our uh ordinance that will prohibit smoking and vaping in public
parks and beaches uh except for unfiltered cigars um so this is no changes since first reading again this aligns with what we're permitted to do from State statutes and is in direct alignment with
what P County did with their ordinance in 2023 no changes since first reading CH I got a question yes um this a question for Charlie I I've got no problem with this but my problem has always been enforcement and what it puts our uh
officers where they have to enforce this um another point of potential point of contact that our officers have with people for um seemingly smaller infractions like smoking are are you concerned about this at all or is the
chief who's not here I don't see Chief oh is Chief here okay is that either one of you guys can sound off if there's any concern whatsoever with your guys um with enforcement on this thing I know
we I've got I know we have opinions on that I just want to get your opinion and make sure that you don't have a problem with this as far as enforcement goes I'll fill in for you go no okay sorry about that uh commission no we don't have a problem with that
that's just a regular regular citizen contact is uh how we approach those we approach them educationally first okay when we're talking to these individuals it's not like uh uh traffic stop or any other contact like that this is an enforcement an ordinance we make contact
with them and it's not the contact that's going to be the issue it's going to be dependent on um the event Ski Show correct it's it's going to be all over the place and we're going to be running here we're going to be
running there but which we're ready to do is not a problem U so you don't see a potential conflict because not at all okay that's all I was asking I mean I I've got no problem with the ordinance I just want to make sure we're not putting you guys in a position where you're having to you know do things that you're
not comfortable doing no sir I like I said I believe it's going to be more educational when we're talking to these individuals and that's the most important aspect of this is the educational side of it okay and and commissioner Dan i' also say part of that education starts on the side of Parks and Recreation staff with um
proper signage it key points of entry into our our Recreation and Open Spaces uh to signify you know cite the ordinance smoking and vaping prohibited within this space okay all right I'm good thank you anyone
else all right well then we move to the next item so this is uh item 10A which is the award of an ITB to metalizing Technical Services
LLC this is associated with the two pedestrian bridges that exist along the chain Lakes Trail to the north and immediate south of Carefree Cove so the one you see there that is south of Carefree Cove and spans the canal that goes from Lake harridge to Lake
conine um and then the next one AJ if you would is just is that the same one that's that's to the north yeah there you go the ne the other one is just before you get to uh 1792 intersection so these were uh
two of our pedestrian bridges that we needed to have inspected and that has been done and um some improvements and recommendations were provided to enhance the the Bridge's long-term performance and uh structural integrities so we did
an ITB in January of this year metalizing technical Serv Services LLC was the lowest responsive responsible bidder to that and we're recommending uh that we uh that the commission award the contract for the work to them it would
include coating of the existing steel structure rub rail replacement concrete pavement uh replacement concrete apron replacement removal of some of the vegetation around there and then some bridge deck repairs
uh this is a budgeted item it's at 77300 84 it is budgeted within the streets division um and these these Bridges have been in place for a number of years if you think back to when we first opened the Chain of Lakes Trail many years ago
these have uh had minimal uh maintenance of this magnitude performed since then okay thank you 10 B 10B is the uh reappointment of Mr Gary Clark I don't know Gary is not here this
evening but he may be on Monday evening uh I think you all will recognize Gary Clark If you don't know him personally he is the individual that helps facilitate the honoring Our Heroes remembering Our Heroes event that we do every September 11th down in C South
Central Park so the Winter Haven firefighters pension Board of Trustees has five members two of those are required to be City residents that are appointed by the city commission two are full-time uh fire Fighters elected by the majority of the firefighters and the fifth member is chosen by a majority of
the first four members so Mr Clark has been a member of the uh the trustee uh for he's been a trustee for a number of years his his term actually expired in January of this year but he would like to continue to serve so this is a commission appointed position uh hence
the need for you to do the reappointment and if he is so reappointed he would serve a four-year term that would expire January of 2029 all right thank you teny okay so this is a a rather unique
item um and we're we're excited to be able to present this to you this evening first I want to recognize Mr Tom ult who is with us in the audience I think many of you know Tom um been a uh just a a great member of our community for ever
