City Council - Regular Meeting

Call to order. I call to order this 10/06/2025 city council meeting. Roll call.

Mayor DePuy? Present. Councilwoman Gillis? Here. Councilman Thomas? Here. Councilwoman Dahlba?

Here.

Councilman Rainbird?

Here.

Interim City Manager Mahoney?

Here.

City Attorney Wolf?

Here.

Interim City Clerk Tupin present.

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Please remain standing for moment of silence. Item two, approval or changes or modifications to the agenda. Seeing none at this time. Item three, approval of the minutes.

None at this time. Item four, presentation of proclamations, plaque certificates and or donations. None at this time. Item five, city manager report.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Have a few things. Last week, we had some forecast of the potential for some significant rainfall, Friday through today. With the city's new proactive approach, we began preparing promptly. I just want to highlight some of the things that our public works department implemented, several measures to mitigate stormwater impacts.

Duck Lake Pond on 16th Street was pumped down significantly to allow for additional stormwater capacity. Crews completed storm routes to clear debris and ensure drainage paths remain opened. Canals were inspected and cleared to maintain proper flow. We had dedicated stormwater staff that was on duty throughout the weekend to monitor conditions respond as needed. And previous to the event, all the construction sites were expected to ensure all storm water related measures were in place, things like silt fencing, clearing inlets and checking for erosion on retention ponds.

I also attended the Majestic Oaks Community Meeting regarding 1st Business Park on October 2, along with Ryan Solstice, our Development Service Director. There's a lot of conversations during that meeting. Those conversations continue with the city, Ms. Mosher and FDOT. As of this time, there's no real clear answers of what the outcome of that is going to be.

Proud to say that next week, I have applicant interviews for our public works director and a position for the economic development manager. So I'm hopeful that we can find a new great team member out of those interviews. Additionally, we hired a new stormwater engineer today. So I'd like to welcome Matthew Creel on board with our team. Reminder, city clerk interviews are scheduled for October 15, and the city attorney interviews are scheduled for October 29.

Also, I want to make sure I mention our HR department works extremely hard for our city's benefit fair for employees, and that is this Thursday from ten to one at the YMCA. So I encourage you all to go. To entice you, there is free lunch. Finally, I received some comments about some residents experiencing odor of chlorine in their tap water. Our water plant conducts maintenance to flush and disinfect the distribution system, and chlorine utilized during this process. We concluded approximately October 21. This is routine maintenance that occurs twice a year. And that's my concluding question.

Could I ask a question, Mr. Mayor? Of course. On the city clerk, interviews, how is that going be run? Are we all going to be here and interview them? Or are we going to interview them one at a time?

You'd be required to interview them individually.

Individually? Yes. Okay.

So it's a full day of interviews.

Okay. And I told you I got a doctor appointment that day at 09:40 that I cannot.

Of course. Yes, we can accommodate your schedule if you arrive late. We can make it work. All right. Thank you.

Is there lunch?

There is. I believe it's Alberto's Pizza and Salad.

I have a question and I wanted to get consensus from the City Council. We're almost near the holiday season and our city attorney is doing his job. He's doing a fairly great job. There's concerns all talked about, but the contract is up in January. So I wanted to give consensus, which is what we talked about, kind of the last city council meeting, to just pause. I mean, I think we could do the interviews to see how each application is. But I think that it doesn't have to go into effect until after the contract if we choose to go a different way.

A little bit of direction. Did you want to continue with the interviews on October 29?

I think that we could continue with the interviews, but nothing will be into effect until, I believe, the January. All right. Thank you for that report. We appreciate it. Item six, citizen's comments. This is a time for the public to come forward with any comments they may have. Citizen's comments related to any agenda matter may be made at the time the matter is before the council. Please state your name and address, and please limit your comments to three minutes or less.

Ms. Linda, you're going have to turn the microphone on. I forgot. It's on the top. Up at the top, there's a little switch.

Pull it towards you?

Yep. You just have to flip it up.

On off

right here.

You've got it.

Thank you.

All right. Good evening. Linda Mosier, 319 Leaning Oak Drive, President of the Majestic Oaks Phase one and two Homeowners Association. First, let me thank City Council Manager Mahoney and Director of Development Ryan Solstice for offering last Thursday's open community meeting for our neighbors. That presentation gave us a detailed explainer of the process used to get where we are and it also clarified some options. We just need more time. Primarily,

we saw for

the first time only days ago the FDOT Green Book standards that would allow the front commercial access directly from US1 into 1st Business Park. As shown, if the speed limit was kept at 45 miles per hour for just one more mile, FDOT would support the original front entrance on Ridgewood. We also learned that continued commercial development along The U. S. One corridor is likely to trigger another stoplight in that same stretch, either at Oak Branch or at Edgewater Landings, which in turn would reduce the speed limit.

It's just a matter of time. We found shared safety concerns among residential communities that support reducing the speed limit in that area. Majestic Oaks Phase 4, Silver Ridge, Carter's, Edgewater Landings, Pelican Coves and the hundreds of homes in between all have legitimate interest in moving safely on and off U. S. I.

I know that everyone is worried about being sued, but if we are all going to be good neighbors, we need to work together toward this common goal with care and best intention. For myself, I'm ready to enlist and engage homeowners toward that common end with FDOT. For Majestic Oaks, I'm here tonight to ask counsel to revisit the August 4 vote on final site approval of 1st Business Park to make it contingent on that one change. Whatever it takes, having single front entrance via Ridgewood into 1st Business Park does the trick. It protects our oak tree canopy from damage, the medians and signage from impact, our school kids from side street traffic, and our homeowners from highway accidents.

