City Council - Regular Meeting

I'd like to welcome everybody to the Apopka City Commission meeting for September 16th, 2026 at 6 p.m. I would like to recognize Commissioner Ruth and Pastor Doug and Representative Bankston, please, for invocation.

I think everybody knows who Pastor Bankston is and our house rep. Yes, sir. Thank you for coming in.

I'm enjoying the new digs. This is great. Let's bow our heads together.

Let's stand, please.

Oh, please. Thank you. Heavenly Father, we come before you and we are very grateful. Every day is a gift from you. Father, we're grateful for the city that we live in. Lord, I pray, first of all, for our leaders. You said to do that in the word. Father, having sat there, we know, I know the pressures that that can be. Father, I thank you that you give them a unity of purpose, Lord, to do that which is best for our city. Father, I thank you for our staff that labor endlessly and tirelessly, Lord. I thank you, Lord, that you just continue to give wisdom, Lord, in this process going on as we look at the challenges before us. And Father, we just ask you for peace over our city. We are a blessed city. And Lord, I just pray that even through all of the proceedings, even this day, Lord God, that you'll bring something even greater from all the efforts. And we give you all the praise, Lord, in Jesus' name.

Amen. Thank you. Commissioner Ruth, can you listen to the Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

You may be seated. Thank you. Thank you, Pastor Bixen. All right, we will open up our public comment period. Mrs. Bone.

Ron Olson.

Rod Olson, 3156 Rolling Hills Lane, Popka. Again, good evening, mayor, commissioners, city staff. Again, thank you all for putting all that budget together, all the work. It's good to have that piece behind you. I'm not going to spend much time. I already covered some things on that, but I do want to cover a couple of recommendations and review them, the immediate ones that I feel should go in play. We have to address the 2,400 hours of overtime. We should have reports weekly. We should be addressing it weekly. Yes, there's a lot of overtime that is required and necessary, and you're not going to avoid it. But I'm willing to bet there's a million dollars there and more than likely a million five to two that could be saved by effectively managing it. Immediate action number two, we must justify all current positions and look at any proposed new positions. Are there positions that could be combined? Is there a function that's no longer really needed and could be moved somewhere else? We need to look at that. The third one is just we must prioritize hiring. We should start with all interim positions. Then we move to anyone wearing more than one hat, which we have at least a half a dozen of those, and then move to our first responders to make sure that we get those in line, get in place because they take time to do. And finally, we must conduct focused financial audit. And you have feedback from the transition team, Mayor, in addition to what the commissioners and anyone else in the city wants to submit. We need to have a focused audit and take a look at things. It's not, again, just like a tag and who's it, this blame, so-and-so. It's a matter of identifying the problems and making sure we don't repeat them. Let's see. One other thing. Impact fees. I'll cover that. Water shut off. The aspect of preventative maintenance. You know, I've hit you guys on this before. You don't have a log. I asked for a log about a year ago. Nothing was documented. And I come from health care. Forgive me. In health care, if it's not documented, it didn't happen. And we need to make sure that happens. One of the holdups, as I understand it, on Welch Road, they couldn't find the shutoff. Well, that should be checked on a regular basis, if not monthly, at least quarterly, to know if we've got a shutoff problem. And finally, I'm going to end with... Mr. Bankston, thank you for the use of your church again. I'm part of a group called the Apopka Involved Voters. We've been conducting since 2020 candidate forums for mayor and city commissioner since 2020. I've been very effective. I think it's been good to get the word out. It's live. You can also tie into it with the Apopka Chief through their YouTube channel. This Monday, we have the Orange County Mayor Forum. at 7 p.m. at Victory Church. And on Tuesday, we have District 2 Commissioner Forum at Victory Church. If you want to come, great. If not, you can tune in and watch it from there. We have commitments from all four candidates. We are excited. We had one slow at responding, but we got them all. They'll all be in, so we're looking forward to that. Thank you all for what you do and for all the staff putting through all this budget stuff. This is awesome. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Olsen.

Thank you. Dr. Oh?

Boy, this is taller than it used to be.

I have a few issues to bring up. One is I want to start on the positive sides first. The Apaka Birding Park. We had a great Latino Conservation Week event and our vice mayor went and read the proclamation by the mayor. And then we also then went on a trip on the headwaters of the Everglades. And most people don't realize that the Everglades started up here on Orange County. And it's been decimated. And so to understand the decimation is very important. So I gave a talk and then we went out on the boat and got to see Lake Cypress. And it was beautiful. Additionally, I've had concerns about storm drains, and many of them are on the county property, but some of them are city, and as we're accumulating them. But the storm drain heads on the roads, if you drive up Park Avenue and Rock Springs Road and then come down, every time you hit a spot where there's a storm drain or a water main, you do a whoop-de-doop. And if you drive, examples, in front of Publix. I had turned in the one that broke. That was a dip. And I had turned it in. And I had been turning it into county, not knowing that it's a county road. And I was told that what's under that road is covered by county. So I was turning it into the county. And then they apparently were not forwarding it. But if you drive, let's say, get in down and just drive. And you go fast, you're going to... bottom out, all along the sides of the storm, in front of the storm drains and in other places. And I regularly turn the men to county, knowing that many of them are county. But we also have the one out here in front of the ACE, where we had the complete collapse of the easement and the road six has had to be filled in and filled in and filled in on the road. And this is all due to collapsed stormwater pipes. And the county denies that it's theirs. They're not working on it. And even when we call in and ask for public documents, public requests, you don't get a copy. They don't want you to know whose it is. Additionally, I do have some outstanding document requests. I think one's like nine months. And it's the same issue that I requested a couple years ago. And it took nine months to get that one. And the budget is not an excuse. Because nine months ago, we weren't working on the budget. It's a very simple request. Hope. I wanted to talk about Hope of Apopka. This past Sunday, we served nearly 70 people. They get a hot meal or a cold meal, depending on the temperature of the day, and just full plates and beverages. And they get toiletries and they get bedding, linens, and they get clothing. But they also take home food. a bunch of stuff. They'll take home a bag or a backpack filled with things, pop top cans, sodas, whatever gets brought in and donated to the charities and nonprofits that do the work under the name, under the guise of Hope's Direction. And when you see 70 people, and almost all of them are new, we haven't seen them before, there's something going on. The week before it was 50, almost 50, 48. And that was almost, you know, 10 more than the previous time.