um and uh very active in so many different things he approached my office I'm going to say probably a month and a half ago uh with the interest in contributing funds to go towards the commissioning of a permanent piece of
public artwork that would be installed in one of our downtown Parks this artwork consists of a carolon bell tower which you can see an image of there on the screen I believe that this one is from uh someplace near Amsterdam if I'm
not mistaken uh and I believe the one that that would be commissioned for Winter Haven would be very similar to this um Mr ult has graciously um agreed to donate the cost
of having this commissioned and installed in a location that we've identified within South Central Park so our staff worked with Mr ult to identify a location that would be accommodating to the sculpture itself but it also would not have a negative impact on
other uses that we have within that public space this was taken to your Cultural Arts advisory committee um you we have that committee for this very reason to help vet these things out so we called a special meeting of that committee yesterday and the those that
were in attendance which constituted a quorum unanimously uh approved of of bringing this forward a recommendation for the commission to proceed there's a couple things that that happen with this first there's a memorandum of understanding that is an attachment
within the fact sheet that is for uh that's between the city and Mr ult uh that outlines certain parameters to include that he as the donor would make a donation to the city in an amount not to exceed
$300,000 unless an additional amount is agreed to in writing by the donor or dony and that $300,000 is anticipated to cover the cost of the fabrication delivery and installation of the the bell tower the permitting that we would
need to pull through the city uh and the foundation to be established for that the electric to power this uh this piece of art a decorative fence that would go around it as well as some uh some Landscaping the funds will be placed in
a um a restricted fund that is maintained by the city and we will be the procur of the actual artwork through the verden company Julie Adams from our team along with the city attorney have been working with them to uh make some
amendments to their their uh purchasing contract the there is a portion of the funds that are will be reserved to have a uh the largest Bell and I think that's the one at the bottom if I'm not mistaken Tom is that correct that would be
inscribed memorializing this donation ation in homage to the late Mr and Mrs old who are Tom's parents as well as uh his recently deceased wife Jerry ult so it's kind of an homage to them and a gift to the community
um we are we one of the reasons we are we're trying to advance this uh quickly although we are dotting the eyes and crossing the te's and making sure we do everything by our procurement standards and our our normal operations but we do have some concerns that the issue of
federal tariffs could have a significant impact on the cost of this you have a a lot of Steel work that's involved in the fabrication of these bells um and so the ability to maintain quoted prices on anything you're dealing with and in uh
terms of Steel right now has gone from 60 down to 30 down to now uh somewhere around 15-day committ on quotes so we're trying to to expedite that as quickly as possible um i' certainly offer Mr old an
opportunity to offer any comments if if you feel necessary I don't know what the delivery time frame is Tom do you off the top of your head thank you the time frame from signing to delivery is 7 to n months so it might go into
next year we might get that's the plan and I think it's a great investment and a great time so our our recommendation is that uh the commission authorized my myself to enter into the memorandum of agreement or
memorandum of understanding with Mr ol uh to work with the city attorney to finalize the agreement for purchase from the verden company to initiate the purchase of the proposed Bell Tower and proceed with all the necessary related actions to bring this to fruition um but just a really exciting project for for
Winter Haven all right thank you any questions I just say thank you for your contribution sir absolutely absolutely and this is one of those ones that uniquely aligns with um one of our quality of life pillars number 2.3 about
championing the Arts beautification uh and enriching the community so I think that that's pretty exciting as well all right thank you all right we are now to the uh
10 did we do the oh we did that one so we at resolution R 2510 so um 11a and 11b these are resolutions 2510 2511 so dot as you know accepts
application for transportation Alternatives multi-use Trail and Regional multi-use Trail projects the current application cycle includes funding for these types of projects in fiscal years 2627 through 3031 so the city's funding applications
would be submitted to the P County transportation organization the TPO which three of you serve on um as well as the Florida Department of Transportation for this cycle the city's applying for funding of two projects and this is a little unique a lot of times we're applying for these types of
