City Council - Regular Meeting

Order the City Council meeting of July 6, 2026. Call to order. Roll call.

Mayor DePue.

Present.

Councilwoman Gillis. Here. Councilman Thomas. Here. Councilwoman Dalbo. Here. Councilman Rainbird.

Here.

City Manager Mahoney.

Present.

City Attorney Sabatini.

Here.

Interim City Clerk Tupin. Present.

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Please remain standing for a moment of silence. Item two, approval or changes or modifications to the agenda. I would like to move up 11C. It's the Daughters of the American Revolution. believe that they're here to give a presentation. 11C, AR-2026-0194, request for guidance regarding the design of the well at the Kennedy boat ramp as a historical and involved to the Daughters of the American Revolution. They want to do a project there, so I don't think we need to keep them waiting all night. So perhaps can we move it above item 9 before public hearing after the consent agenda? you're the mayor okay great amen i will item three approval of the minutes item 3a regular meeting february 2nd 2026 and april 6 2026. it should be may 4th may 4th 2026 regular meeting comments questions or deletions is there a motion to approve i make a motion to approve regular meeting may 20 may 4th 2026. citizens comments Is there a second? Second, Rainbird. Roll call.

Mayor DePue? Yes. Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

Item four, presentation of proclamation of plaques, certificates, and donation. None at this time. Item five, city manager's report.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I just have a couple things to share. As you know, we had the 4th of July event this weekend. It went really well. It was well attended. Overall, a great event. But I want to publicly thank all our staff. They did a great job pulling that event together. And like always, it was amazing. So just wanted to thank all our staff. And then I wanted to recognize our team member of the month. This month is Kathleen Caputillo. So it's my pleasure to recognize Kathleen as our team member of the month. Kathleen has consistently gone above and beyond her regular responsibilities while continuing to excel as the code enforcement administrative assistant. She stepped in to support our parks and recreation department during a critical period. She assisted with training a newly promoted employee, implemented new workflow procedures to improve efficiency, and eliminated a significant backlog of outstanding work. She also played an important role in coordinating two city events, the Earth Day event and the Laser Light Show, ensuring vendors, event logistics, and required documentation were all in place. Kathleen's ability to multitask, remain organized, Adapt to changing priorities and provide support across multiple departments has helped ensure smooth operations and successful outcomes. She consistently demonstrates a strong work ethic, positive attitude, outstanding teamwork. Any willingness to step in whenever she's needed her exceptional performance, flexibility and dedication exemplify the values of the city of edgewater and make her highly deserving of this recognition. Ms. Kathleen cannot be here this evening, but she's a great employee, and she just was promoted to office manager for our Parks and Works department.

Great. Let's give her a round of applause. Thank you for your service.

And that's all I have at this time.

Thank you, sir. Item six, citizens' comments. This is time for the public to come forward with any comments they may have. Citizens' comments related to any agenda matter may be made when the matter is before the city council. Please state your name and address, and please limit your comments to three minutes or less.

Robert DeVoe, 232 North Ridgewood Avenue. I'm here first off for three things. One is to thank the City of Edgewater Fire Department and EMTs for their professionalism and courtesy for an event we had in a placement place on June 18. And also to the Chief of Police and her officers for their professionalism, courtesy, and just compassion. You hear a lot of bad things about police, but Mr. Thank you, I want to say. Two is I want to thank Mr. Mahoney, Ms. Gillis, and you, Mayor, and stuff, and Mary for contacting me about the stormwater runoffs there behind our complex and stuff. Mary spent a couple hours with me. I still haven't gotten all the answers, but I'm getting there and stuff. And three is If we want to stop the development, a lot of these developments were approved before you guys were on the board and stuff. The city doesn't have enough money to fight these lawyers and stuff. My thing in talking to the mayor or the young man that does for the properties and everything, why can't you just not approve anything? that comes now. Let the stuff that's already been improved get built and see where we are. I mean, all you got to do is go on the side of K and New Smyrna, all these restaurants are closed down. If the people don't want to build there that's already there, bye. You go to a motel to get a room, you don't get to pick your room. You get what's vacant and what's available. So why can't we do that? Let us finish with everything that's been approved that y'all didn't have any business, you know, you didn't have any doings with it. Instead, I would see where we are and let us approve of anything that may happen after that and then go from there. I see you all buying the property and everything else, and that's fine for us to have at times. But then again, if you look at the property here on Riverside, what it sells for, half a million dollars for an acre, where they build a house, this property would be a hell of a lot more. But like I said, keep it and stuff. Don't build, and don't have people go to build a new building. You got the bad cop building. Somebody wants to come in here with a store, there it is. Buy that. It's already there. They want to tear it down and rebuild, that's fine. It's all that same property. But instead of bulldozing down to the streets and the trees and everything else, utilize what we have. And then see where we are, how much more infrastructure repairs need to be done, what kind of storm water needs to be done before you just keep on adding pennies to the roll that gets to be $1 and you're overflowing. That's all my comments.

Thank you. Well, thank you, sir, for your comments. I appreciate it.

Chuck Martin, 2-5 Cherrywood Lane. Otherwise, Dennis Edgewater-Chuck. I wanted to thank our police department, fire department, and our parks and rec for putting on an awesome event. It went off flawlessly. I want to thank them very much. I want to thank the council. But on the campaign trial, I've been asked some questions, and we're going to clarify a couple things tonight. Campaign contributions. Everybody knows that, well, not everybody, but you do know that any penny in my account comes out of my paycheck. I work for a living, and I work hard. I don't take money from anybody. So we're going to talk about the three candidates, Diesel DePue, Charlotte, and Debbie. Debbie has approximately $600 in her account. Diesel's collected about $17,865. Charlotte, $8,265. So I would want to ask them, Charlotte and Diesel, why they felt compelled to accept a $1,000 campaign contribution from the Sabatini law firm. With that much money in your account, Obviously, it's legal. Mr. Sabatini is a very smart man. But I would like to hear from anybody up there. If you think it's ethical, why would you accept it? I mean, why was it offered? I know that Rain Bird and Diesel and Charlotte voted to bring them on board. Makes about, I don't know, $13,000 a month. It's good money. But I believe Debbie voted to keep the attorney that we had. I don't think she got $1,000. Did you get $1,000? No? So I'm going to give you my last 50 seconds while you felt compelled to take the money, and if you two feel it's ethical.

May I chip in, Mr. Mayor?

Well, if we wish to answer that, let's answer it during Council Commons, but sure.

If you'd like to say something. It's etiquette for this board not to answer questions from the public at this time.

Thank you, sir.

That's kind of how I thought it was going to go. Thank you.

Are there any further citizens comments?