Thank you.

Okay. Dr. Moyer.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners, City Attorney, and Durham City Administrator. My name's Dr. Jim Moyer. I'm the elected Orange-Wooder Conservation District 2 Supervisor, proudly serving Northwest Orange, including the great city of Apaka. This presentation is mine and mine alone. Since in November... will be the election, as you know, and it will include orange, soil, and water conservation in certain parts of the county. And this will be the first time the full circle of the new law has been implemented. In 24 during the presidential, there was orange, soil, and water conservation district two and four won the ballot, which I'll talk about in a minute. But two is northwest here, four is southeast. And this year, gubernatorial election is one, three, and five. So the southwest, the central, mostly Orlando, and the northeast is five. So a lot of folks may say, well, I don't see Swinburne-Wooder on the ballot. that came up in 24, two years ago. People were saying, why isn't soil and water on my ballot in my particular area of the county? So that's something to bear in mind. A little bit about the Orange Soil and Water Conservation District. We're a local governmental unit serving in Orange County. County, but not part of Orange County government. A lot of people have that misconception in the public. We're a special single purpose district. The purpose is to implement land and water resource protection practices in Orange County. We're run by five elected nonpartisan independent board of supervisors in five separate seats. They're also called subdivisions. Seats two and, as I previously mentioned, seats two and four were 24 and seats one, three, and five is this year. The swearing in takes place in January. The terms are four years. If the board has a vacancy, they can appoint a supervisor to complete the term. The powers of Soil and Water Conservation District is water research and education, best management practices, conservation demonstration projects, cooperation with and agreements with other government entities. such as city of pocket like-minded organization supervisors can be removed by the governor for cause excuse me and if we buy land it's tax exempt what is life Thanks to the city of Apopka, I began having office hours in Inkville, Zellwood, here in Apopka and Ocoee. I also now have office hours in Rosemont Community Center in the city of Orlando, District 3. One-on-one personalized assistance, discuss ways to save money and save our water, and talk about preventing pollution in Northwest Orange Lakes and water bodies. My three Cs, change habits, conserve water use, clean water bodies, save water. We need the blue for the green. Save water, save lives. Save water for your children. Clean water saves lives. Thank you for your time, and God bless you all. Thank you, Dr. Moore.

Catherine Gaylord.

Good evening. I'm Catherine Gaillard from 519 Cooper Industrial Parkway. Hello, Mr. Cooper. I'm here for two lighthearted topics. First is I wanted to thank the city of Apopka for having the Citizens Police Academy. I was a recent graduate from the last courses, and I just wanted to say that that's a great opportunity that you offer your citizens. I'm glad I took advantage of it, and my husband will be taking advantage of it next term. So thank you guys for offering it. I think it's awesome. And second, I just wanted to point out, I work for a general contractor, GC Inc. We recently submitted an invitation to bid packets. ITB 2025A146A for general contracting services. I just submitted it yesterday to Suzanne Sue, I believe, and Jay Pugh. I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm the office manager for George C., who's the general contractor. We're a small business, have 28 employees. And we do a lot of renovations, hospital work, hospitality work, industrial work, pretty much anything except residential, with the small exception of we're building a habitat-free humanity home. That's the one exception that we're doing. So I just wanted to put a face with a name, and I hope to be working with you guys in the near future. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Michael Cooper.

Mayor, council, a couple of weeks ago, I was here and I paid tribute to the staff members. There was a couple of them that I left out. One was Jeremy Holyfield and the other one was Dale Smith. Smith works in public service and also Mr. Holyfield as a fire department. And the Bible tells us that we should love one another as ourselves. My definition when it comes to what we're dealing with is, You have to know that person. You have to respect that person. And you have to trust that person. And this is what I feel with the people that we deal with every day and what they do. And there's one other thing. If you folks want to read something that's really neat, read 1 Corinthians 13, 1 through 8. It might change your whole perspective on how you treat people and what you do. It tells a lot of things in there. And Paul wrote it when he wrote it, and he defined it so gracefully and so wonderfully. And if we all took those certain little things, there's 10 or 12 of them in there, like do not envy, do not, you must trust people, things like that. Look at it and try it. And you might change your entire outlook on life in itself. Thank you.

Amen.

Thank you, Mr. Cooper.

Amen. Thank you. Leroy Bell.