It's the simplest solution and the best answer. We hope you agree and stand with us. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am, for your comments. They're appreciated.

Sue Genthner, 2929 Sable Palm Drive. And along that, we've had some pretty bad flooding on in the 29th Block, and I'd like to see if we can get the scoops to come out and dig out the swales on that 29th Block. And the other thing is, the occurrence of political signs, fifteen months before an election. Listen, we hate them when they're up, in the regular season, and I would encourage those who have them up to remove them and and put them up at a more appropriate time next year when the election is. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Please state your name and address one more time in the record for the city manager to look at your issue.

Okay. Sue Genthner, 2929 Sable Palm Drive.

Thank you.

So Jack Ridington, 2929 Sable Palm Drive. Ridington with a w. So she stole my thunder because I also noticed that there are political signs up. And I wondered if we had a special election in Edgewater this year, which, of course, we do not. Having checked with the city and with Lisa Lewis, I learned that we did not have such an election. And that, in fact, as my wife said, we're fifteen months away. Now we're thirteen months away. But when the signs went up, they were fifteen months away from an election. However, the individuals, the candidates who have those signs up had every right to put them up because the problem is not with those candidates. The problem is with our code.

Because oddly enough, we have a regulation stipulating when signs have to come down ten days after a candidate is either elected or fails to be elected. And all of us, candidates, political parties, and and my experience in this city over thirty five years, have a good naturedly and legally complied with that, willfully, happily complied with that. So it's not the candidate's fault, but we need to fix that code because good rules make good neighbors. So, of course, the people who, don't have signs up, they can put them up, but that's not the issue nor is it again the issue that two candidates put their signs up. The issue is we need to fix the code.

So would you please, as a council, do something that previous councils have not done and give your strict attention to this matter? That would be appreciated.

Thank you, sir, for your comments. Thank you.

Valerie Romer, 1303 36th Street. I'm not one for public speaking, but I felt compelled to come personally and thank city manager Joe Mahoney for this and the city council for addressing a major water concern on the forgotten block of 36th Street. Last year, the berm on 35th was created right before Milton. We and our neighbors had concerns that the water be pushed onto the homes on 36th. During Milton, our concerns became valid as the water behind the homes on 36th came dangerously close to flooding with water only about 10 feet away from our back door, something that had never happened before.

When the berm broke, the water began to recede. We contacted city management after Milton and informed them of the issue back here, and we were assured that it would be taken care of, but nothing was ever done. On September 4, we once again contacted city management. City council members promptly responded back with some even coming out to see and assess the situation. Joe Mahoney personally made a phone call to my husband September 8 and assured him that the matter would be addressed.

On September 30, Rusty came out to make sure that what they had planned in their meetings would work and made sure that I understood their plan. And on October 3, Rusty and his crew came out and put their plan into action, working torrential downpour. My husband and I want to personally thank Joe Mahoney, Rusty, his crew, and everyone behind the scenes that listened to us. The water is still draining from behind our homes as there is a lot of water back there, and we understand that it's going to take some time for it to go down, but at least something was done. Joe Mahoney, you have been a godsend to the city.

You have taken action where others have dropped the ball, and I implore that the city council find a way to keep you in that position, as I think you're a perfect fit for city manager. And to the city council, thank you for all you have done. You guys have a tireless job and continue to do it even though you're harassed on a daily basis through social media and some members being harassed even in person, which I find personally unacceptable. These people have stepped up to help make a change to our city, taking time away from their families to help with our concerns, only to be met with resistance, criticism, and personal harassment from certain individuals. However, my husband and I would like to be loud in our appreciation for everything that you guys do. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am, for your comments. We're truly appreciated. Glad the issue is being looked into.

Brian Romer, 13O330SixthStreet. Just wanna reiterate what my wife said, Joe Mahoney, doing an awesome job as manager. Everyone in the council members, I personally gotta give a special thank you to Charlotte Charlotte as well as Eric. He was out there as soon as I called him. He's not even my rep in my area, but he was out there. He sat in my drive when he called Joe personally. This matter was under the table for over a year, and it got addressed immediately once the proper management was made aware. Now, I just wanna elaborate on something, and it's gonna go a little off a little bit here for me. Just bear with me. I don't know if anybody in this room has ever taken a law law enforcement placement exam.

I have many times. When you take those exams, you're given photos with information about each photo. When you get to the questions, the questions don't all pertain to the information information you're you're given. Given. The questions will ask, what time did the clock say on the back wall? Or what color shoes did the perv wear in the photo? They wanna know that your eyes, your brain, and your person can pick up all the details that other people miss. That's exactly what Joe Mahoney did as a police chief. Sorry. And he's doing a great job as a city manager.

Sir, if you're, wishing to talk about mister Mahoney, although his his actions does deserve praise. I think his contract is on the agenda for 11C, City Manager Employment Agreement. If you could wait to talk about how you feel about that at this Thank point in you, sir. We appreciate it.

Chuck Martin, 205 Cherrywood Lane, Edgewater. Went out and did some assessments of the lake, especially Duck Lake. Did a little video out there with my ducks, and great job pumping that water down. When we get it about a foot below the waterfall the out there, where it sprinkles, that's about normal, and thank you know, thank you for that. I want to thank Jeff Larracy also. He doesn't give much thanks. He's kind of behind the scenes, but I know he's got a hand in it. And the whole Public Works Department Guys are doing great. Did another assessment, a little video down at eighteenth Street. Now, we had the king tide, and I purposely went down there at high tide.

I did not see water running uphill. So there's a lot of speculation going about the King Tide, floodness, and all that. I didn't see it. My videos prove it. Everything is flowing really, really good right now.