Hi, my name is Dwight Cunningham. I live in 3044 Travis Palm Drive, Edgewater, Florida. The concern that I have as a candidate is purposely embellishing their qualifications by failing to fully describe their experiences in education or lack thereof and job requirements. Again, at the council meeting on June 1st, This gentleman said he had 44 years of experience in the public works operations that include building and road construction and facilities infrastructure. However, the candidate lists on their Facebook page the following. He lists education as New Smyrna Beach High School class of 1982. So that's the only education that he's listed here. He also listed employment as a flood control specialist from June 29, 1987 to present for 38 years and 11 months of experience. Now as a flood control specialist is defined as professionals who plan, design, and manage systems to prevent and mitigate flood damage. Florida states specific educational certifications and requirements to be a flood control specialist. Education requirements may include degrees in an associate's or bachelor's degree in urban planning, civil engineering, environmental science, geography, or public administration. Specific certifications include minimum two years full-time experience as a floodplain management, experienced and completed a FEMA course managing floodplain development through the National Flood Insurance Program. Additional state-specific certifications requirements include as a Florida stormwater erosion, sediment, and control inspector, and as a certified coastal floodplain construction inspector. Both of these positions mentioned above require experience in training and regulatory knowledge, including the National Flood Insurance Program, We also list as employment operating engineer.

Now, there's two definitions for operating engineer.

It could be either a heavy equipment operator defined as a technically skilled professional who drives, maintains, and troubleshoots heavy machinery at construction sites, or operating engineer could be a professional licensed engineer. The role leads towards design and offers project oversight. This is the relevant experience. represented by not differentiating between the two definitions of operating engineer with 38 years of experience that he listed as a flood control specialist. So to summarize, the said candidate unquestionably purges himself. He is not a qualified flood control specialist because he lacks the education and managerial qualifications for the job title. And number two, he deliberately omitted the information about the title of operating engineer, a.k.a. equipment operator versus professional engineer, for his qualifications for 38 years of experience in flood control. His only experience includes being employed as a heavy equipment operator to install facilities under the direction of a licensed professional engineer providing direct project oversight, nothing more. Thank you.

Thank you, sir, for your comments.

They're appreciated. Okay, on to council comments, item seven. I'll go first. First, had a wonderful 4th of July celebration. It was great to have a booth out front, speaking with residents, talking about their concerns. Party spoke with the city manager and our chief of police. It's going to be even better next year. Just one thing, too. Very very proud to say that congressional has finally approved. We are definitely getting our 1.7 million dollar in appropriation funds the very first time this community has ever received federal appropriations funds for stormwater back in our community to help alleviate our stormwater problem and help funding our stormwater master plan. I want to thank our congressional representative, our lobbyists, along with our city manager who made this happen. So $1.7 million is coming back to our community from a federal level. Very glad to have that relationship with our congressman and federal relationships. We've always had an outstanding business award, and I just want to bring that back up. I don't think we've had one yet this year. We were doing it once a quarter. So let's just bring that back if we can I don't think we need consensus because we voted on that a while ago We almost skipped have an outstanding citizen for the parade. So let's let's get that back I'm just gonna say I'm sick. I mean a Mr. Thomas, how many how many years have you been on the City Council? I Have you ever seen anything like this?

About what?

About misinformation in the community. Somebody walking up to a resident speaking totally false information. I have a developer vote. I'm funded by the developers. Number one, if you're so scared of campaign contributions, they're public. They're public. You can look and see who's donated. Anybody on this council, anybody in the state of Florida on a local level. I have not taken a dime of developer money, number one. Number two, all the misinformation facts around this community and a candidate going into these businesses and threatening them is totally wrong. It's never happened in our community history, and it shouldn't continue. There should be decency in this town. We have two great mayor candidates along with myself in the race. They're both great individuals. I would never speak anything ill will about them personally. And there's so much misinformation, so much groups going around, and I'm sick and tired of it. Somebody in this community is going up to 100 individuals saying that I'm a developer pocket and everything else. Everybody knows on the city council that I voted against any kind of large major subdivisions. The only one on this council that has. Let's stop with the misinformation and let's bring decency back to the community and stop with the lies. And you know what? If there's an ethical thing that went on, An individual in this community calls the ethnic board all the time because I had somebody call and check in to see if there were any ethnic complaints because somebody in the community stopped them saying there were several against me, not a one. And she called them and said, oh, there's one individual, one guy in the community that calls here all the time about this and there hasn't been one found him. So no, there is no ethical person. I'm an ethical mayor. You guys just want to go after me because I'm fighting for the residents. I'm fighting for them, fighting against their utility rate to not be raised, fighting against overdevelopment, and fighting for the residents. And I'm sick and tired of it. We need to bring decency back to this community. It's sad what one group is doing. That's all I have to say. And the podium should not be used for political measures. That's all I have to say. It's sad in this community. And so many negative signs across the town. It's ridiculous. Run on yourself. Run what you want to do for the community. Don't run on negativity. It's ridiculous. Amen. Please, no. We're not doing public participation at this time. No public participation. Councilwoman Gillis.

I mean, you said a lot of things that I wanted to say, but kind of changed the topics and the people. So I'll start off at the beginning. We're going to go through my laundry list. There we go. So I attended the Kudas Unhooked summer send-off. We always appreciate Kudas Unhooked. I attended our Edgewater Police Department banquet. We honored a lot of officers, but I really wanted to give a special congratulations to Vinny Castellano, who got the David Jewell Officer of the Year Award, and Scott Gabory, who's Supervisor of the Year. And I again want to thank Brian Gintz for his 28 years of service. I attended our Volusia Flagler TPO meeting, and I attended our budget workshop. i attended i had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at the tortugas game for edgewater and oak hill night with mayor ricky taylor of oak hill but i also toured blue line automotive's new building and because i wanted to talk about them they are a great business that utilizes so many other local businesses when they were building their new location and i appreciate local business businesses helping each other i think it's a beautiful thing The 4th of July was a great event. I was very thankful that the rain kind of held up I think it drove some of the crowd away, but we still had a really good time I met with many residents about concerns and Then I wanted to I was going to give a shout out to wild thorn dairy will piece pest control cub cooling above and beyond true care so many other businesses that have reached out to different events going on looking to see how they can help into the community and the last one I want to name is going to be tailgaters and And I'm very, very thankful for them. They have two fundraisers coming up that I want to touch on. On July 11, they are having a cornhole tournament for Carrie Hudico, who's a local mom. And she works in the school system. And she's battling cancer. And they are doing a cornhole tournament. And they're also accepting raffle baskets and different things to help raise money for her. And then the following weekend is going to be July 18. And it's another charity cornhole tournament. that is gonna be for Aaron coverage of cup cooling and he has done so much for the community and he had some medical issues and they are working on getting him recovered and they're doing that for him and I'm just throwing this out there if any businesses want to Donate time or anything to that event or I'm just inviting everybody to come on down and help support locals I wanted to talk about that I'm gonna and then that's the last thing I have to say about things I've done I'm thankful for Mayor Depew speaking up on the other issues because I have gotten a lot of similar concerning phone calls from residents, and I've tried to be quiet about it and bite my tongue as best I can. And thank you. I think we need to bring, I mean, be kind. You can run on your own merit. You don't need to be a bad mouth in the other people.

And if there's any policy issues that you'd like to discuss about what I voted against or not, bring it forward. Don't talk about somebody as an individual go after their family and everything else. Just wrong.

I have had people bring up my husband, my children, and I think it's disgusting, and I'm just going to leave it at that. There's places where some things have happened that have made me feel unsafe, and I should not feel that way in my town. So I'm going to leave it at that. Thank you.

And Councilman Thomas.