Leroy Bell, 2308 Blue Meadow Court. Mr. Cooper, I believe Paul, when he wrote them letters, he didn't write them to the people. He wrote them to the church. So you ought to get the church to do right first. What I want to start with, in the shape that this world is in today, all the way from Washington, D.C., from the way that this president is enriching himself, disenfranchising the citizens, with all these outrageous wars causing gas prices and everything to go up, all the way down to Tallahassee, where the grand jury just said that our governor have stole $10 million from the most vulnerable people that it is, the poor people. That we have representatives from this town up voting along with them. disenfranchising people from schools, taking water breaks from people out in the sun. Not only that, you got, I thank God the House Bill 733 didn't pass. House Bill where our representative vote on it. Incest, where first cousins can marry each other. But at the same time, we got representatives disenfranchising, changing the voting line to disenfranchise black people from vote. All this going on at the same time here at the city level, where we are taking, rebuilding city hall over people of kitchen table and wallet issue. where they got to pay for food, light water. Not only that, while all this going on, the citizens is the ones that suffering. We are the ones that out on the USS Lincoln. We are the ones that putting our lives on the line. We are the one that's paying the taxes. Not only that, we have a young lady to come back to us that was serving this country. and a drink coffee for one of our members of the diocese to call her a girl or a gal. That's just total disrespect. When is it going to be time? And then for our mayor to say emotions, decisions not going to be made on emotion, hearsay and all this, that's just pathetic. And I know it's gonna blow up on the media. It's gonna blow up on the critics and the other guy, what he called himself, the Popka Gopher or the Copper Gopher, what he is. I guess he's the Gopher or the Raccoon, I don't know. But anyway, it doesn't matter. But what matters, Mr. Moyer said, in November, it's time to vote. And please remember who in charge. Please remember who got us in the situation that we in now. And let's remember in three years and a few months from now, let's vote again and get it right.

Thank you.

Sylvester Hall.

Sylvester Hall, I love it when people say, calm down. Being dramatic, you're being this. But we're in a national crisis in this country. In the city of Apopka, the state of Florida, the reason why we're in a national crisis is too many good people sitting around watching bad things happening and not doing anything about it. They come up and they talk a good line about but they don't do anything about it when they have the power and the platform to do that. We have to stand up united in this country against racism. We have to stand up united in this country against corruption. We have to stand up united in this country against greed. We have to stand up united in this country against hate. We have to stand up united in this country against white privilege. Now, when we talk about the Bible, when I can put on the news and read 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. And the count goes on. Black people found hanging in the trees. And the government has ruled that it's suicide. And y'all don't see a problem with that? And you want to talk about Jesus? And we're talking about who need to change their hearts. You don't see a problem with that? When we normalize the abnormal, we desensitize the truth to the point the truth doesn't matter anymore. And that's what we're at in our country. We just got up and we just said, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And we all sit in this room now and we know it's not true. But we patronize ourselves to make us feel good. And we know it's not true. We have a pastor who preached the word of God, but then fought on the bill to say, you shouldn't get water when you need water. Let's make it make sense. Let's deal with reality. And let's stop sugarcoating. And you're talking about drama. That's telling the people what they want to hear at the same time, screwing them in the back. You're talking about standing up for the employees here. That's what I'm trying to do. And you're talking about a forensic audit. It may cost a million dollars. We don't have the money to say that. Go back and educate yourself, Commissioner Roof. When Commissioner at that time brought up the fact that Mayor Nelson had $37 million in his buddy's bank, we moved that money. Is that correct? And then on the first year, We made almost a million dollars on just moving that. That paid for the audit itself right there. If you look at four years down the road, that's almost $4 million that we were to recoup just by identifying certain things that are going on that you know are going on and you refuse to do anything about it. So don't come here telling me and talking to me about dramatizing. We need to stand up and we need to do what's right. And when we understand that the truth matters, integrity matters, honesty matters, accountability matters, responsibility matters, character matters, leadership matters, wisdom matters, justice matters, laws matter, rules matter. Morals matter. Ethics matter. Facts matter. And all God's people matter. When we live and we govern by those rules, we won't have to do anything. This city will be a shining beacon for everybody to see. And when I say I'm going to hold you accountable, you doggone right, I'm going to hold you accountable. Because when I turn on the news and I see what's going on around our country, it's disgusting. And the fact that we can do better. We can change it overnight. If we come together when you say that passion of one love that Jesus said, love thy neighbor as I love myself. Those are just words we throw around to pacify each other. When in the same time we're going back home and laughing what I did to this one and what I did there and how evil I was to that person. It's time for change around here. And you ain't seen the best of me yet. I'm just waiting on God to move me to my next mission. This has to change. And people out there, it's not going to start with Washington. It's going to start with you. Knowing who your elected officials are. You going out and vote for the people that's going to stand your ground. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Holm.

Valley. It looks valley.