projects that occur upon City owned ride roads um or complete Street projects in this case we're applying for two projects that are actually do roads so Cypress Gardens Boulevard and US 17 this is the layout of the Cypress Gardens
Boulevard section this is this particular one is approximately 1.7 miles long and goes from old Helena Road to Lake Florence Drive to uh water water View Way which is down at winter set
Condominiums the project here would install a 10-ft multi-use path on at least one side of the roadway provide infill sidewalks and locations where multi-use path is not constructed provide for Street trees improve the intersection at Legoland way install
Street lighting the estimated cost is approximately $4.24 million and this um this project and if AJ can you go to the US 17 one for me I think it's the next one so the US 17 this one goes from Third Street Southwest which
is um as you can see on the very south end at Cypress Gardens Boulevard all the way up to um to Havendale Boulevard uh it is about 2.8 miles in length this would include
projects such as removing porsch of that continuous Center left turn lane and replacing that with raised landscape islands that creates some beautification in that area it creates some traffic cing it certainly provides some areas of Refuge for people crossing the street um
it would widen existing sidewalks to a minimum of six feet upgrade existing Street lighting and the cost for this one's approximately 8.22 million these projects may look familiar to you as you uh think back to 2021 there were two
resolutions that were adopted by the city commission that endorsed the Cypress Gardens Boulevard and the US Highway 17 Vision plans respectively those were efforts that were taken on by the design studio with fdot and we worked very closely with them those
plans have never come to fruition because there hasn't been a project to advance them so um our recommendation is that we submit those to TPO under this program if if they're funded the expectation is that do would would be
the receiving agency of those funds and carry the projects forward um so that's what the the resolutions uh do in terms of advancing those for TPO consideration any
questions yeah got got one um so both of these corridors really have a lot of sidewalks already in place so are we just sprucing up those sidewalks or how what what do you envision that I'm gonna let MJ speak to that because he's more familiar with with what the vision plans
laid out yeah so and the vision plans are kind of early and conceptual right um so as you get into a DOT project there probably be some PDN and design they'll have to be design work on the front end of what you can actually fit but based on the community feedback um
on Cyprus Gardens Boulevard it was to really put in a multi-use trail something that is a little bigger maybe a little separated from the roadway um and then Highway 17 there's some places where the sidewalk gets really narrow so making sure that you know those areas are widened out so you're not on a 4- foot sidewalk right next to uh the edge
of traffic um so it's really it's really making the areas more pedestrian friendly overall um and then adding some traffic safety stuff along with that and so would you envision taking the existing sidewalk and just making that the multi-use trail or so in it depends
on uh on Cyprus Gardens Boulevard yeah it would probably be if you I think what that Vision plan had looked at was maybe Shifting the road some as you do that because if you're at um a big section of that Corridor is a very rural rideway you know a very rural
County Road rideway you got big drainage ditches on either side of the road so as you as you probably end up piping some of that storm water conveyance that creates some opportunity to tie in um and put those sidewalks maybe farther back from the road even if they exist right up against it
today uh will on the boulevard is there a reason why we're stopping where we're stopping and not going all the way up to Overlook Drive so this portion um when when do did this it started off as a safety analysis of that section of the roadway um so that's what this is based
on is based on their plan for that section of the roadway um we did there's another section of work that we did with do that goes from um basically Highway 17 back to overlook and so that's another effort that we're working through with the dot on um how to make
those improvements in that area final question would you envision this having a large traffic impact or would this be more off the road because when I hear infrastructure and adding changes I'd get Lake Albert vision and like oh we don't need that mess on Cypress Gardens
Boulevard um tough to say at this point I mean if you're doing a full intersection rebuild um that that has an impact um but in the long run traffic efficiency would be a piece of both of these two right how do you make move traffic more efficiently
do you change access points so that you know there's less less potential for conflict can we talk a little bit about 17 Highway 17 and what they're doing there you're saying that they're going to take out the middle no so one of the things that was recommended um was
creating pedestrian safe havens right so when you go across that a long stretch of road uh so there's some opportunities to take those middle turn lanes and add in um like a median that becomes a pedestrian Safe Haven halfway across the roadway not totally dissimilar from what