Very pleased with that, and thank you for that. I went down and checked out Massey Road. I think if we put a got with the county, put a swell along in there, you know, where it comes down the hill, that'll help that water percolate and kind of cool some nerves around there. I was working helping a homeowner on Massey Road down there getting that water draining and went to visit a resident on 1411 Sable, and Diesel's been on top of that. And I think we're going to get that on the list and get that taken care of.

It's just the sides of the roads are higher than the road. They just got to be cleaned out. So many years of getting behind on stuff. And I want to thank Jack back here for recognizing our signs out there. Thank you for recognizing them signs. I think I know where it's coming from. That's okay. So I got another 100 I'm fixing to put out. So I think that'll be great. Thank you for your time.

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

I'm Chris Cheatham at 03:12 Two Oaks Drive in Majestic Oaks. I just wanted to cast my support behind Linda Mosier and the efforts she's putting forth to find a remedy for the situation to keep from developing a complex intersection in the entryway of Majestic Oaks. I see other things. Though it's hard to pretend what can happen, but my concern, in addition to what she expressed, is the fact that that main road through there that already is somewhat of not a thoroughfare, but there are plenty of people that use it as a shortcut from one street to Highway 1. And, you know, I could only imagine with that complexity of that entrance and exit being adjoined to our entrance, a lot of people would, especially with the increased traffic there, opt to cut through our neighborhood as opposed to try to get out on Highway 1.

I don't know exactly what the business development looks like and how many businesses are going in there, but I just see it as something that is probably not really desirable to have right in the front of our addition. And it sounds like there may be some remedies as related to the 45 mile an hour speed limit change, possibly a longer deceleration lane.

I don't know. I'm

not a road designer, but I'm just thankful that we're able to possibly seek other remedies. And I just wanted to express my support for her.

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

Good evening, city council members. My name is Devin Thorne, owner of Wild Thorn Dairy at 2146 South Riverside Drive. I'm here today because, like many other small businesses, we've invested our heart, saving, and sweat into this community. And I'm here today to urge you to revisit and amend the current ordinance that prohibits sign holders from operating anywhere that is visible from the public right away. You might ask why this matters.

In my opinion, small businesses are the lifeblood of Edgewater's community and create jobs, beautifying our neighborhoods, and bringing families together. Unlike big box chains or national franchises, we don't have million dollar ad budgets. For us, visibility is everything. In a community where much of the traffic drives at an average of 45 miles an hour, a friendly face holding a sign that makes a difference between an empty store and a busy, bustling day of local comrades. If safety is the concern for this ordinance, I'd recommend we implement clear and reasonable safety guidelines, require sign holders to remain by sidewalks, wear reflective vests, or limit the hours of operations.

With these boundaries, we can ensure safety, order, and local business visibility all at once. This isn't just about advertising. Sign holders are often students, local residents looking for part time work. By prohibiting this role entirely, we're eliminating a crucial entry level employment position from the community altogether. We all want Edgewater to thrive. In order to attract new residents, new investments, we need to embrace creative, people driven business promotions. Thank you for your time and for listening and for believing in the power of local business very much.

Well, you, sir, for your comments. We appreciate you having a small business here in the community. We were so sold a workshop, I believe, last week, but it wasn't really on anybody's schedule for signed ordinances and revisiting our feather flags. We'll have to get that scheduled and looked at. Thank you so much. Thank you, We appreciate it.

Michael Eastup. I don't live in Edgewater. I'm the property manager for Majestic Oaks, so I don't know what address you want to use. We'll just use 208 Douglas Street. It's in New Smyrna. But I'm also here to support Linda Moser and Majestic Oaks. I had a meeting with FDOT today regarding question. That's I

I

question. That's that. They have also discussed multiple solutions to have the turning lane from US1 rather than in Majestic Oaks, such as making the turning lane smaller in Majestic Oaks, having two turn lanes there. They know that there's going be a traffic light coming as well, so it's going to go down to 45 anyways. So as I said, I spoke with F.

Today, had a meeting in person. So we really do just want you guys to reconsider your vote, because not only is it a quality of life for Majestic Oaks owners, it's a safety issue. They're They have delays coming out of there. More cars, more delays, more car accidents. So I just ask you guys to please reconsider. Thank you.

Thank you, sir, for your comments. They're appreciated. Item seven, Council Reports.

Quarter with of we're made lot officer. And So much turnout buried of a warmth and love for the officer. He will be missed. And it all went down very quick, and the city didn't miss a step. We last minute organized Memorial motorcycle run.

Teddy Morris jumped right in to help us. And a lot of the small businesses around here donated stuff for raffles and stuff, and we were able to raise about $16,000 for his family. I didn't look at the GoFundMe lately, but it was at $70,000 or something. Edgewater,

this

came great. City manager, the whole staff all the way down the line just got it done. He's proud. And thank you for everything every one of you do.

Councilwoman Gillis.

As far as tonight, Eric, you paired a lot of what I was going to bring up. I think it was great how to which the way the community came together. Because I didn't know that motorcycle ride. I think the last time I talked to them, they said it raised $16. And then on top of the GoFundMe and so many people have reached out to the police department themselves and have dropped off donations, that it's just all adding up. And the support for the family has been amazing. And that's been great. I look a little funny because I wanted to play the part for Halloween, because this is our only meeting we're going to have in October. So when I was little, people used to make jokes and say there was a Volco witch. So I wanted to be that.

And cursed the people that build on wetlands. And I think that's hilarious to say right now. But that's kind of all I have for the time being. I want to move forward. Feel there's going be some commentary on Joe's contract and all that coming up. And I want to get the meeting going and move forward positively.

Right. Falco witch. Councilman Thomas. You.

Have you ever

heard that story?