How can I follow that? I enjoyed the fireworks. When was it? Two days ago. And, but you know what I noticed? And this is to say something for our whole community, is you saw how many cops and firemen were walking around. Well, it wasn't the usual. They were mingling together, and they were talking. It wasn't the cops over here and the public over here. They were talking and communicating, and I loved it. That's what we strived years and years and years ago instead of being called the, what was it, the... What kind of? Not very nice. Anyway, anyway, I was very excited to see that and the public getting along. And they said I was gonna stay out of the political, but I can't help. How many here people on Facebook? or look at Facebook, how many people here believe Facebook? You know, if you believe Facebook, I don't know what to tell you. But anyway, just and, but, and I'm gonna make a joke. I hope I don't offend anybody. But I think we ought to give award to the person who has the most political signs in their yard. I've never seen anything like it, but it's all good. But one thing that Diesel and Charlotte both said, if you want to run for the council and you want to get attacked and you want to have bad things, say about you, come on up here. But run on your own merits. What you did, what you accomplished, whatever they did, that's in their past. It's all skeletons. And you don't want to bring that up. You want to run on your merits. So, thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Councilwoman Dawa.

I'm going to keep it short. It's been a long night. I want to thank the city, all the employees for all their hard work, getting the fireworks together. It was an amazing event. A lot of happy residents, and it was nice. I wasn't able to walk the whole event, but I had a tent there, and I talked to a lot of people, met a lot of people, so I appreciate that. And I also attended the AMVETS wishing America a 250-year birthday. It was a great event, very patriotic. And it was interesting to hear the stories of where people were during the bicentennial, 1996. Where were you? What were you doing? What do you remember about that time? And then you think forward, OK, in 50 years, we'll be celebrating the 300th birthday. And we will again be thinking, it won't be us. Well, maybe you guys, younger kids, but not me. What were the people? during this time, what were they doing? Were we worrying about our land? We worry about our community. We worry about our residents. We're making good choices, fiscal responsibilities, keeping freedom and our right to live and bear arms and all those good things. Will they look back on us and say that we did a great job defending our freedoms in America? I hope so. But it was a great event. And that's why I want to say happy birthday, America.

Yeah, I want to keep it short too. The most important thing I did, 4th of July was great, 250 years ago. Brought to you by Armed Citizens. Just want to say that I attended my required municipal training the do's and don'ts and half of the session we were there we were there with council people and mayors and attorneys from all over Florida they only do this like three times a year and the main focus was the ballot in November if you vote to take away your property taxes. And it's a pretty interesting thing what the possibilities are. They predict that 15% of the cities in Florida will dissolve or go back to county. And I believe they estimated they went around the room and they asked everybody what city they're from. And when they got the edge order, they said, you're going to lose $5.6 million in the first round and I think $7 million in the second round. So just so you know, that's what's coming up. And then I want to address something else, too, as far as my vote for the city attorney. I asked our former city attorney during the Lennar lawsuit, Mr. City Attorney, what's the possibilities and will we be sued? He goes, oh yeah, we'll be sued. And it'll be my duty to represent this city to the best of my ability. After the lawsuit was done, he did nothing. He said, well, my job was just to be there as an observer. So why didn't you tell us that? You told me right here on this dais, on video, I'm going to defend this city to the best of my ability. Well, that wasn't good enough for me. You could have told us you couldn't represent us, and we could have got another attorney to represent us. Luckily, that went well. And that's why I made my decision. That man was one of the last bids left. No offense, but I like the Vols law firm. Not for nothing, the Vols people, they were awesome. Very expensive. They pulled out last minute. So Mr. Sabatini, welcome aboard. I'm proud that I voted for you. So far, you're doing a great job. And then the other thing I got to address is this has really got me so pissed off. That man's developer vote? It's my vote, folks. Guy was in Publix taking a side saying, hey, see this boat? I ran the hull number, which I think is illegal. The hull number comes up to a developer in South Florida. That pontoon boat is a 2013 with a ripped bimini. I hope a developer is going to give out a better boat than that, folks. That man's driving my boat. I never heard such a bigger bullshit story in my life.

Well, thank you for letting me use your boat. Hopefully that won't change. I thought you were going to buy it.

God damn. I'm sorry, folks. I'm like sitting here. Underneath my neck is red, isn't it? You want to see a redneck? Here's a redneck.

Look, we have a lot of great people and a lot of great candidates running and a lot of great people that have given back to this community that should just be running on their merits. You have one guy that has a lot of experience on sports team. You have one guy that has volunteered countless hours in the community and one that's native and lived here. There's a lot of great people to choose from. We should be thankful. We shouldn't be bashing anybody and running on what we want to do for the community. Item nine, item, and I'm sorry to make it, this was made political. Council meetings never should. Item eight, consent agenda. All matters listed under the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the city council, will be acted upon by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless discussion is desired by a member of the council, in which case the mayor will move that item for the consent agenda, and such items will be considered separately. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

Make a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Second.

Second.

Seconded by, I believe, Mr. Rainbird. First, roll call.

Mayor DePue?

Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes. All right, something positive. We agreed to move 11C forward first, which includes the wishing well discussion with DAR. 11C, AR-2026-0194, request for guidance regarding the designation of the well at Kennedy Boat Ramp as a historic and to involve the Daughters of American Revolution staff report.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. A request has been made by the Daughters of the American Revolution, D.A.R.D., as the acronym to seek historic designation for the Welley-Kennedy Park boat ramp. In order to get the structure designated, city staff and D.A.R.D. will need to complete the Florida Master Site File, inclusive of the in-number assignment form and the historic structure form. Once these are approved and completed, we can then apply for the National Register. of historic places. City staff are seeking guidance from the council.

Thank you, sir. Open a public hearing. Is the applicant present?

Good evening. My name is Sandra Shope and I am here representing the Jane Sheldon chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Our chapter members come from New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and Oak Hill. The DAR, as we are called, is one of the largest women's service organizations in the country. Our mission is to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. I'm proud to say that our chapter gives a high school senior a scholarship every year in recognition of good citizenship work that they do in their community as young people so they can continue their education. This year, we're celebrating our chapter centennial, and I am honored to be the centennial chair. We would like to undertake the renovation of Edgewater's Flow Well as our historic preservation project in celebration and commemoration of our centennial. We're here today requesting approval from the city council to undertake renovation of the well in collaboration with the city. The proposed improvements will bring more visibility to the well and to its history. We appreciate the time Mr. O'Keefe has taken to bring this project to this point. He's given us many suggestions as we have developed our proposal for doing this joint project. Thank you for your consideration of this project. We look forward to working with the city on this historic preservation project if you decide to proceed that way. Jennifer Fox, who is our chapter treasurer and an Edgewater resident, will give a brief overview of the project. Thank you.