you see a little bit farther north on 17 near um New Beginnings High School you know they added that median in the middle of the road so that if you're trying to cross that Big Stretch there's a place you can stop before you cross the next line of traffic um and then just some upgrading Street lighting and
sidewalks and things like that in there nothing nothing really major in there but a lot of little improvements that make a big difference at the end of the day well I know when they changed at Havendale and 17 and they changed the lighting there it was a mess for a while not only that they have a small turn
lane left turn lane that loads up rather quickly and so the people in the center lane you couldn't get to the left lane to turn and so you backed up everything all the way back yeah I think that I think that's that's worked out um that was in the initial phase when they were
still running the roadway had been shifted but they were still running the old time timing on the signal and then once they got the new timing in the signal that was designed to work with the roadway as it is today that seems to have it does move a little faster now but it was really backed up for yeah that's that's those you know the
construction and the time it takes to make those improvements there's always friction that goes along with that but it's better in the long run because of it in fact that roadway is one of the few that I've seen that you start out with turned
lanes and then they go away but then before the light changes back it turns the turn Lanes come back on unusual timing is there anywhere else in the city I don't know of anywhere else that that you have a a repeat of a um
protected left had to like that but you know I think that when we look at this certainly you know for do to assess how do they how how best to do this I keep thinking back to when we did Cyprus Gardens Boulevard at First Street in US
17 and the absolute you know outcries we heard about a single northbound lane off of on First Street will never work and and I think if you've driven through that area that traffic flows a thousand times better than it did you know prior
to so um they're doing some creative stuff and I think the the repeat of that that left turn signal is is unique glad you mentioned that because when I first went through it I thought is the signal timing screwed up here why is it doing
this again um repeating itself but it it worked I'll tell you where they do it um when you go out um near um I see it when I go to Bach Tower alternate 27 down there that little gas station as you
come down behind Publix where the shalet Suzanne used to be that intersection does it it's weird yeah I do see that happen there so so does this have to it goes to the TPO so is this a project that would have
to ultimately go into the fiveyear work plan y this is just to get some momentum trying and get some momentum on it and this is their dot roads dot did these Vision plans it's trying to help get those prioritized within that dot work plan and as you get into design there'd
be a lot of opportunities to assess how have the corridors changed since this visioning was done um you know reather some public input things like that but yeah you're talking yeah get your work yeah but you got we get three votes
now right oh you might get into the 25y year work plan we we'll it's a good start okay all right so that's it for that we have uh ordinance first reading 12a certainly Eric would you like to
speak to this please sure um mayor Commissioners ordinance 2514 um this is a administrative request to amend our comprehensive plan um basically it's uh to amend our comprehensive plan to insert policies uh
regarding the central P par pulk Parkway East um corridors uh to add that Corridor to our transportation map series within our comprehensive plan and also insert language uh basically requiring staff to work um with uh with
projects that are in that Corridor to help preserve that um that project Corridor um as a de as developers come in not dissimilar to what we did with uh Villar if you think about that project we had Thompson Nursery Road that was on
the County's um CIP at the time and and we required the developer to dedicate right away for that Corridor um this is inserting language in our comp plan requ iring us to do the same with respect to the central par Parkway East
okay any question go ahead not a question on this but we're about to jump into a new quarter here second quarter of 2025 already is there any way we can because we just I know we get these updates on our heat map and our roads and all the work that we're putting
forth on our roads is it too much to ask to get a quarterly update of you know just where we are on our Maps what's been that way we just we're more on top of we get volumes yes well no our like
our road mapping that we're doing like condition of roads and you know okay y this Road's now been done this Road's now been done this Road's now been identified I just think ECI payment condition index yeah I just think a quarterly update is probably more
appropriate with even though I know things don't may may not move that fast probably semiannual might be more more effective for that mayor PRM just because we're not Paving roads every quarter we just we just get so many