Good evening. I appreciate the young man talking about the love chapter in the Bible. My mom sends a message every morning that talks about being brave, but also love people. So I'm being brave today as well as coming from a place of love for myself, for my business, for my family, for my community, because I am here for not just myself, but my community as well. For more than two years, I have been asking the city of Apopka to make right what happened to Just Like Mamas. The fact that the facts have not changed. The city's own investigation found that the permit I was told I needed was not required. that there was never a stop work order for my business and that the city of Apopta code enforcement officer, David Whitty acted outside of his authority. And he was roughly a 20 year city employee who knew the limits of his authority and admitted that he had never done this before. Because of what happened, I lost thousands of dollars and suffered significant emotional distress. And despite the own city's findings, David Witte remained the city of a popular employee. and was later named Civilian of the Year. The city continued to provide his defense. Yesterday, the court allowed my case to go forward against the City of Apopka Code Enforcement Officer David Witte, including my claims for monetary and emotional damages. We are going forward with that case. But tonight, I also want to address the conversation Mayor Nestor and I had with me on September 1st. Mayor Nelson told me that more than one time, once what happened was in black and white and he also apologized to me on behalf of Dave Whitty and the city. He told me that regardless of what happened in court and with the litigation, I will still be compensated. He told me that an agreeable offer would be discussed with the commissioners and that if the insurance amount was not enough, the city council would write a check. He also explained that the city attorney was speaking with the commissioners individually and still had one commissioner left to speak with. That was two weeks ago. He asked me what I wanted and I told him plainly, I wanted to be compensated for my losses. I wanted the city to publicly acknowledge what happened. And he wrote those things down and he told me he wanted to fix this the best way he could. And he told me that there would be a public apology. I appreciate those words because Nick Nestor comes to my restaurant before he was a mayor. And we've talked on personal levels as well. And the most importantly, I'm taking the mayor at his word and that no matter what happened in court, I will still be compensated. So tonight I'm asking the city commission a straightforward question. What actions is the city of Apopka going to take now to make this right? And again, I'm Valerie Sparking with Just Like Mamas.

Thank you, Ms. Martin. Thank you, Ms. Martin. But just for the record, and we'll talk to the attorney. So I'm not really sure because I'm a person. I don't like looking people in their face and telling them something that I can't commit to. I don't know. I know we've met with different attorneys. I met with our city attorney and also with the insurance company attorney. But from my understanding, there hasn't been anything that came for the council. And I'm not sure. I'm not sure what that looks like. And I'm not even sure if that's even legal. I'm not sure what type of discussion you and the mayor had about how the commission would vote and what they would approve. So I do apologize in advance. because depending on how the outcome of that, I don't know if legally what you alleged was promised to you that we actually can do. So I just think it's, you know, for the record, I want to be clear on that, looking in your face, because from my understanding, there were some other conversations that was had. So I'll just, for the record, I'll just say that and leave it there until we have a further discussion. But as far as the council and the commitment, the mayor cannot commit to anything for, you know, for me or any other council member. That did happen. But that's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you.

Albert McKimmy.

Albert McKinney, 3603 Golden Gem Road. People say to me, it's a waste of time coming to City Hall and spending three or four minutes speaking in front of the Commission, in front of the Mayor. And I disagree with them. They say nothing gets done anyway, so why do you bother? Well, it's not a bother, because what I'm doing is putting things here on public record. Because when I speak here, and it's on public record, I can hold you accountable. So, some things that I'm not happy with. I'm not getting information that I require on Golden Gem Road, and that's been for two years. It's to do with the financial aspects of that. I don't get information that should be freely available And if I want to come and make a presentation and ask to be put on the agenda, how can I do that when I'm not given the information I require? So let's look at Golden Gem Road. This week we had an article that there was presumptive water use was exceeded and that we had to use potable water instead of water. wastewater. What I'd like to know is how many times in the last year have we had to supply drinking water instead of wastewater? There's obviously going to be a delay in getting Golden Gem Road up and running, but there are other alternatives that we could look at to potentially get water. We can't take water from San Orlando, we can't take water from Altamont Springs, but when there are overages of water and there's flooding in lakes, we spoke about before whether it was possible to run a pipe for about a mile up to Lust Road and restart Lust Road. And let's be honest, Golden Gem Road is not going to be operational till 2030. You may very well get 50 million gallons up in two years' time. But my recollection is you use about 10 million gallons of water per day in the city for all aspects of it. So 50 million gallons is five days reserves dropped in the ocean. In terms of Golden Gem Road, the recent TV article showed fluorescent green algae on top of the surface of the pond. And that's toxic and there's no oxygenation in that water. What I would like to know is, and I asked this in an email, who was responsible for the decision to pump water from the small pond into the aquifer recharge basin and subsequently that goes into the aquifer? If that water is contaminated, and we know it is, that was a breach of FDEP regulations. It also puts my health in danger. In the meantime, we have the... stagnant water standing there. Now we know we're in breach of FDEP regulations and we know that there's Florida statute that does not allow you to leave standing water. My life has been made a misery recently with the mosquitoes and I did publish on social media a warning that dengue fever had doubled in the amounts of cases that's happened recently in Florida. So it's time to remove standing water from Golden Gem Ponds. But let's not mess around. If I see pumps going to Golden Gem Road and pump water into the Aquifer Recharge Basin and you guys don't have FDEP permits or permission from whoever, I'm going to haul you over the coals because I know for a fact you didn't have permits the last time you did it. And you won't even tell me which member of staff made the decision to do it. Accountability has to start here.

Thank you. No one else? All right. We will close public comment period. Sure. If we can get a card filled out, please. We ran out of cards.