My sort of personal, of you know I went in the hospital on September 7. My son put me in there seven in the morning on Sunday morning, and I was there till three on Tuesday afternoon. I got my bill last week, and it was $39,000 for three days. And my co pay was $600 I want to commend Ms. Julie Christine for getting this insurance that we got.

I mean if I had to pay $39,000 I'd be bankrupt. So she fights hard, and they keep trying to raise it every time. And when you directors meet with your employees, I hope you share my story because it's an ace in the hole, one of the benefits that you really don't recognize, but it's there. I mean, we get I know we don't make as much as the outside world, but we get days off and vacation. But the insurance, I cannot say enough for it. So thank you, Ms. Christine, for what you do and fight to keep the insurance rate down

for us.

That's great. I just want to say thank you to our public works team and our interim city manager. I think they've done a tremendous job. We don't have very much water lying around. Of course, there are some concerns. If you e mail me at ddepewcityofedgewater dot org, our internal city manager gets right on it and even goes to your home in some cases. I just want to say, again, I want to echo the two comments. The motorcycle event was tremendous. It's over $15,000 I want to thank Teddy Morris and Harley. I want to thank James Lynch with Goodfellas Motorcycle Shop.

His legacy will never go unrecognized. The support and the community has been amazing. We had over 5,000 worth of raffle items. So the community always comes together. It's one of my favorite things about the City Of Edgewater community. I had a meeting with several residents of the Massey Road area and Edgewater Canal and the Interim Manager, County Chairman and Ben Bartlett, the Volusia County Public Works Director. I want to say, I think it's great that we have an engineer now. I think that, that's going to be a huge push positivity in the future in our community. That's all I have. Well, I do have just one more.

I just want to say for the record that I'm saddened to see some attacks going on in the community. I think we all work very well together. We've done some team bonding exercises and hoping that we could still move forward together as a positive council for our residents and keep all the negativity and personal comments out of it and just move forward for positivity in the community. My parents and my grandpa and grandma always taught me, when they go low, you go high. So that's all I have to say.

Item eight, the Consent Agenda. All matters listed under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the City Council and be acted upon by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of those items unless discussion is desired by a member of the City Council, in which case the mayor will remove that item from the consent agenda and such items will be considered separately. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

I move we approve the consent agenda.

Roll call.

Councilwoman Dahlbo.

Yes.

Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

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

Yes. Item nine, public hearing ordinances and resolution. Item 9A, Resolution twenty twenty five, DashRDash80, of the City of Edgewater authorizing the City Council to participate in a joint meeting with the City of New Smyrna Beach City Council and City of Oak Hill City Commission staff report.

I should read it into the record real quickly. Resolution number 2025R-eighty, a resolution of the city council of the City Of Edgewater, Florida authorizing the city council to participate in a joint meeting with the city of New Smyrna Beach and the city of Oak Hill Commission to discuss and act upon matters of mutual interest relating to economic development in Southeast Volusia County, providing for conflicting resolutions and providing for an effective date.

Thank you. Staff report.

This resolution is to comply with Florida statute to authorize the city of Edgewater City Council to participate in the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce Fifth Annual Regional Economic Summit on 10/23/2025. The annual summit brings all three cities together, Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill, along with Volusia County, to work on strategic planning. Topics include stormwater and flood prevention, transportation and infrastructure, smart growth and economic development, and staff recommends approval.

Thank you. I'll open to public hearings comments. Council comments? Water don't stop at the city line. What is the date one more time?

It's October 23.

October 23. Just a it's an event put on by the Chamber of Commerce of Southeast Volusia for economic development, where the three cities get together and talk about issues they may have. Closed to public hearing. Is there a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve Resolution twenty twenty five R -eighty, City of Edgewater authorizing the City Council to participate in a joint meeting with the City of New Smyrna Beach and the City of Oak

Hill. Second.

Seconded by Council Member Thomas for the record, roll call.

Councilwoman Dabo? Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

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

Yes. Item 10, Board appointments. None at this time. Item 11, other business. Item 11A, SA 25 request to waive the application fee and city staffing fee for the veteran exposition by the American Legion's post two eighty five on Friday, October 17 through Sunday, 10/29/2025, Staff report. Please read into the record also.

Request. The American Legion Post two eighty five applied for a special activities permit to host the Veterans Exposition on Friday, October 17 through Sunday, 10/19/2025. The Veterans Exposition will host up to 24 vendors providing resources. The American Legion Post two eighty five is requesting the waiver of the application fee and the fee for city services. Approximately 1,000 attendees are anticipated to attend over the course of the weekend. The police department estimates that two police officers will be appropriate to staff the event for vehicular movement control. The exposition will be open from noon until nine p. M, Friday and Saturday, and nine until one p. M. On Sunday.

Collectively, 50 staff hours are being requested to be waived for police services, total cost of $4,025 Staff defer to counsel. Thank you. Citizens comments. Council comments. I certainly support them. I I think it's going to

be a great thing. I want to thank Gary Snyder for all he does in the community. Amen. Is there a motion to approve?

Make a motion to approve.

Ma'am, did you have a citizen's comment? I guess not. Okay.

I make a motion to approve SA 2509, request to waive the application fee and city staffing fee for the Veterans Expo by the American Legion Post two eighty five on Friday, October 17 through Sunday, 10/29/2025. Second.

Roll call.

Councilwoman Dalbo?

Yes.

Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

Mayor DePue?

Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas?

Yes. Item 11B, SA2508, request for a waiver of fees related to a special events activity permit for Wilkie Wonka Day at Hawks Park. Staff report.