OK. Thank you, Sandy. I'm going to begin with a brief history of the well here in Edgewater. I don't know how many people really are familiar with how it came about and what it is all about. I know a lot of people, even residents of Edgewater don't even know it exists. It's kind of hidden. It's kind of, uh, no one really knows what it is, but here we go. This is an artesian well, which means it's an ever flowing well out of the aquifer. It was driven in the 1870s and people came from all over to get fresh water from this well, even though it was that stinky sulfur stuff, it was still fresh water. It was for them and for their livestock or any other animals that they had in their possession. But it became the public watering hole. I mean, people would come from all over and they'd meet and they'd talk and they'd share stories. And it was very, very much a public presence in the community in Hawks Park. By 1920s, second photo, people were still coming to this well, as you can see in the upper photo there. Even though they had their own wells in their backyard, they came for the sulfur water, thinking it had health benefits. And still they gathered, and they would tell stories and visit. That was a source of entertainment back then. Then in the 1950s, the structure was changed. It became the wishing well in the bottom there. And that photo still had the pipe with the flowing water, so the artesian well was still active. But they erected the structure with a roof and made it the wishing well. Shortly after that photo was taken, they abandoned the well. And it no longer had the flowing water. Back in the 1980s, the next photo, the city contacted Cedar Park Nursery and Stone in Port Orange and had them rebuild the well. The original coquina rock surrounding the pipe with the water really was not properly mortared, and the rocks were disappearing. So, Cedar. Cedar Park. They came in and rebuilt a new well, properly mortared, but they filled the center of it in because no water was used to hold water. And those are photos that I actually got from Dennis at Cedar Park. And then the following photo is a photo that was presented to me, provided to me by the City of Edgewater. All of this history is why our chapter has decided to restore this well. We want to keep it in Edgewater. We want to keep it a part of Edgewater's history, and we want to call it to the attention of the community. So we intend to, would like to partner with the city and do just that. Next photo. And what we want to do is create a water feature. Number one, by removing 12 inches of the center area of the existing well and create a watertight basin. Installing electricity and water for the fountain. Removing the existing roof and install a beam at the top of the two existing uprights. Create a bucket mimicking the style used in the turn of the century which will be hung from the top beam. This bucket will be the fountain head and water will flow through it to it through a water line installed along the beam and down the upright post. We also want to remove a palm tree that's in the vicinity of the well to create more area, number one, to make the well more visible to the public, and number two, to make the area larger for people to come and visit and view. And then we want to install a bench to welcome people to stop and enjoy the area. And last, the next picture, we want to install this informative bronze plaque, which will be installed on a large coquina stone set somewhere near the well, which again gives a brief history, calls attention to the well again, and lets people understand what the meaning of this historical site is. And hopefully As Ryan says, we can get this registered with the state as a historical site for the City of Edgewater. I thank you. I thank you for your approval on this project, and we are excited to move forward. We would like to have an installation early September, at which time we will have a dedication ceremony. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Fox.

for your comments and all that DAR does. I remember being really young, going to First Baptist and taking what we would call a field trip across the street to the wishing well and learning the history about it. So I think it'll be a great thing for the community, and DAR is a wonderful chapter. We thank you for your time. Open a public hearing, citizens' comments. OK, back to council comments.

I think it's fantastic. Goosebumps.

I thank you for this history that you gave us tonight. It's fantastic. And thank you for investing in Edgewater and investing in our history. And I think this is a fabulous project, and I'm excited to see the end result.

Thank you. Is there a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve AR2026. Second. 0194, request of guidance regarding the designation of the well at Kennedy Boot Ramp as historical and to involve the daughters of the American Revolution.

Second, Rainberg. Roll call.

Mayor DePue? Yes. Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainberg?

Yes.

Item 9, public hearing ordinance. We thank you again. Item 9, public hearing ordinances and resolutions. Second reading, ordinance number 2026-0-06. Requests to amend Article 2, Article 6, Article 17, and Article 20 of the City of Edgewater's Land Development Code to create a new sign code. Staff report.

Mayor, Council, this is the second reading. Per your conversation and direction at the last meeting, the change was made regarding poll signs with the language changing to non-conforming poll signs on the Ridgewood corridor shall not be enlarged or replaced without complying with the provisions of this code. These non-conforming poll signs may be altered to allow for a change of the copy area.

Thank you, sir. Open to public hearing, citizens' comments. Council comments. This is a great thing. Very glad that we all agreed unanimously to move this forward to an ordinance. Is there a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve second reading of ordinance number 2026-0-06. Request to amend article 256. Okay, I'm messing up with all the Roman numerals here of this in the city's Edgewater Land Development Code to create a new sign code. Second.

There was a motion by Councilman Gillis, second by Councilwoman Dalbo. Roll call.

Mayor Depew? Yes. Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas?

Yes.

Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainford?

Yes. Item 9B, second reading, Orders Number 2026-0-12, Permitting the Ownership and Housing of Chickens in Residential Area Staff Report.

Mayor Council, this is the second reading. There has been no changes to the ordinance.

Thank you. Open to public hearing. See if there's comments. council comments oh there is one citizen comment that's okay was there a citizen comment um if you could just state your name and address for the record please not comfortable listing my address

I'm here to talk to the number of backyard chickens that we'd like to be able to hold in Edgewater. I understand that the idea might be taxing to some as far as the idea of the odor or the noise. But most other countries and other cities in our area, some much smaller than ours, have found that the noise ordinance is actually much less than having a dog that goes in and out of your backyard. Due to the idea that roosters are really the only loud part of chickens, chickens do make noise, of course, but nothing in the sense of a rooster. hoping the idea that we do ban roosters. We wouldn't actually have any problem in it. A small flock is considered to be much quieter than most places. Backyard chickens also provide real benefits. They produce farmed fresh eggs, help reduce household food costs, naturally control insects, which is a bigger problem that we're having in Edgewater than I think most realize, create a rich dense compost for our gardens. They also teach children responsibility. especially right now as big as STEM schools are getting with the hopes of getting our own put in evidently soon. This probably will be a huge part of our STEM school and something that we'd be able to bring home to the children and be able to have something at their house to show. During the times when grocery prices are continuing to rise, allowing a few hens to give residents another way to provide for the families that are relying entirely on the grocery store is probably one of the biggest things we can give our community. Responsible owners should be allowed the opportunity, while creating a genuine nuisance, should be held responsible and accountable. We already regulate dogs, pools, sheds, and many other things that live in our residentials. Property rights are important. Unless an activity creates a legitimate nuisance or a safety issue, homeowners should be allowed to have the responsibility to use their property, especially given to the fact that it is one of our biggest constitutional rights. This proposal isn't asking everyone to own chickens. We understand if you don't like them, and it's okay. It's simply asking that those who want to keep a few hens responsible be allowed to, under clear and enforceable rules. Edgewater has always valued community independence and practical solutions, allowing backyard hens to reflect those values. It gives residents more freedom while still allowing them to protect the character of our neighborhoods.

That's it. Thanks.

Thank you, ma'am, for your comments. I appreciate it. okay by the council comments did i ever tell you guys chicken poop is hot you did last time is there a motion to approve did it get a second reading it got approved the first time correct

Yeah, I'd just like to say something. I'm happy it's moving forward. And the ordinance that Chas has put in place, it's great guidelines, how to do it, what to do it. It's an investment. It's a lot of work. And I think it's great for the children who are going to learn how to take care of an animal, like a cat or a dog. I expect the same thing. And of course, eggs. And I'd like to look back at a year and see where we are. And from what I understand, we already have a lot of chickens in Edgewater. Anyhow, this kind of just makes it official. And I've gotten so many emails and phone calls, pro and con. Most are for the chickens. I've had a few. And I understand there are concerns with rats and snakes and other varmint. But we'll take it one step at a time. And we have code enforcement here to help us if something arises. I'm happy it's moving forward, and let's get a chicken.