Yes, please.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Virginia Street, Compassion, and Apopka. I have two basic comments. I wanted to thank the mayor and the commissioners for the transparency with the budget. I came to a couple of the sessions. and going line by line, I could understand what is going on. And numbers were just thrown, explanations, and also the staff was there. So if I had any questions about, you know, why do you need this or why do you need an extra car or that kind of thing, I was able to ask. So the staff was very well attended. The last session that we had, wasn't those many people there. But for the ones that were there, they got a lot of information. And I appreciated that. I just wanted to let you know that was very, very good sessions. For the ones that weren't there, I encourage you to get involved. in those kinds of things because it's not always something that is done at this level that they show you line for line where the dollars are going. So I just wanted to say that for that thing that I attended. And secondly, about my ministry, Compassion in Apopka. We continue to, this city continues to exceed my expectations. I put a wish list out and every day I had the Amazon truck in front of the home, you know, with boxes. And, you know, I was always like, oh, my God, what did I get today? You know, and the wipes and the. The things that were on the wish list, people would, I don't know who ordered what, just tells me that it's been ordered. And I value the relationships of the community. I value the relationships of our city leaders. And I value just those that have just said a kind word to me, that have encouraged me, because I have not always felt well. but just the encouragement that I get from the city, it makes me wanna do more. So I thank you all for the support. Our next event is on the 27th and we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. So if you have a dish or you have something that you would like to help me with, because I know how to cook soul food, but I don't know how to do the Hispanic stuff. But if you have an idea of something quick and easy that I could do, please give me your suggestions. And again, thank you. One more last thing that I do want to say. Nikki McGuire is such a strong woman of God in this community. Something happened. She doesn't even know. Something happened because of my kids attending the camp this summer. And the impact that she has had on my children, on my grandchildren, has been tremendous. It has allowed me to continue with my ministry while the kids are in a safe place. And I know that they are being taught the things that I would be teaching them. So again, this is a wonderful community. I know we have our bumps in the road, but we'll iron them out together. You know, we'll do everything, you know, proper and in order. And I just continue to thank you for what you do for my ministry. I don't call it a business. It is a ministry. And I thank you all very much. Continue to be kind to one another. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Streep.

Ms. Street, I will give you some recipes.

She said she'll give you some recipes.

I will give you some recipes.

All right, we'll move on to the approval of minutes. Two sets of minutes here. Looking for a motion to approve the two sets of meeting minutes as presented.

So moved.

Move by Commissioner Barron, second by Vice Mayor. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Mr. Williams, any changes to the agenda?

Yes, Mayor. We need to pull business item number two, the requesting extension of the CRA sunset date. Orange County reached out to us and has some additional proposed language that needs to be added to that item. Perfect.

That's business item number two.

Business item two.