Robert Wilkie applied for a special activity permit to host Wilkie Wonka Day at Hawks Park Pavilion on 12/20/2025. Wilkie Wonka Day will have a Christmas raffle, a business exposition, kids area, food vendor trucks and food excuse me, and food vendor trucks. The sponsor of the event is the not for profit Strong four You. Mr. Wilkie is requesting a waiver of the following fees fees for the event: application fee of $25 park reservation fee of $250 four police officers at $80 per hour for a total of fifty two hours six parks and recreation employees at $25 an hour for 56 hours.

Total cost of request is $5,835 Staff deferred to counsel.

Thank you. Open to public hearings, citizens' comments.

My name is Rob Wilkie at 209 San Remo Circle. For those of you who don't know about the event, basically, what we're trying to do is we do a Christmas at the Christmas parades for New Smyrna Edgewater in Oak Hill, we give out about $25,000 in gifts to kids. We do a Willy Wonka type theme. Kids hold signs that say, want a Wilkie Wonka bar. We give them a candy bar, they get a chance at a golden ticket.

Last year, we gave out over 200 gifts. Businesses donate these gifts from Xboxes, dollars 500 gifts, dollars 1,000 gifts. Last year, we did over two fifty gifts for the kids. To make life a little easier, we decided that we'd like to give these gifts away over at Hawks Park and have all the businesses show up there. All the businesses donate will be a free vendor booth for a business expo.

We also, because it's Christmas time, want to do some each business is also gonna pre produce a basket that they're gonna raffle off to raise money for the Strong for You Foundation. If you don't know about the Strong for You Foundation, we dedicate money to Edgewater, Oak Hill, Sam Soula, and New Smyrna Beach for families in our community with needs. Some of the people that are with the needs that we'd like to help is officer David maybe donating some money towards that. We also have the lady that was hit on the bike on Park Avenue that passed away, that her 22 year old daughter, we just paid for her helped pay for the cremation of her mother because she didn't have the money but to help with that. The last one is a gentleman that was a band member in Crash Rocket.

He grew up here. He's played in that band in our area for over forty years. Incredible musician, but to help their family. These are some of the things that we wanna do with it. We're gonna have a kids fun day with a petting zoo and a lot of other events going on for kids because it is Christmas time. And we will have entertainers from, like, the show dolls, hopefully, to some of the other local communities putting on events for entertainment on the stage. We would like a little bit of help. We'll take care of all the lights, all the bathrooms, stuff like that. But we would like the city's help if we can. I appreciate your thought for this. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. We appreciate it. Thanks for all you do in the community. Council comments?

This is what water is all about. They love that Wonka bar.

Is there a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve SA2508, request

for

the waiver of fees relating to special permit for Wilkie Long today at Hawkspur.

Roll call.

Councilwoman Daldo?

Yes.

Councilman Rainberg?

Yes.

Mayor DePue?

Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis?

Yes.

Councilman Thomas?

Yes. Item 11c, city manager agreement, staff report.

Mayor and council. I've served the city of Edgewater for just over twenty two years. I love the city. I want it to be successful. I think that I could lead us in a direction where we can make great progress. I appreciate the kind words, the confidence from the public and from the dais at our last meeting. Meeting. But I'd be remiss if I didn't express my gratitude to our staff at every level of our organization. They really make me look successful. And I appreciate all their hard work. But I will defer this to you.

Thank you. Citizens comments.

Sorry about the confusion earlier. Brian, 1303 36th Street in Edgewater. What I was stating earlier, if you're ever taking a police exam, they ask you a series of questions about photos. The information given with each photo does not always pertain to the questions. The questions will say things like, what time was on the clock?

Or what color was a gentleman's shoes in the photo? Different things like that because they want to see your attention to detail. They want to see that you can think outside the box in every scenario and every synopsis. That's exactly what Joe Mahoney does as city manager, and it's exactly what he did when he was the chief of police. I personally feel the city would be foolish if they didn't appoint him as a city manager because it's just the beginning of already the positive changes that are happening. With all the rain we've had, when you drive through the shores, yeah, there's flooded areas, but it don't look like tent city anymore. Things are changing for the positive and for the better. And it's because of that man right there. That's it.

Thank you, sir, for your comments. We truly appreciate it.

Good evening, Art Slack, 3031 Umbrella Tree Drive. All I gotta say, it's night and day. When Joe got in, things are being done. The past, what a disaster. Thank God we got rid of some of that dead wood. Have a good evening. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, sir, for your comments. Truly appreciate it.

Chuck Martin, Edgewater, Florida. I could go on for hours. You know, thank you, Mr. Mahoney, for accepting this. I think this is going to be unanimous.

I just can't say enough, you know? It's got a good team behind them. We've got a great city council, every one of you doing a great job. City attorney, Diesel, I'm proud of you. Everybody. Everybody up there. Debbie, I'm proud of you. You can hear me. You know, we might have our disagreements, but we always pull together as a family. We went through a horrible time.

We'll never forget it. One thing that was on my mind, it was mentioned to me, this property that we purchased over here, I don't know all the details of it, but know Mr. Mahoney is going be looking to buy a house down here, and I don't know if it's fair that he would have the interest rates are ridiculous right now. I don't know if maybe and I think, Diesel, I might have heard you say something about it. It's just an idea, maybe looking at Mr.

Mahoney moving into that house until he can find something affordable with a good interest rate. I don't know if it's just throwing it out there. I know I'd heard it talked about a little bit. It's just an idea. I think that the interest rates are just so high now I hate to see them have to get pushed into something just to save us. I don't know if that's an option. Maybe we could maybe remodel it and get it ready for him and his family and put his residence there. Of course, he'd have to pay his own water bill. He can get out of that, not in Edgewater. We're, you know But we're moving forward, man.