Transportation you know phone calls and complaints and just having that kind of more on the top of our our minds I think it would be healthy and a good thing to just be aware of more frequently yeah we
can certainly give you a um uh pavement condition index update um we'll we'll gather one together here pretty quickly and then um certainly you're going to see a big change in that you know six months from now once we've gone through
because we do our TPI or tip work in the in the um in the summer months typically August September is when we're getting that done um it's a little more spread out now as we're using some different treatments micros surfacing and some of that but um let's see what we can put
together for for you I think that's just number one these days and so I think the more even if it even if it's not uh even if there's no update that's an update appreciate it one else all right
then we move on to uh the new business item grant and aid thank you Mr Mayor and um I'm gonna lead this off and and ask Katrina kind of tag team within me is she needs to I do want to thank and recognize uh the chairman of your Grant
Nate application Review Committee Mr Alex Santiago who's with us this evening um appreciate that uh taking time on his schedule to be here for agenda review so as you know we uh the committee the agenda Review Committee met back in November as they do every fall to review
the process and and bring forward some ideas on improvements uh they had identified four improvements or four changes that they would like to see the updating of the application timeline the elimination of the 40,000 single initiative funding category they were
requesting clarification from the city Commission on how to address funding requests from schools and the other established foundations and then also clarification from the commission regarding our the funding levels for those Legacy agencies which are noted in
your fact sheet of being uh Winter Haven public education partnership Girls Inc neighborhood service center Boys and Girls Club Meals on Wheels and the Haley Center those are those agencies that we fund historically at a higher level so back in November the commission had approved the update on the timeline and
the elimination of the $40,000 single initiative uh earlier this year in February we came before you and sought some guidance on the issue regarding funding of schools um and the the response that the consensus of the commission was to no longer provide
funding to schools through this program that those organizations have access to other governmental funds and benefit from other forms of support from the city um but that still wanted to to focus in on the nonprofits that support the schools such as kids pack as an example
or public education partnership uh there was also consensus to avoid funding organizations that had wellestablished foundations that receive support from the city through other means and instead focus on not for-profit agencies without existing robust fending funding
mechanisms already in place um in terms of the um how to move forward with the uh the Legacy partners and and the overall amount uh there was a desire from the commission to wait until the 20 fiscal
year 26 application window had closed uh to to consider those and that window has now closed so on March 15th just this past Friday the the grant Aid cycle did close so our staff is presently reviewing all the applications to do the
kind of the the due diligence piece of that um however we did receive this year 76 total applications that uh the requested Fund in total was $777,500
of those 76 36 are returning applicants meaning they've been with us before there were 40 new applicants um of the applications received again looking back to the total of 76 five of those are schools those are noted within your fa sheet
uh they combined for a total of $55,000 in requests 11 are organizations that are or have established foundations those totaled $68,400 in requests so you know over what over
$110,000 just from schools and those with foundations um the fact sheet notes that if you if you remove the school and Foundation applicants that are noted within the fact sheet the balance of the total request is
$654,500 uh last year our budget was 305,000 to start and I believe we ended up being around 314,000 316 um with some uh some accommodations the commission had
made so that's where we stand today um we do have the requests from the uh six individual agencies that we Define as Legacy agencies and their requests are consistent with the amounts funded in
Prior years so boys and girls club at 45,000 Girls Inc at 20 uh pep which is now the Learning Resource Center of P County so that's the pep education center on Avenue r that is again at 20,000 me on wheels at 20,000
neighborhood service center at 20,000 and the Haley Center um they're requesting actually 33 ,000 this year which is a $113,000 increase over prior years so I think where we're at in bringing this forward is just to
finalize some guidance from the commission on how to proceed with the funding requests from the schools and the other established foundations that that was the consensus we got we just would like some some firm Direction on that before the grant and aid committee re begins their review process and then