The CRA extension extension. on the stop-set date. All right, next up we have a presentation, Bike Walk Central Florida. Miss Sanchez, present here. Miss Bush, please.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Emily Bush. I'm the executive director of Bike Walk Central Florida. We are a nonprofit advocacy organization that administers pedestrian and bicycle safety programming in their greater Central Florida area. And today I want to just introduce our organization, our programming, and tell you a little bit about the work we're doing here in APACA. So I'll start with our mission as a nonprofit. We were really dedicated to, again, educating and advocating to make our communities more walkable and bikeable. And we added rollable because of the onset of micro mobility, and then really including those with wheelchairs, moms with strollers, and other devices that have small wheels that we should consider when we're designing and building our communities. And we strive to make that connected, equitable transportation system not just for transportation, but also for recreation and make sure that it's safe and comfortable for all. We're not going to use it if it's not safe and we're not going to use it if it's not comfortable. So don't build it, right? So one of the programs that we administer across the Central Florida community, including in the city of Apopka, is our program called the Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety Program. This program uses a 3E approach to do collection of driver behavior at marked crosswalks. We note whether or not the driver sees the pedestrian and stops and lets them cross as the Florida statutes require. And we do so by collecting data first and foremost. So on your screen, you can see what our data collectors do when they go out and collect data. They don't jump in front of a car. That is against statute and very dangerous. We don't recommend that. We put out a safe stopping distance. whatever that speed is based on a formula that's usually designed for an engineer but it's also the same formula that they use for red or yellow light timing so for you coming to a stop at a red light that is called our dilemma zone where the driver has really one of three things as they see that pedestrian kind of enter into that crosswalk where they have decisions to make They can either stop like the law requires, right? And do usually a nice friendly waving gesture and knowledge that that person exists in that crosswalk and that they're safe to cross. Sometimes the driver doesn't see them right away and they stop. Oh my God, I'm so sorry, right? And then they let them cross. Or then sometimes they just blow right by them and don't even stop. And so we mark those behaviors down and we look at were they distracted? Were they speeding? Were the signage and striping faded? Are there other factors that go into why a pedestrian feels unsafe or why a driver is making those decisions at those marked crosswalks? And we do that multiple times throughout the year with different data collectors to measure the variability versus a tall man and a short woman, right? Drivers are going to kind of depend on who they are approaching as well. So we provide this varying data to all of you in order to provide you justification for where your resources need to be. In addition to doing the data collection, that really informs where we need to be doing the resources and the component of the program. That includes the high visibility enforcements, which some of you might be aware of. We do those twice a year with our media partners and our enforcement partners, educating the drivers, actually pulling them over and giving them a warning and or a citation along with some educational material on why it's important to stop. Central Florida for the longest time was one of the leading pedestrian fatality cities in the country. And so we want to reduce that. We are now trending off that list over the last 10 years. We've slowly come down and I'll show you some data on that in a minute. We also do education, which I think is the biggest, most important piece of the work that we do. We don't only just educate pedestrians and drivers, but we talk about e-bikes and micro mobility and just use of our shared spaces in our community. And we provide resources of doing that as well. Not just lighted armbands so kids are safe, but we provide other materials like helmets and other things that inform them to keep them safe. On the engineering side of things, we look at and focus on low-cost engineering measures. We don't expect Rome to be rebuilt overnight. And a lot of these things are striping and signage and are relatively inexpensive and can actually have a big impact. So we measure these tools and use the evaluation to know whether or not the striping on the ground worked. That cost the city $2,400 but could save a life, right? Little things like this matter. So here's the numbers. This is a little dated. I apologize. This is 2024. But this is just one year of the program's metrics across the communities that we serve. What I want to really point out more specifically under evaluation is that 32,000 number. That's how many times we cross the road. We are experts at crossing the road, right? We've done over 116 crosswalk monitoring per year. We have over 600 crosswalks in our database that we refer to for engineering improvements and look at best practices. We've also made over 232 engineering recommendations that have brought about a 22% increase in the driver yield rate. Oftentimes from crosswalks that were near impossible to cross to making them very safe for even our school children to get to where they need to go. On the enforcement side, we've handed out over 722 warnings and 772 citations. And again, that's education. It's not meant to inform or I'm sorry, it is meant to inform. It is not meant to scare. And then, of course, on the education side, when we talk about the people reach, these are the actual conversations that were happening. This isn't the number of people that might have attended an event, might have saw our table. No, these are the actual voices in the communities that we're talking to. So here's a little bit more specifics about the POPCA program and the different crosswalks that we've been monitoring in your city throughout the program. The city has been a part of the Best Foot Forward Pedestrian Safety Program since 2021. So these are the varying crosswalks that we've monitored throughout the year. You can see the average driver yield rates over the far right side. That average is over five different, so every other month, so five to six different times, and then 40 crossings at one time, which is how we get that weighted average. And you can see here, we monitor also the conditions of the roadway, what the speed is, how many lanes, and who is the maintaining agency. So that if it does need striping or signage and it's not the city of Apaka, we know exactly who to go to and ask to make those changes. Here's some numbers on the enforcement that we've done within the city of Apopka. So every time we go out and do an enforcement, we mark with the partners where we're doing that education. And then, of course, whether or not we're handing out any warnings and citations. Our Apopka PD has been fabulous partners in this program. We also lean on them to help with some education and training of other law enforcement programs that enter with the Best Foot Forward program. Here's, again, some of the community outreach in Apopka throughout the last few years. You can see we attend many of your popular events. You'll probably look at our tent and know that that's a familiar bright yellow beacon at your event helping to introduce pedestrian bicycle safety. Some additional community outreach photos. We also do sign waving events. So if you haven't seen us on the side of your road waving signs for you to slow down, you will see us soon enough. So here's that slide I told you that I would show at the end of the presentation. And this just shows the tracking trends. It showed that in the beginning, when we first started the program in 2012, that unfortunately the Orlando Metro area was one of the worst in killing people that were in marked crosswalks. And as we've worked to educate drivers to enforce the driver yield law, And to improve the crossing compliance, that driver yield rate has ticked up. That's that line graph that you see. And those serious injuries and fatalities have come down, right? So we like that downward trend. We think it's working. So that's just one subset of the work that we do for the city of Apopka. On the other side of the work that we do, we also have been working on developing and proposing your active transportation network. Your active transportation network are your sidewalks, are your bike lanes, are your trails, are your multi-use paths, are all the little places that you're going to use to get where you want to go using small things with wheels or using your two feet. And the importance of having a successful connection is making sure that they connect, right? That you have access to the places that you want to go. So in 2023, we came to the city and we studied that. We said, where do people in the community want to go? How do we make loops and systems to get them to recreational opportunities, to get them to downtown as well? And we identified this active transportation network. We presented that to you. And since then, we are working on updating it because you all are growing rapidly and have diverse needs. And we want to make sure that we're updating that so that you can apply for the new grant cycle for transportation funding federally, as well as some of the state changes that are happening as well. And we want to make sure that APACA is ready to apply for that federal or state grant funding because we know how expensive it is to put concrete and iron in the ground. and how important it is for safety. So if we can help you achieve those goals, then we will certainly do that, and this project will help us get to that goal. The last thing that I'll add is on the left-hand side, you can see a project we did in Seminole County where we made some trail brochures and trail maps so we can tell the public where they can walk, bike, and roll in the city of Apopka. So that'll be a part of the work effort that we hope to take place next year is continuing with that messaging, showing people where they can ride and bike and roll safely in Apopka and continue to build that connected active transportation system for generations to come. And I will skip over this. And that is my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have about our work and our program. And thank you for your time today.

Thank you so much, Ms. Bush.

Any comments or questions from the audience? Well, I spent time with you on the telephone after playing phone tag for two weeks. And I just want to say that since the program, since we've had it here, and I've participated, of course, on a lot of the... Where we kind of just go to the different busy intersections and remind the drivers to kind of slow down trying to change behavior. But... We've been in this program how long now?

Since I believe we started in 2022. I think the initial funding was supported in 21, but we didn't start in 22.

Have we seen a change of behavior when you've come out recently?

So it changes because we change the crosswalk locations. Once one is improving, we move on to another one that's not improving. And we work on the driver behavior and the infrastructure that's at that location. So generally, yes. But when we move to those different locations, we tend to start over. Okay.

Well, I mean, it's been a good program. I don't know if we've made major strides yet because there are some intersections that, yes, we need the stripes, but we need major improvement to be able to make pedestrian crossing much safer. I know along Rock Springs Road, we have the bike lane and the connectivity, but that particular intersection is one that truly needs a lot of improvement. And it has not really improved because, I mean, I drive past it and I watch how difficult and the challenge for pedestrians to cross, especially students. Absolutely. That's been sort of my, it has been Welch and Rock Springs Road. Go ahead.