I had one negative. But like you stated, since we have an ordinance now, it should be easier to enforce. We have something to go upon, just rather than, oh, you can't have them. Because like you said, there are quite a few. Less government. Exactly.

We all know I'm excited.

Are you getting a chicken, Charlotte?

I don't have any. It doesn't matter to me. I just know. I've raised every animal there is a raise I guarantee and chickens are the most nastiest of any animal. You're attracting rats and varmints and snakes and coyotes and coons and everything. I think that's going to be the worst problem more so than the chickens. I mean, I don't I had one guy call me and said that his house next to his has got chickens now and they're creating a rat problem when the rats are in his house now. and he's having to get an alligator to contact me.

We don't know how many they have and if they're taking care of them properly. This allows it to be right now if you call and then they get taken away versus letting the people who are good owners and are taking care and doing everything the right thing to do.

Like I said, I don't want to take away from a person's rights. I'm just telling you my experience with chickens.

This gives a strong regulation.

I grew up on a farm. We had a big chicken coop, and trust me, it's a lot of work.

Oh, yeah. There's no question about that.

It was fun. It was fun. Got chased quite a bit often, but that's another story.

Is there a motion to approve?

Go ahead.

Oh, sorry. I make a motion to approve second reading of ordinance number 2026-0-12, permitting the ownership of housing of chickens in residential areas.

Second, Rain Bird. Roll call.

Mayor DePue? Yes. Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas?

No.

Councilwoman Dalbo?

Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

I'm not see first reading orders are 26 that's your that's a 7 request annexations apart by the 8, 4, 12, slash, 0, 2, slash, 0, 8, slash, 0, 0, 10, 8, 4, 12, slash, 0, 2, slash, 0, 8, slash, 0, 0, 4, 0, and 8, 4, 12, slash, 0, 2, 0, 0, 8, slash, 0, 0, 9, 0, from Volusia County into the city of Edgewater generally located West of starboard Avenue and east of San Remo subdivision staff report.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The request before you is to annex 2.95 acres located in unincorporated Volusia County into the city of Edgewater's boundaries. The subject properties are located within our interlocal service boundary agreement and also meet all the parameters outlined in Section 171 of Florida statutes. City staff believe the properties are compact, contiguous to existing city boundaries, and actually helps eliminate

unincorporated enclaves within the city's isba city staff is recommending approval to annex this property into the city of bedwater thank you sir citizens comments on the council comments i think it's great what are they going to do with it the next thing i believe we're voting on is a storage facility that's going to sell the parcels instead of just renting them monthly

it's right across the street from my house my house is just in the bottom of that map and i can't think of nothing that relaxes me more than knowing that's going on well this is for the annexation now yeah so is there a motion to approve the annexation make a motion to approve the first reading ordinance number 2026-0-07 request for annexation of parcel id's number There's three parcels from Volusia County into the city of Edgewater, generally located west of Starboard Avenue and east of San Remo subdivision.

Second, Rain Bird. Roll call.

Mayor DePue? Yes. Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rain Bird?

yes under 9d first reading the orders number 2026-0-08 request for small scale comprehensive plan amendment to the future land use map for partial id is eight four twelve slash zero two slash zero eight slash zero zero ten eight four twelve slash zero two slash zero eight slash zero zero four zero and eight four twelve slash zero two slash zero eight slash zero zero nine zero from volusia county commercial and urban intensity of the city of edgewater commercial Staff report.

Thank you. Mr. Mayor. The application before you is a small scale comprehensive plan amendment to change the future land use designation from Volusia County commercial, which is before an urban low intensity are 3, the city of Edgewater commercial. The properties to the north and south are zoned, sorry, have a future land use designation of commercial and are zoned V3 Highway Commercial. To the west, you have the San Remo PUD, and to the east is US Highway 1. City staff do note that this use is compatible with the adjacent uses on US 1. The applicant is proposing to build a self-storage unit. City staff entertained this application, for one, because he submitted, but two, we felt, or at least my staff and I felt, that this was probably one of the lowest intensity commercial uses that could have bought a residential subdivision. Can you repeat that? It's one of the lowest intensity commercial type of developments that could be adjacent to a residential subdivision. Thank you, sir. And this is a little bit different in that it's not a rental product. So there'll be a lot more ownership of this site. The applicant is proposing to sell condo plat each space. And subsequently, you will then own that physical space within that park. for boat storage. So it's a bit different. I'm always looking to diversify what we have within the city, especially different products. And again, city staff feel that this, for one, is compatible with the adjacent zoning and future land use designation on U.S. Highway 1 and is probably the most compatible use that we could find someone to put on this potential highway commercial property.

Thank you, sir. Open to public hearing. Citizens' comments.

I'm trying to get some clarification on what he was saying.

Is this for a warehouse that you can own?

It's a self-storage facility where they will sell the partials of where something is going to be stored.

Is this just for boats or can you have a business in there? That's what I'm worried about.

Boats and RVs. Just like a garage for boats. That's it? Yes, sir. Thank you. Glad to come.

Kathleen , Edgewater Landing, Edgewater. And my question is, I see a lot of trees in the picture. And if you're doing a storage facility, it sounds to me like you're going to end up with a bunch of concrete. I'm just wondering what you're going to do about all the drainage and how that's going to affect the properties across the street, across Route 1. where we have a community of senior citizens.

Thank you, ma'am, for your comments. We'll get that addressed as soon as we open to council comments. Okay, over the council comments to her degree. How many trees are they required to replant and the drainage? Is it to 100 year storm plan? And I know you might not know this data, but is San Remo to 100 year storm plan or is it San Remo still at 25 year?

Sure. Can we go back, Monique, if you may? Yeah, perfect. Sorry to put you on the spot. No, you're all right. So San Remo was planted in the early 2000s, and it was constructed to city standards at the time. So it's to a 25-year storm that it ponded in San Remo. It's one of the first ones, actually, at the city, as far as new ponds coming into the city. As far as drainage, the applicant would be either building to a 100-year closed basin, or he will be looking to get conveyance from the San Remo PUD to get conveyance to that canal system that then flows south into, it goes out in Oak Hill near the river breeze park is where that discharges eventually. And so he'll be choosing one of those two options. In both cases, it's a 100-year store. And as far as across the street, the property naturally grade is kind of high to low. with the highest actually being on the front of the property on Ridgewood Avenue. So naturally the property already drains from east to west. And for one, DOT doesn't like when you discharge into the right of way. So as far as concerns for Edgewater landings with Starboard Avenue, D. O. T. almost never gives a permit for you to just discharge into the right away. Um, so he'll have to. Do either a closed basin or if I get that public conveyance route to that canal system. Um, so I don't anticipate and I don't expect any issues or edgewater landings with regards to this development. And lastly, I'll say is that the stormwater master plan to be compliant is that city staff have to put any new model or any new project into that model. And it has to show that there's no negative externalities. And if there are any, they have to mitigate for that under the current code. Regarding trees on site, the city code does require 15% of an area of a site to be dedicated for tree preservation. i did go over with two members of the san remo community one today and one i want to say two weeks ago regarding the landscape buffer so this is a straight zoning and well the item before you right now is a comprehensive plan amendment but the one proceeding will be a zoning application and both of these are straight straight from county to city. It's not a PUD, so it's not a negotiation. And so that rear landscape buffer is 25 feet in width. It's got six canopy trees, 10 understory trees, and 70 shrubs for every 100 linear feet. It's about 225 feet. So you're going to have about

know 40 trees on that back landscape buffer and it requires a six foot fence and wall um under the straight code currently which the council adopted about two years ago thank you sir i was against it so i heard that this is the lowest impact from the city manager and mr ryan that could go here and i haven't heard any concerns in the same remote it was posted is there any console comments yes i

Have you visited the property, Mr. Ryan?