We're making great strides here. And I'm just proud of everybody up here at Public Works, man. Everybody's We're clicking on all eight cylinders now. And like I said, we've all had our disagreements in the past, you know, but we have one common goal here, and that's to live together in the great city of Edgewater. That's why people come here.

You know, we've seen it after this horrible tragedy, how people pulled together, and, I wanna thank you guys for the the great work that you did up there for the the benefit. I know you guys were up there, mister Rainberg. He was all over the place, Thank you for helping pull things together. You guys did a great job. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there, but my heart was there. And I just want to thank everybody for everything that you do. I just I can't say enough good about you, all of you. And that's it. Thank you.

Thank you, sir, for your comments. I truly appreciate it. Okay. Council comments. I'll go first. I hear all the time from residents how happy they are and how proud they are that they have a city manager who will call them back and who even go to their homes, even all hours of the night. You've called me before at 09:30. I'm just leaving City Hall. I'll go down there and take a look at it. I think that you care so much about this community.

You grew up in Southeast Volusia. I can't say enough great things about your dedication and your leadership. I think the staff respects you. I can't speak for them, but I think that they have the outermost respect for you for nothing but great things on a staff level. You have made some great changes already.

The very first day, I think the very first day, correct me if I'm wrong, you bought two commercial pumps that our residents have begged for, for years, for years, even before Hurricane Ian. What happens if we're not ready? You have updated our storm management plan. You have got us, I don't know how you did, thank you so much, an engineer that was almost impossible to find. You're interviewing Public Works Directors.

You are doing a tremendous job. I think that the residents are behind you. I've heard nothing negative so far. I think you care about our community and I think that everybody respects you. You always speak from the heart, which everyone appreciates, even if they don't appreciate it at the time as being brought forward. I've heard nothing but great things from our residents. I hope you continue to do a great job, which I know you will. You've proven yourself. When I first met with you, you just said, I just want a chance to prove myself. I need six months.

And we're almost there, and you've done just that. We're pretty much, knock on wood, almost out of hurricane season, but you've proven that we're going to have a plan in action. You started pumping down Duck Lake and areas of Limetree before and Queen Palm. When Queen Palm flooded, it was almost in a garage. You had all the water, and it's not just you, it's our team as well, had all the water off the street within one hour. You care about this community. We appreciate and we respect you. Now, Mr. Martin is correct. I think that the contractor would read a probationary period of one year and then it would be revisited. Is that correct, Mr. Wolf?

Well, it has a one year probationary period, and it's subject to termination with or without cause on thirty days notice.

I think that the fact of the matter is you love Edgewater. You've lived here before, but you have a teenage daughter.

Yes, teenage daughter and an 11 year old son. I don't mind relocating.

She has a brand new driver's license.

That's scary.

Does she need a car? Yes. All right. Open. Any other comments at this time? But thank you for the tremendous job you're doing.

I appreciate that. I got some. I want to ditto everything you said, but we're talking about compliments. You all are complimenting. We're complimenting. How do you get a compliment? You earn it. And he has earned every one of them, buddy. What impressed me the most was I was laying up in that hospital bill. They're pumping me full of blood, and he who shows up?

But Mr. Mahoney. Because he knew how bad I wanted to vote to go against Senate Bill 180 and I wondered how bad I wanted to vote to keep the millage at 6.33. And he was trying to figure out a way how I could vote. And he had to meet with the hospital staff and then he had he talked with the nurse, and the nurse says, well, we're gonna run a thing down the road.

He may not be able to talk. And so for me to vote, I may have to do that or that. So he had to get an opinion from mister Wolfe where I could do that or that or y'all or the public actually had to hear me. And so and then he sends a paramedic up there to make sure I could vote. There are one that's still you talk about thinking out of the box. That man thinks out of the box. And I'm proud of everybody. Yeah, that that really impressed me right there, buddy. So but, yeah, I have to ditto everything the mayor said. And he get you know what? He's got that water flowing and it's flowing in the right direction. So hopefully, we can keep it that way. Thank you, sir.

Great. Thank you.

You go next.

I just want to say thank you. If you do for Edgewater six years from now what you've done for the police department over the last six years, I think we're going to

be

awesome. You make my job easy. My phone rings. The two people sitting right back there. They made a change. All of a sudden, water is coming up. I called Joe. He's got his boots in the truck. He says, Well, I might not get there right now, but he was out there, looked at what's going on. They're back. They're happy. I didn't know Mr. Slack was capable of smiling. Joe took over the job. Mr.

Slack's actually like we're doing good, right? He's actually look at him right now. But you're making our job easy. I'm sure things will change with different type of protocol. But you have no problem picking you call me.

Send you a message to get in touch with you when you can. You call me three on a Sunday afternoon. I mean, that's care right there. And like I said, if you do he has our police training area so that out of this whole, for lack of better word, this whole Podunk area we live in, Volusia County comes to use our training facility. I mean, it's a top shelf facility. They have areas where they can go around and practice whatever they need to practice. They do it down here. When I saw this facility, was like, Jesus, this is Edgewater. Look at us. But let this man go.

He's been a little hold back because that word interim is on your title. Let this man go and watch. See you in six years.

I want to say one more thing, too. As you know, I remember it because I think it was a turning point for the city of Edgewater. Mr. Erby was terminated a year ago to the date. We did not rush into this decision. We promised that we were going to do nationwide search, and we did. And the three candidates that we had, I was not thrilled with and neither were two other members of the council. We went through the process. We could have completed the process, but I talked to them over the phone. I saw their applications.