I don't think you were there for this one, but we recently did a sign waving event on Summit and Park, and that was really in partnership with PD. The chief thought that was a very kind of critical intersection, even though it's signalized. And there's the trail there. There are two schools, as you know, there's the middle school and there's the elementary school. And actually, we just got kind of a base yield rate on there of a very poor 17% yield rate. So we're going to continue with bike walk to look at that, and hopefully we can get that up.

Summit, right? Summit, correct. By the Apopka Middle School. Yes, ma'am.

Correct, yep.

But we do have school crossing guards there. And we do have the flashing lights for the letting drivers know that school is active in that. But we don't have anything at Welch and Rock Springs Road.

I can speak to that. In the active transportation network study, we did identify critical intersections that would have to be improved in order to allow for that connectivity to take place. And that was one of the intersections we identified. We would really look to staff to kind of do a deeper dive into what those actual engineering improvements might be, do a feasibility study, have an engineer actually look at that. But that was a recommended intersection to look at in that study.

We have a large group of students that come from that Rock Springs Road community that have to cross that in order to get to Dream Lake. And so that's a big concern for me.

There were also additional crossings that we identified. But again, we would want the city to further study the feasibility of those crossings, making sure that they're meeting the distance for MUTCD design standards and those things.

Well, keep in mind, too, that specific intersection, I run that one often. And so I am one of those pedestrians that is dodging cars and sometimes yelling at cars. So I definitely know firsthand that that one does need some love. Keep in mind, I mean, that that's a pass through not only just for our residents, but also for Lake County coming through. So it takes a lot more education than just a few times, unfortunately, especially for that one as we grow and as Lake County grows as well.

Yeah.

Any additional comments? Yeah, let's don't forget about Old Dixie and going to the park, neither. We don't have a means of getting from the west side of Park Avenue over to the park. Right, to the park, we don't. And Old Dixie is the main, it's the oldest road we have in the city, and it's the one that's, there's no sidewalks there, neither. So, I hope we take in our... our CRA district, we start circling back and start taking care of some of these deficiencies.

So the only comment I have is to refer back to what Ms. Sanchez was sharing. We did have that event July 22nd. And I spoke with Mr. Panza during that time frame. And so, as you know, our city has grown. And we recently had a trail that opened up over on Ocoee Apopka Road. And I think it's... pastor page drive and so my husband and i biked from magnolia up to this trail and so that crossing was like praying basically playing father um yeah so my recommendation is definitely consider doing next time when an event like this happens to have that done uh in that section over there uh specifically more because it is a new area there's been new development um apartments and homes and a public is just is about to open up as well so um it's just something to consider especially when you have a lot of people uh that are utilizing the trail uh especially going through Apopka into Ocoee and and so forth so that that's my consideration and and In that area.

Absolutely. We'll get with Jean and we'll make sure we just had our workshop to pick our crosswalks today. So we will go in the perfect time.

Yeah. Yeah. Great. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, absolutely.

And thank you for joining us at the sign moving event. That was, thank you.

Yeah, it was fun.

Any other comments?

The presentation.

Thank you. Thank you so much. We appreciate you. Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

Thank you. All right. Next up, we've got two proclamations, so I will come down and read those. All right. First up, please come on up. We are going to be recognizing our CRA and Economic Development Director, Ms. Antoinette Forbes, and her team as well for all the good things they do. So I'll read the proclamation here. It's Florida Redevelopment Week. Whereas community redevelopment agencies, CRAs, and redevelopment programs play a vital role in revitalizing neighborhoods, addressing areas of slum and blight, strengthening the local economies and revitalizing downtowns and improving the quality of life for residents and businesses throughout the state of Florida. And whereas redevelopment initiatives encourage private investment, support small businesses, improve infrastructure, enhance public spaces and expand housing opportunities, thereby fostering vibrant, resilient and equitable communities. And whereas the Florida Redevelopment Agency, or excuse me, association, the FRA, in partnership with municipalities, counties, and community stakeholders, promotes best practices, professional education, and collaboration to advance community redevelopment efforts throughout Florida. And whereas Florida Redevelopment Week serves as an opportunity to recognize redevelopment achievements, highlight transformational projects, engage residents and stakeholders, and celebrate the economic, social, and cultural benefits of community revitalization. And whereas the observance of Florida Redevelopment Week will raise awareness of the importance of community redevelopment and inspire continued public and private investment in Florida neighborhoods, downtowns, and commercial corridors. Now, therefore, I, Nicholas L. Nesta III, Mayor of the City of Apopka, do hereby proclaim September 14th through the 18th, 2026, as Redevelopment Week in the City of Apopka.

Thank you.

So we're gonna take a picture. We're doing pictures a little bit different. So bear with us as we navigate this.

Thank you. Thank you.