Not on purpose, but dealing with Mr. Roy.

Can you go back to the photograph? I'm interested in what kind of tree it is. It looks like oak trees to me. Is that correct?

It's mostly, that is a very high ridge. It's one of the highest ridges in the city. It's mostly slash pine in there.

Slash pine? Yeah. Okay, and you say it's a high ridge?

Yeah, it's a high ridge. So the US-1 sits at 20, elevation 20, and based on the topo of the site, it starts at 22 and it kind of grades down to about 18, and then people in San Remo are about 17 right now in that subdivision.

So they'll be required to do a gopher story?

Yep, 90 days before pulling permits. They'll have to do that. We'll have the tree survey. They'll have to meet all the requirements of the land development code. So they'll provide the tree survey. He'll have to plan around historic trees if there are any identified. Otherwise he'll be coming back before this body to ask for that. And again, there's several steps that have to go in place. The applicant has to also come back before the Planning and Zoning Board in order for a conditional use permit because outdoor storage is not allowed by right in B3 Highway Commercial. So he'll be coming back for that before the Planning and Zoning Board. And then he's also got to evaluate whether the that connects to the cul-de-sac and San Remo. So that, when I say platted, way back in the day, someone chopped up these lots and put them onto paper and said this was going to be a road. That road he's potentially going to come in and ask the council whether or not to vacate that road in that case it adds half the property to his site and make it larger but then the other half goes to the other residents so there is much more to this process even before we get to the site plan there's still several more steps Um, you said how big the buffer gonna be on the backside on the 25 foot with a six foot final fence 25 foot.

Let me get it's 225 feet in length. But we're talking 25 foot from the line behind the house, right?

Yep.

Toward the going toward the west, right? Correct. And the gentleman... I'm going toward the east. I'm sorry.

Correct. And the gentleman, I did ask for him. Now, it's not a requirement of the application, but he did prepare a basic kind of concept plan. Now, it doesn't meet all the code requirements, but in this plan, he had the water retention pond at that rear. That's where it had been kind of designed, and it makes sense because the property does grade from east to west.

25. How wide is the... San Remo Drive, approximately.

That right-of-way in there is a 50-foot right-of-way.

50-foot. So it's going to be half that in the back, 25 feet, right?

Yeah, I think it's important to remember that you'll have that landscape buffer. but you'll also then have, most likely you'll have a wet pond, and he'll most likely, due to the new St. John's requirements, he'll have a dry pond. So my guess is you'll probably have at least 100 foot or more setback for any sort of parking space prior to that back boundary.

I'd like to see a bigger boundary on the western side. I don't know about you all, but.

yeah that'd be nice i agree i'd like them to just buy it and not do anything no certainly so ryan um if he was to vacate the road area that'd be it right what do you mean there'd never be because the one concern about the people that live in my development is about a road tying into the cul-de-sac there that will not happen right

So to address that concern, so when San Remo was platted, one of the ways I can tell as a planner is that even though this right away was here, and it's unbuilt but it's platted, this common area in here, this piece here, protects San Remo. Developers typically call it like a poison buffer. In this case, it actually is a benefit to San Remo. So this right-of-way, although it's a public right-of-way, it's just unbuilt, they can't connect to San Remo without approval from San Remo, because this is the subdivision's open space, common open area. And so that's not a given right. And staff can tell that really that was never were totally anticipated as an access route because they would have pulled the cul-de-sac all the way to the property line. If the intention in the future was to allow future access, they wouldn't have created this common open space here to give you guys that ability to say yes or no. And so this is that platted right away in here. And so when he comes back, he would be looking at that vacation. And this is showing just the adjacent future land uses. As you can see, this would be the properties in question. Everything to the north is commercial. To the south, you have this one commercial. The church is here commercial. And then proceeds further down with commercial towards the gas station on Volco Road intersection.

I have no issue with this because it is the lowest. We have already done citizens' comments, but we can't open it up for one comment because I don't believe anybody commented yet. So if you would like to comment, sir, feel free to. Feel free to comment.

I have a concern that the calculations of a 100-year flood is way in the past. I think everyone can understand now that storms are getting worse, and they're only gonna get worse as the temperature heat starts heating up and more water is contained in the clouds. Just as a little fact, a three-inch rainstorm puts 18,500 gallons of water on a typical residence So you figure this property and all that, if you get, it won't be three inches, there's going to be much more. The one question I have is does FEMA have any involvement in the calculations and the approvals of these things?

Yeses to FEMA regulation. As far as 100-year storm plan goes, yes, you're 100% right. It's not enough. We were in the middle of updating our codes and proceedings, but SB 180 wiped that out. But luckily, this council did implement a 100-year storm plan instead of a 25-year storm plan. Back to council comments. Citizens' comments is completed. I was, like I said, against this 110%. I didn't think that it should be brought forward. But when I met with a few surrounding property owners, not across the street, but the church owner along with some individuals at San Remo's homes are very close to that. They stated that they were OK with it because the city management stated that it is the lowest impact possible, for the record.

Ryan, I have a question. Who does the maintaining of the property if they're purchased? Is each owner responsible for their?

Yeah, so you'd have to, in the condo association, you'd have to set up that. So there'd likely be a nominal fee for maintaining that entity, that condo association or association in general. But you would simply purchase instead of rent. will some be covered and some uncovered or is it all covered or has that have they gotten that foreign to the plans yet i don't to my knowledge i don't know okay um yeah that hasn't been discussed and it wasn't on the concept plan whether it would be one way or the other okay thank you thank you sir thank you i just

i just want to talk on this item because i know that well it was really as an orion question i just know that the edgewater landing residents had a handful of different questions and that the best time to bring up those concerns will be at the next item because that's when we're going to talk about the project itself this is still a comp plan

Yeah, I think it's important, though, that this is where you have the most legislative discretion, right, is assigning future land uses. And I think the question tonight is whether or not commercial here along US 1 adjacent to this other commercial is an appropriate land use. regardless you know it's obviously a benefit that the zoning application had the concept plan included although that's typically not included but you know that benefit gives you you know some hopefully support for staff's recommendation thank you sir thank you okay is there a motion to approve

Make a motion to approve the first reading, ordinance number 2026-0-08.

Second, Rainbird. Roll call.

Mayor DePue? Yes. Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas?

Yes.