I didn't think they were a good fit for the community and so did several residents. They didn't think that they were a strong pick. And those residents have turned their support to Mr. Mahoney. I think that we followed through with our promises. We did a nationwide search. They wanted $10,000 for the three candidates to come to the city, and we didn't agree with that. And Mr. Mahoney has a stronger passion for the community than I think they ever will. But we've followed through with our promises.

I have lot of thoughts about not doing that. No, I wanted to piggyback on Art Slack, the night and day. Night and day, there's things that I know that counsel asked and begged, and residents asked and begged, and there were things that were put off for years that were brought up multiple times. I'll bring up the roamers. I had made calls about that property in the past.

And I hadn't heard from you guys. I thought some of the stuff had been completed, you reached out. Hey, they said that people were coming out to do this and this never got done. I got in touch with Joe and within a week or so everything's been handled. That is the same story I'm hearing from so many residents of things that hadn't been done in years, and Joe is getting it done. The people who have called me upset for years, I've been trying to get a hold of people, I've been putting this complaint, I don't know what's going on. Nobody's gotten back to me. They're like, oh my god, Joe came out to my house. This has already been done. What has changed?

And I said, it's Joe. I was like, Joe will handle it. He has gone out there. You have been boots on the ground from day one. So that first first week, the list of things that you accomplished, just little things stepping forward that should have been housekeeped before. And I am just grateful. And thank you. And I know a lot of that is from staff as well. I know you've got a great support system from a lot of people. And I must say what you brought up, because I always like to throw in when people talk about the police training facility. Parks and Rec built that. Thank you, Jason. I see you over there. But I'm happy to see everything moving forward. I mean, I have gotten some people who are concerned.

And Joe, you've already agreed to sit down and have coffee and meet with every last one of them. So he is not afraid to sit down and handle business and work things out and work towards a solution. And that's what we need. I mean, there's times where I would reach out to prior management just to ask a simple question, and I wouldn't get my questions answered. You don't care if the data is the data. You don't care if it's something that's going to make us unhappy or what direction it's going to push us. You give us we need to know. I'm very thankful for that. So that's all I got. Thank you.

Councilwoman Dava, do you have any comments?

No, I have not at this time. Thank you, Jeff, for all that you do. It's greatly appreciated.

Okay. Is there a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve the City Manager Employment Agreement.

Second. Roll call.

Councilwoman Dalbo? Yes. Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

Mayor DePue?

Yes.

Councilwoman Gillis? Yes. Councilman Thomas?

Yes. Congratulations, City Manager Joe Mahoney. Item 11D, Veteran of the Year nomination staff report.

Thank you for those kind words. Once again, mayor and council, I appreciate the confidence. And I must reiterate, we have a great team. So they make me look good. You. So item D, Veteran of the Year nominations. Mr. Rainberg nominated Danny Kirkman and Ms. Dobo nominated Gary Schneider. We We We be

thousand and

five, he was involved in Post two eighty five with just about every aspect. He was the past commander, first vice. When he moved over to AMVETS Post two, he has been the leader of their honor guard ever since. And the guy just doesn't stop. And Councilwoman Dolobo's nomination is a phenomenal nomination, too. We have so many great veterans here that you can't really it's hard to pick one. I was just whatever happens, it was just an honor that I was able to nominate Mr. Kirkman because he's a tireless worker. Thank you for every time you guys leave your house. Great.

We're going to do Citizens Comments and then back to Council Comments. Citizens Comments.

Mr. Mayor, I'm to have Ms. Dobo read about Mr. Gary Schneider.

Are you ready? Yes. Okay. My nomination for the Best of the Year is Gary Schneider. While Gary was stationed in Norfolk, he and his wife Lisa were foster parents to 100 plus children.

He is a member of the Disabled American Veterans, DSW, and the American Legion, Patriot Guard Riders and Reeves Across America. Gary is an advocate for veterans, helping them in a time of need, whether it be donating food, clothing, blankets to the homeless veterans. Gary has organized many tributes here in Edgewater, including Reach Across America, Pearl Harbor in Remembrance, nineeleven, Memorial Day ceremony and standing in the flag line at local funeral homes with the Patriot Riders. Gary is a senior writer with the Patriot Board Riders, The very organization that makes sure veterans and first responders have someone at their funerals even if they don't have family here in the area. Gary is a chaplain that has assisted many families during hard times.

He has never said no to accepting assignments for veterans. Gary is a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. Gary was a civilian firefighter as well. He coached football, baseball, track for local charter schools here in the area. He was instrumental in putting together a free day at Kennedy Space Center for the Gold Star children and their families, making it possible for them to get a lifetime free membership. Gary is very active within the military community. And I am sure there's much more to Gary's story. This is just a glance into his life. And like, Councilman Rainberg said, are so many wonderful veterans that live local. It's, you know, they're all wonderful.

It's hard to choose someone, but from my experience this year, I choose Gary Snyder as my nominee. Thank you.

Thank you for that, Councilman Dahlbo. We're going to open it up for citizens' comments.

I got a question, Mr. Mayor.

Sure. Why

can't we nominate both of them?

I think that's a great point. Why couldn't we?

I mean, what of award are we going to give them? Can we give them both the same award?

I don't see why not.

I would be okay with that as well. The only other thing I did want to say because I did submit a nomination for Gary Snyder as well. And then when I they had already posted the Debbie's write up and I felt it said everything that I was going to say and more.

What I was going to say is I've seen a lot of people that care about the community. And the two applications are on my top five list. They're wonderful individuals who care about our community and do a lot of public events. Gary Snyder, dear friend of mine, I'm not a morning person at all, will call you bright and early at seven a. M. For an event that's occurring a year later. He cares so much about the community. He cares that everything goes smoothly. And Gary brought back two events that were not dead in the water in the city of Edgewater. Your recommendation as well is a tremendous individual, but I know Gary Snyder personally more.