Direction on how to address the Legacy the applicants and the total amount that you would like to see us earmark for this program if we stay at the 35,000 or if you want to see that increase um I will app that uh we'll
take whatever direction that the commission gives I don't know what our budget is going to look like in total for fiscal year 26 certainly we all spent last week in Tallahassee and there is a pretty significant push to um
curtail Municipal revenues whether that's in the form of utility transfers uh in the elimination of search charges the uh capping or perhaps eliminating business tax receipts potential reductions in um
property tax and or expansion of Homestead exemptions and similar exemptions I just don't know what that's going to look like and so um I am cautious that if if it is in increased in amount that we're going to have to figure out how to do that based upon
what revenues we have in play we won't have a firm grip on that until probably sometime in June it and July is really when we know for certain so we just offered that up Katrina did you have anything to add
beyond that um they're like I said we're in that two- week window right now just reviewing all the applications to make sure if they you know they're missing something we can follow up with them so they can uh get that clarified for us you you may not know the answer to these
two questions then based on that comment but my first question is are the 36 returning applications were all 36 of those previously funded last year they were all funded in the current F cycle to some level yes to some level and then
the 40 new applications are those all city limits of Winter Haven applications are or are there outliers in those and like I said you may not know that just yet I think that's part of the review process and even if they're not city
limit agencies it's a matter of who are they serving right yeah so kids pack is not a City of Winter Haven agency right and that's what I I probably should have used better terminology there but servicing citizens that's the the main
thing we look at mayor protm is um who are you you know how who are you helping in this immediate Community it's the taxpayers dollars that are going towards this we want to make sure it's going back to residents of this community and we try to make a final decision on this
by when going into our budget well we we bring it back to you the Katrina do you know off the top of your head the dates of the GC meetings they in early may we bring a recommendation back the second meeting in May so well before any potential final a
coming out of the state right but the I think the the challenge mayor PRM is um I think there has to be some cap to it so that committee can make sound recommendations with it well I guess
where I was getting at was we could make a recommendation and provide that guidance however if if timing worked out and that's that's why I was asking the question was if timing worked out to where some of those funds some of those
things did pass the state that would greatly impact our our funding sources we could come back and say hey look we this was our intention but the funding is no longer there so we need to cut this back at that point so Pro kind of providing that guidance subject
to finalization from the state and that's we tell if we say it once we've said it a thousand times that um even once the commission vote or hears that item in late May or early
June as it has been um we we tell them that's not final nothing is final until the second meeting in September when a budget is passed because so much can happen in that window don't run off and
and think that okay we've we we made it through the grant Aid committee and the commissions heard it and they didn't have any concerns we have $10,000 coming our way that's all subject to what the final budget looks like um and when the checks are actually cut so we we make
that abundantly clear and I'm sure we've said it in every single one of our training programs and when the um when Alex addresses those that are in the audience when we do the grant and aid committee meetings if we do one or two same thing whatever whatever the
recommendation is here nothing is is final and firm until you have a second budget hearing and that's approved at that time Ma just T is uh what we whatever guidelines we may put forth
tonight they would have to be voted on by us on Monday on Monday yeah if the guidance of how you know so these folks can do their job okay I I just the the first thing are we going to fund
schools I think as a commission we had discussed that and the majority was no no all right so that's that's one thing we know that what about school foundations I think it was foundations in general and the consensus on that was
also no from the commission can I can I weigh in a couple things here oh yes well we just having a discussion no I know before we make a decision though I want to give you some perspective because we go through this with the county and we have this very discussion
every quarter about the TDC found and for arts and foundation and we did a study and I don't know 60% of the money went to companies like uh bck Tower and theater Winter Haven companies you know
operations that were very well established and if you give them $50,000 you know $50,000 are going to be spent exactly like what was put on their our application and and we we constantly are thinking why are we continuing to give the rich people more money but at the end of the day what we want is good