Councilwoman Dalvo? Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

Under 9E, first reading, Ordinance Number 2026-0-09, Request for Rezoning 2.95 Acres, PIDS 8412-02-08-0010. B-4-12-0-2-0-8-0-0-4-0 and 8-4-12-0-2-0-8-0-0-9-0. Generally located west of Starboard Avenue and east of San Remo. Subdivision from Volusia County Highway. Commercial B-4 in Volusia County. Urban intensely low development. R-3 to the City of Edgewater Highway. Commercial B-3. Staff report.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'll keep it brief. This has a split zoning in Volusia County right now. It has commercial B4 on the front with the rear as Volusia County Urban Low Intensity R3. The request before you tonight is to bring it into conformance with B3 Highway Commercial, which you can see up on the screen there is the existing land use pattern for that area south of Roberts Road between San Remo and US 1.

Thank you, sir. Over to public hearing, citizens' comments. Council comments.

So, Ryan, after this rezoning, if this guy decides he doesn't want to go forward with this project, it's now the whole property is wide open to something else. Correct, to commercial. Because I kind of like what he's proposing now. It sounds expensive.

but around this is b3 highway commercial correct it's correct yeah so you know and it's zoned commercially already right just in the county well it's got a split zoning in the county between r3 um so you know if we're going to really nitpick it someone could still do the storage up front in the county well i'm going to pick it a little then you know about six houses in the rear adjacent to you guys

There's three people behind you that live right behind that one house. You're coming right up to their back fence. Now, we let D.R. Horton come right up against my back fence. And the president of my HOA is sitting back there. And we dealt with a bunch of hell. At Jeff Laracy, five years later, Jeff and Mr. Mahoney finally settled. And I just, moving forward, I'm hoping that this is taken care of. So they're, well, you know what we're hoping. Just please keep your eye on this one. I want to look at her and she smiles at me when I see her.

That's my HOA president, just saying. I think it's, I talked to a bunch of residents and the duplex, you said duplexes, I think.

Yeah, I mean, you could have single family duplexes.

That's going to be more compatible than something commercial on that street because it's all residential now.

commercials where our tax base is going to be too. Right?

I think all the, some of the residents I spoke to that were here, the concern was it being more residential and the increase of traffic in an already high traffic area. So I believe that they would be happier with some of this.

Yeah, it's not, it's, it's kind of a difficult, um, road for access too. And so there would be concerns there that that's gonna be a real limiting factor to your point, Eric, as far as, okay, we changed it to commercial, now anyone could come in within B3. Yes, but when you think about the marketability, traffic improvements, you get hit for at least 150 to 200,000 on the right-hand D cell lane if you up the trips at all on that property. And so there's issues that would not make it compatible. And or they'd be coming in and asking for a lot of variances to do X, Y, and Z to make the map work.

You could also do live local there, correct?

Correct, yeah. You could still do live local on the front in the county. I think the bottom line here is whether or not US-1, do we consider this a commercial corridor? And the benefit of this project specifically to this application is this gentleman is proposing this type of product. That's not to say that if he drops out, it can't change. But if we look at the whole corridor as a whole, this is kind of the land use pattern.

That's cool. And I like you telling me about the poison area. So ladies in the back, there will be no road coming into our cul-de-sacs.

Well, and it's important, too, because one of the other limiting factors is the type of utilities there. And so utilities will be a challenge to that site, which also then limits intensity of any kind of future commercial.

And that reminds me, Kenny's Liquor put their drainage into ours. So you're right. There's not much there.

Is there a motion to approve?

Make a motion to approve the first reading, ordinance number 2026-0-09.

Second, Rainberg. Roll call.

Mayor DePue?

Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainberg?

Yes.

Item 9F, first reading, ordinance number 2026-0-10, request for small scale comprehensive plan amendment for 1711, 1715, and 1717 Edgewater Drive from commercial to median density residential staff report.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I apologize. The request before you tonight is a small scale comprehensive plan amendment for 1711, 1715, and 1717 Edgewater Drive from commercial to medium density residential. This came before the council a year ago. The applicant did wait the one year time frame as required within the land development code. If any application for rezoning the comprehensive plan is denied, It does require a one year wait period. The applicant has met that period and he is reapplying. City staff are recommending approval and note that the Planning and Zoning Board did send a favorable recommendation to the City Council. The reason city staff support this is that the gentleman, the applicant, main applicant, owns the vacant lot in the middle and he would like to build a duplex. The kind of edgewater drive there has to the west a lot of single family homes and then to the east you have A triplex, a duplex, single family home, and all those properties are zoned commercial. So they're not compliant right now. And so the intent with this rezoning is for one, not to get hit on spot zoning by bringing in a cluster of them. the original owners or the other owners to help bring into compliance with their uses on this subject site and lastly to facilitate the development of a duplex on that vacant lot which is infill development so city staff recommend the council approve this ordinance to allow for a comprehensive small-scale comprehensive plan amendment from residential, or sorry, from commercial to medium density residential.

Thank you, sir. I'll open it up to public hearings and citizens' comments.

Kathleen Papalou, Edgewater Landing. I have a question about this whole idea of developing that area. And the question is the speed limit on Route 1. When you have a bunch of commercial properties, it seems like most of Edgewater town is, or city, is 40 to 45 miles an hour. And then you get to that area just about a mile before Edgewater Landing, and it suddenly goes to 55 miles an hour. And we are already having issues trying to get in and out of our developments with cars whizzing by. We've had several accidents. And when you're trying to turn, whether you're turning right or left, you have to suddenly zip up your speed from zero to 55 so that other cars that are not going 55, they're going 65, a lot of them, don't hit you. So I think that you're adding more people coming up and down that strip now with these proposals. What are you going to do about the speed limit on that road?

Thank you, ma'am, for your comments. At the dead end road.

She's talking about US-1.

Oh. I will just say before that US-1 speed limit is directed by FDOT, not the city of Edgewater. But the city manager is working with FDOT to look into a few solutions. And they are doing traffic studies.

Good evening, Joey Posey, 420 South Nova, attorney for the applicant. And just to answer the question briefly, and I'm happy to go into any details you'd like on this, it's a step down in zoning. And I think the unique thing that I think helps address the issue is it currently has a commercial entitlement. So if somebody comes in, let's say consolidates or at least wants to do something on any three of these parcels, that's a traffic concern not the utilization of it for its existing uses that are already there on those two pieces and then the vacant use of a duplex which has been very transparent about and reached out to all of his owners and tried to do the right thing to make sure that this is compatible with their neighborhood so but i'm always available to answer any questions after but i just at least wanted to make sure that was clear to folks that i you know from the perspective of traffic i think this is a plus And it's moving in the right direction to addressing an issue that may or may not be happening out there. I can't opine on that.

Thank you, sir. Back to council comments. I will say that last year was not in favor. I revisited the site. I'm always for keeping commercial, but it is around and around residential. Makes sense to have a residential property. There is commercial in front that could utilize it, but there's a home right in the middle. So it really makes no sense other than residential. And this is an area of weird annexation to begin with. It should have been dealt with years in the past.