I do know that individual that you nominated, a great individual. I think they both should be recognized. And who that is a great question, Councillor Thomas, if we could do two nominations.

Well, let me do it formally. I move that we nominate both of them.

Is there a second? Roll call.

Councilwoman Dalbo?

Yes.

Councilman Rainbird?

Yes.

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

Yes. Awesome. And just to that degree, one of the things I was proud of was our outstanding citizen award. Is that dead in the water? What is going on with that?

I don't think we've gotten nominations for it.

It hasn't been advertised. Can right. Because Joe used to post it on the Facebook page when it was near nominations and they'd send it out in the newsletter. Okay, Item 12, Officer Reports, Item 12A, City Clerk.

I just wanted to say thank you for your patience with me over the next couple of days. I'm up in St. Augustine at a conference, so I'm not on my email or able to respond to things as quickly or often at all. So thank you for your patience with that. And hopefully Friday, if there's anything you email to me, I'll be able to get to you then. You.

Awesome. City attorney.

Yes. Thank you, Mayor. All right. As far as a litigation update, in the Lennar litigation, which is their appeal of the denial of a final plat for Edgewater Preserve Phase II, we had the final hearing on September 25. So both sides argued their case based on the briefs that have been filed. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Rowe took the matter under advisement. He indicated he wanted to take the time to read the transcripts of the meetings where this came up. He also wanted some more time to read the case law cited by the parties in the briefs. So in due course, Judge Roe will be entering his final order on the appeal. And it's unpredictable when that might be entered.

Moving on to the all Florida plumbing matter. We have the mediation coming up this Friday. Again, if any sort of agreement is reached at the mediation between the parties, they would come back for you to vote on whether you wanted to resolve the matter based on that. Also, the SB 180 law lawsuit was filed. It was filed on September 29 in Leon County.

There are 25 plaintiffs in the case, including the city of Edgewater. So two counties and 23 cities are the plaintiffs. And then there are four state defendants or actually five state defendants named in the case. So at this point, once the case is filed, then the next step would be for the clerk to issue summonses to each of the defendants in the case. Then the plaintiff would need to go ahead and serve the summons and complaint on all the state defendants.

They would then have a time period to respond to the lawsuit. As far as the allegations in the lawsuit, there are six counts. It's a long complaint. It's approximately 45 pages long. So there are six counts.

Count five alleges that the SB 180 conflicts with the Community Planning Act. And count six alleges that SB 180 is a violation of the city's home rule powers. So essentially, the basis of the complaint is that planning and zoning are one of the most important fundamental functions of local government. And Sections eighteen and twenty eight of SB-one 180 prevent local governments from exercising home rule authority in planning and zoning. And these provisions of SB 180 take away local governments' ability to exercise the very powers they have been given under the Florida Constitution and statutory law and are the largest infringement of home rule power in the history of Florida.

So SB 180 circumvents and renders meaningless the grants of home rule authority provided in the Florida constitution by legislative act. And so the complaint alleges that SB one is unconstitutional for quite a number of reasons. And I will continue to keep you posted on developments in the case.

Thank you. We appreciate it. Citizens comments.

Linda Mosier, 319 Leaning Oak Drive in Majestic Oaks. First, I wanted to congratulate city manager Joe Mahoney. And also, just coming back to our issue again and again and again. I've been back for eight weeks now. And I kind of need to make certain that we understand that action here.

And I do understand that it's difficult to ask to go back on votes. But I need to know what's our next step and how do we get on an agenda to discuss this again? And then I want to challenge Joe to help us get this issue resolved as your first order of business as the new city manager and to invite you back into the neighborhood. Your house itself is not for sale, but there are several listed. So think about coming back into Majestic Oaks. That's certainly fine with us. So, yeah, kind of curious, how do I proceed? Who wants to talk to me next week?

The city manager has been in contact with you the whole time. Yes, he has. So I'm sure he'll continue communication on how to proceed.

I will do that. Okay. Thanks very much.

Can, it. Of course, reach out to each and every one of us. We receive your emails and appreciate them. Thank you.

Good evening, counsel. Chuck Martin. 205 Cherrywood Lane. It's been a great meeting tonight. Thank you, mister Wolfe, for leading the charge and, explaining that to us where we can understand it. It's awesome having a great litigation attorney on our side. I think you are the extra $3 an hour. You get what you pay for. We're happy to have you. And with that being said, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together at the top.

We're missing one piece right now. And I want you guys, the council, because it's up to you, and I want you to think about this. That last piece of the puzzle is our city clerk. I think we all know who's right for that position, That would be Mrs. Geiger.

And I heard something about, I mean, I might be wrong, but I heard there were some four or five people that they were looking at. I don't know who was making the choice or whatever, but I heard that she was like, with the credentials or whatever, maybe was the second choice, but she's our first choice. And I think that once we move her into this position, if she's going to accept it, and I think she is, I think we'll move forward with all the pieces of the puzzle. Thank you for letting me share.

Thank you for your comments, sir. They're appreciated.

Donna McDavid, 1201 Bond Street. I just want to do a reminder here. I've got over 40 flyers out in town. Dream Green Volusia and myself locally sponsored Nancy Miller for a roundtable discussion. She was running and is running for County at Large seat. We had a showing that was not thrilling to us. We are hosting this Saturday Mike Ponotowski. This is an opportunity for the community to come, to listen to the candidate, get to know the candidate, and ask questions. Involvement. This is somebody that is going to represent us.

Please. So, it's at the library here in town, and it is at ten again this Saturday, the eleventh.

Thank you for your comments. We appreciate it. We are adjourned.