highquality Arts programming in po County and the organizations that give us really good high quality organizations and follow the follow the letters of the law you know they granted they have grant writers and they have people to do it but at the end of the
day that's what the TDC is trying to fund is good highquality Arts programming so is the reason that we would give more money to people that are doing it the right way instead of startups so and I think that might play in a way what I want to make sure that we do is is is not get so many people
applying that are brand new that are having hey I can go to the city and get money and help get my get my uh charity off the ground or whatever that we penalize the ones that we know are working you know what I mean so we've got some people in here boys club girls
club we know that we give them 50 Grand that money is being spent exactly the way we want it to be spent whereas if we give it to some new startup over here even though it's $2,500 we have so many people applying now if we if we water it down too much all the good organizations AR Gonna Get
Us much money see what I'm trying to get to didn't we establish a length of time $2500 I think in it um the most thing gets 2500 bucks the first year how much 5,000 oh 5,000 no I mean a link of time
that the entity has been in existence we don't have that no have to be they have to have their um their nonprofit status and they have to have be registered to do business in the State of Florida having said that I have no problem
eliminating schools because I've been in favor of that all along and and foundations for that matter but what I all I'm trying to say is um a new startup organization and if you're going to give them 10 grand and $8,000 is going to go to pay some
executive Sal executive director salaries to get this off the ground and no matter how worthy it may be may not be something that we want to consider or give as many points to as we would somebody that's already established and and if you give if you start giving
everybody that applies five grand or 10 grand then the really good companies don't get as much see what I'm saying so I got no problem taking the schools out I'm just saying if we if we start just doing blanket hey we're going to eliminate these people we might eliminate somebody that's doing
something really good for the people at Winter Haven I'm not so sure we shouldn't have a length of time yeah I agree I'm not saying component to yeah I agree I I think startups they should be around for a while and and that's
certainly something we can look at in next November because we didn't have an I think it would be it would be unfair and and not transparent to do that good to do it now Midstream so make a note of that to come back to that we've we've
come up with two things two things that we basically are in agreement with foundations and schools so that eliminates what 23 how much 123 300 so that
eliminate still at 65400 okay uh in sort of what you're saying uh commissioner danler I sort of like to stick with the Legacy agencies at the we
know we're getting with them you know what I mean they're they're doing a great job and we know what we get yeah so I personally would like to see them continue at their levels MH well so so you have one that has requested an
increase which I'm and actually two of them have requested an increase over what their level was last year so are you saying that those should only one only one one I would keep them right where they are if it was oh I gotta they historically several years back receiv
received 33,000 from us and then they missed an application cycle which is why they went back down to 20 so I think that's where that just from Context for the request I don't I don't have any issue with that I think the question at hand is though we we're still at 654
with a budget at 305 how much are we willing if any to increase from that 305 budget yeah well I'm I'm just sort of backing my way into it from this given the committee until to come back but uh
with these Legacy agencies I would keep their funding even though they want a $133,000 increase I wouldn't increase that's just me I'm just saying so everybody else is so I guess my point is everybody else is still requesting about
500,000 in total 509 and and if you that's that's the balance of everything else that's out there so if you back out those Legacy those six but I'm thinking that I don't know if if some of those agencies when
they look at them they may not even recommend funding them well just because we set a budget doesn't mean they have to meet that budget they could always make the recommendations and come in under budget which they did last year yeah yeah so that's what I'm saying but
I think the the three biggest things is what we just sort of in agreed to to give them directions and then when they come back what T needs is a number if we decide to number if we would raise it by 10% they're you're at 335,000 so we
decide hey the most we're going to do is 335 5 T's got a number to put in the budget right yeah and then we then we can later kind of figure out how we're going to divy it up whether we want and the committee has that number to work kind of back that's what I think Alex is after and the fact that we don't want to