I remember this coming up, and when I saw it on the agenda again, for some reason I thought it passed. And it made no sense why it did not pass, because I know the conversation was, if it was to remain commercial, what could you put in that little teeny spot, an ice machine? I mean, I remember that conversation well. And I know the neighbors on the north and south side wanted to also change their zoning, too, so it's not spot. and so it just makes sense so i'm glad he waited the year you know i supported it last year when he came before council the right decision and i support it again this time is there a motion to approve make a motion to approve the first reading ordinance number 2026-0-10

second rainbird roll call mayor depew yes councilwoman gillis yes councilman thomas councilwoman dalbo yes councilman rainbird on a 9g first reading ordinance number 2026 says 0-11 request for approval of rezoning b3 highway commercial r4 single-family residential for 1711 1715 to 1717 edgewater drive staff report thank you mr mayor i'll keep it brief the request before you is to rezone the property um

from B3 highway commercial to R4 single family residential for these three properties to help bring them in conformance. It's important to note that these properties have no frontage on the highway, but they're zoned highway commercial. City staff do hope to get the other two owners to eventually come in to help create a feathering effect where we're going from high intensity development with commercial to kind of step down in intensity to then single family. And so we're hoping that with this transition, we'll create that transition in the neighborhood and also create compatibility so that they don't have a little 1,500, 1,000 square foot warehouse popping up in the middle of their residential neighborhood.

Thank you, sir. Open to public hearing. Citizens' comments? Council comments? Is there a motion to approve?

Make a motion to approve the first reading, ordinance number 2026-0-11.

Second, Rainburg. Roll call.

Well, we closed citizens' comments a while ago, but we will reopen them. You'll have to approach the podium before you comment, ma'am, please. No rush at all. Take your time.

Roberta Massey at Edgewater Landing. I'm looking at this map, and I'm a little confused. Is that property that they're talking about opening up onto Ridgewood or onto Edgewater?

Edgewater Drive.

And the only access to Ridgewood is going to be that side street. I can't read the name of it. Just below those.

There you go. Edgewater Drive.

Yeah, Edgewater Drive this way, but what's this way? Up to one.

It's all Edgewater Drive. It only goes in and out on Edgewater Drive to US 1. So it goes up this. Alameda doesn't come back. Yes, ma'am. It does. There's a cul-de-sac.

And they want to make that whole block they want to make?

Only only this parcel. These are already home surrounding. This is already home surrounding it. This is zone highway commercial. They want to change it to residential. There's homes around it already. Three lot.

And this is tied in. Okay. All right. I just didn't understand.

Thank you, ma'am. No worries at all. Okay, we've had council comments, but is there any further council comments? Just to digress, this is on Edgewater Drive. There's only one entry and one exit towards Edgewater Drive. It's around residential homes. It does not border US 1 corridor. Is there a motion to approve?

The first reading, I make a motion to approve the first reading, ordinance number 2026-0-11.

Second, Rain Bird. Roll call.

Mayor DePue?

Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rayburn?

Yes. I don't attend board appointments none of this time. Item 11, other business, 11A, lease agreements between the City of Edgewater, Volusia Flagler Family, Young Men's Christian Association, better known as the YMCA, staff report.

Mayor and council, I'm seeking authorization to execute the lease agreement with the YMCA at the current building they occupy of the cities at 148 West Turga. We negotiated a one-year lease deal. They will pay the city $3,800 per month.

Thank you, sir. I open a public hearing. Citizens' comments? Okay. On to council comments.

Oh, I'm happy to see getting a lease together for it. It's a 12-month lease, if I understand correctly. And they're going to pay, as well as the contract, they're going to pay the first $2,500 in any repairs before the city picks up.

Yeah, well, they're responsible for any repair under $2,500.

$2,500, okay. All right, thank you.

Is there a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve the lease agreement between the City of Edgewater and Volusia Flagler Family Young Men's Christian Association, Inc. Second, Rainbird.

Roll call. Mayor DePue? Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas? Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes. Please note public discussions at this time.

item 11c we or item 11b city clerk employment agreement staff report at the june 1st council meeting you selected cassandra kilgore as the city clerk we've negotiated an employment agreement with miss kilgore and we're seeking approval to have the mayor execute the contract with the start date of july 13. thank you sir open a public hearing citizens comments

Good evening again, Mayor and Council. South of Kilgore, 819 South Cedar Avenue, Orange City, Florida, 32763. I just wanted to express my appreciation for your confidence in me and your opportunity to serve as your city clerk. I look forward to serving with council, city staff, and the residents. Thank you again. Look forward to get started.

Thank you. Are there any further citizens comments? Council comments?

I went over the contract. It looks great. It's basic information. And the residency waiver, I think it's a good thing. It's not that far of a commute from your home to here, and I'm perfectly happy with that.

Is there a motion to approve?

Make a motion to approve the city clerk appointment agreement, beginning her service 7-13-26.

Second, Rainberg. Roll call.

Mayor DePue. Yes. Councilwoman Gillis. Yes. Councilman Thomas. Yes. Councilwoman Dalbo. Yes. Councilman Rainberg.

Yes. Congratulations to Mrs. Dalbo. She initiated every motion tonight.

No, I didn't do the chickens. She didn't do the chickens and the signs.

Item 12, officer reports. Item 12A, city clerk.

The only thing I have is that Pearson is hosting their Volusia League of Cities dinner on July 23rd. If you would like to go, please get your RSVPs to me by July 15th. If you're bringing a plus one, please bring me their payment. It's $45.

Thank you, Adam. 12B, City Attorney.

No update, but looking forward to getting this language done on the final charters. Obviously, we've got some new language, so...

thank you sir item 13 citizens comments patrick fisher 2100 airport road i just want to make everybody aware st john's river water management district is holding a meeting for the turbo hammock conservation area land management plan it's a 2026 draft pdf is available on the website but they are having a meeting at the indian river Edgewater Library this Thursday from 5 to 7. There should be some interesting information in there, but that's a sensitive area in between what else is going on. What time is it?

5 to 7. 5 p.m. to 7. When's our workshop? Wednesday. Wednesday.

Wednesday. Thank you, sir. We appreciate the comment.

My name is Dwight Cunningham. I live at 3044 Travis Pond Drive, Edgewater. It is my opinion that City Council candidate Charles Martin will legally use the City-owned public facility and equipment to promote their own political campaign at the City's expense during the Council meeting on June 1st. The City of Edgewater, Florida operates under the Rome Code of Ordinance and strictly adheres to Florida statutes regarding public participation and campaign finance. Municipal code and state laws strictly prevent the use of public resources to finance political campaigns. And the 2025 Florida Statute under Chapter 106.15 states certain acts that are prohibited to include, and I'm quoting, not using public resources like city-owned microphones, facilities, and stationery to finance their campaign. Clearly, said candidate failed to meet the key legal parameters listed in the Florida statutes under Chapter 106.15 by using this facility's public facility microphones and equipment during that meeting on June 1st. Mr. Mayor, I have two recommendations for you. I believe you should clearly state before public comment periods that potential candidates will not be allowed to use the facilities and equipment to promote their campaigns in the future. And second, I would strongly suggest you have the city attorney send a formal cease and desist letter for the record to warn any said candidate that any further attempt to use public facilities and equipment at council meetings for the campaign will not be tolerated. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir, for your comments. They're truly appreciated and will be looked into. We are adjourned.