do schools I think that's another thing that he wants to take back to his committee I think in foundations I think I think we can kind of agree on that and then say you got 335 Max to abuse and or if you want I'm just saying if you want
to do a 10% bomb yeah I just the the thing is is that uh if it and I think that would be the way to for us all to agree is a percentage of what we did last year and
my question uh to T would be um whatever amount if we now this is if we agree that we're going to give our
I'm going use a just a a hypothetical number say if we decide we gonna give $400,000 and that's what the committee is working with it would really not be good for
us if we later on say that we're going to reduce from $400,000 I would be more inclined to set an amount that we know we can fund regard regardless of what happened in
Tallahasse now that's just me well last year was 305 316 316 yeah that's what you actually gave we started I'm let me apologize let me let me correct that we start with the budget of 305 we had some
um some questions that came before GC they turned money back into the commission and chose not to fund a handful of agencies that we then presented to you and based upon the amount the commission thought those agencies should be we got to 316 me just
let me just throw this out um and I I think this is reasonable with the understanding of nothing is final until a budget's approved you could look at a 10% increase on 316,000 that gives you a budget of
$347,000 600 once you back out your legacy agencies that you've just talked about at the amounts that they were funded last year it gives the grant nade committee approximately $200,000 to consider the applications
that are before them it's an increase I think it's manageable um but of course it's subject to what actual revenues allow and if everybody has to take a haircut once we know what revenues are then everybody takes a haircut 5% takes
us to 331 let's just do 10 10% 347 one time I do know one time up here that we really did have to go back cut them in half and reduce we cut half or more truth be known when
somebody's asking for 10 grand and they're only going to get three grand it it it may not help them you see what I'm saying you can cut we can cut down so much that the grant that we give them really doesn't do what they're asking to do that's what we grapple with with the
Arts is people that are asking for 40 Grand and we give them 10,000 they really can't even do their project so the so as the committee is reviewing those these applications they could certainly take that into consideration and the fact that if they're asking for
x amount of dollars to do we we ask for a cost right of of what they're asking for and if the committee deems like you know it's a $20,000 cost so giving him $5,000 isn't it's helpful but it's not helpful
and it's not going to go to what they're asking for then you would just eliminate that from the pool we ask them in their application as well um you know the amount they're asking for what would you do if you were funded less right so that they they have to be contemplating that
and so that's something that the committee can contemplate as well to make it a and we may not be the only agency that they're asking for money right we asked that question as well so are we start in agreement on a
10% I mean we'll get I think formal direction from you on Monday but this I think this conversation has been fantastic and and I'm sure that Alex appreciates is okay I talk Lou uh um this kid is a guy like T Michael was saying we just
need a guideline um and we always and I'll always I'm I'm from telling them this is you know just a guideline here and what you request is not what you know you might not get but this just helps us and I think I like what uh
danor is saying about the uh and something that we'll look at it's the length because you mind I looked at the list a new list of all the people to apply and this some that are uh they just started yesterday well you know
we're not you know we we're not going to probably we're going to look at it but you know they got to be serious about it and I agreed that the length of time and that's why we went ahead and wanted to get the legacies because that way we didn't mess with we didn't have to think about them they've been around for a
long time and we know they're going to use the money wisely right so I do agree on that but we just want a guideline so can start looking at this and I really appreciate okay so T Monday night how
would this be written up I mean just as is and we'll be asking for um consensus on how to approach the uh the Legacy partners and how to approach the budget I'm just saying we already know so then how do we just we'll need a motion to
that effect Monday Monday yeah okay I appreciate the dialogue this has been right excellent anything else I just add Alex thank you for your time and your leadership on this committee
and thank you very much appreciate your service sir and your check is in the mail Martha has [Laughter] it all right so anything
else all right not for me sir thank you um just a I will let you remind you that uh I'll be out in the office tomorrow and Mr carnavali will be running point should you uh have anything you need all right there's no further business we stand to join oh so we'll wish you a
happy birthday your birthday's on