Next up, we have Hispanic Heritage Month Proclamation. We do have an event coming up on the 26th in Caitlin Nelson Park. So we are excited to celebrate that. It's going to be retooled a little bit and we'll be using the new little mini amphitheater out there. So very excited for that. It's going to be a really good event. So I'll read the proclamation. Whereas National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the accomplishments of Hispanic Americans who have enriched our culture and society and helped make America into the incredible country it is today. And whereas Hispanic American men and women embody the American values of devotion to faith and family, hard work and patriotism through their countless contributions as leaders innovators entrepreneurs and members of our armed forces and whereas our hispanic community brings a rich cultural heritage representing many countries ethnicities and religious traditions that are interwoven into the fabric of america and whereas our hispanic community has a profound influence on our city and country by enhancing and shaping our national heritage with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community. And whereas this month we honor Hispanic Americans for their countless contributions to our nation, through their dedication to family, community, and our country, they helped to build a better future for all Americans. To honor the achievements of Hispanic Americans, the Congress by Public Law 100-402, as amended, has authorized annually a proclamation designating September 15th through October 15th as National Hispanic Heritage Month. Now, therefore, I, Nicholas L. Nesta III, Mayor of the City of Apopka, Florida, do hereby proclaim September 15th through October 15th, 2026 as National Hispanic Heritage Month here in Apopka and call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all of Apopka to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

Can I just ask one thing, ma'am? Yes. When I read the proclamation on Saturday for the one, one of the one asked was that can we also provide the proclamation in Spanish?

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

Of course. Thank you. Definitely. I'll pay the mayor so he can read it in Spanish.

Yeah, no, it was asked of me after I read it.

Yes, I was just going to echo that same.

We have Advent Health here as they are a title sponsor for our Hispanic Heritage event coming up later this month. So we have Mr. Hillman here who will be receiving this proclamation.

If people have it in Spanish, I could take to the phone box. Did you get the invitation?

No.

Okay.

But we will definitely get that in Spanish and make sure it's translated appropriately.

Thank you.

Thank you for that. All right. We're on to the consent agenda. Any questions or concerns? Whose pen is this? Is this your pen?

Is that my pen? That's my pen. Thank you.

Any questions on consent? Anything we want to discuss separately? Need to be pulled. If not, I will look for a motion to approve the three consent agenda items. Move by Commissioner Anderson. Second. Second by Vice Mayor. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. All right, next up, business item number one, the review of resolution number 2025-34, our discretionary fund. For this one specifically, this was one that, and I know Mr. Williams can jump in as needed, We had established this last year, and then staff had asked me for some direction and clarity on it. And because it's our policy, I need to come to the commission for our clarity that I can then direct staff in that role. So originally, when this had come up, it was something that I had pushed for and promoted in that I was holding town halls and things of that nature. it was a commissioner-led event that i was being forced to pay for different staffing and things of that nature to be at town halls that i was doing uh for residents so what i asked and thankfully was approved was that our discretionary fund was updated to allow for two community events a year uh including the staffing that goes along with that for the commissioners and the mayor to host community events and things of that nature. So that's really where that kind of discussion came around. And so it's been asking me to, are there, is there any intention for us to put any garden rails on this specific to a max spend or a max cost that we are going to allocate towards each event that we may host in a, in a given year, a calendar year or a fiscal year. So that's why this is coming back up. If you guys are happy the way that it is, we'll keep it moving. If there, if we want to add some garden rails, which again, Is somewhat what our staff has asked for, just some guidelines there? Then I would ask that we offer some direction to staff of what those guidelines look like and go from there. So I don't know if there's any specific questions or Mr. Williams, is there anything you want to add to that? No, Mary, they don't let them. So I want to make sure I didn't miss anything. So yeah, is there any comments from the dais on that specifically?

The only one that I have is I think it's important that we understand it's not our money. And I think that there needs to be some strong wording in there that it's not our money to spend personally for, you know, theater for us to entertain ourselves and our friends now outside of that what i'd like to do is i'd like to see if we can you know either privately or have a discussion with our attorney to find out what those guardrails could be obviously i think that there needs to be some strong wording in there to where that we could assemble this in a manner that there's going to be a paper trail and we can actually follow where these disbursements are going. Okay.

And I want to say for the record, what's interesting is that what I've found since this new administration has taken over, every time that I've decided to use a resolution, it comes up for review. And it's always when I'm using it for events or something that's diverse. And I think it's very strange that right before this council meeting on a hate page on social media, it talks about discretionary funds and linked me to some form of abuse of it. And that was on the agenda. So I think it's important that we don't spend so much time trying to attack people. a commissioner that is simply following resolution. We spent a lot of time on this resolution and it was discussed to be broad. So that way it won't be weaponized. However, depending on which who's using it, it's brought back up again, once again, to be weaponized. And I just think it's just very sad that once again, since this administration has been put in place every single meeting, there's an attack. And it's just very sad. The community sees it. The community is upset about it. I got a lot of calls, a lot of emails on it already. And I'm going to make it very, very clear is if the continuance to tax keep happening, there will be ethics complaints. In addition to that, there will be lawsuits filed because at this point it's making it very, very hard for me to do the job as an official. If every single meeting, when I'm using the same resolution, the same policies that everyone has, and when I'm trying to do things in the community, It appears that there has been a effort time after time to undermine and there's always, you know, this abusive language that is always being used. And I find it very, very offensive. And it's always when it comes to events that is diverse. And it's very, very disheartening that this council is still supporting this attack agenda. And it's very sad. I will say that it will stop because I'm going to start filing ethics complaints. I'm going to start asking that people be put on the spot. They're going to be put in court. I'm going to have different records pulled, phone records pulled, and I promise you the truth will come out. And it's not the entire council, but to me, if you don't say things, you don't speak out when you see the... I mean, it's clear. This is all because of my... I'm the one that has decided to use this policy. I'm the only person that has used this policy. And all of a sudden now, all the things, we received over 30 emails and calls about Golden Gem, about different safety concerns. And the only thing we can discuss on a business item is discretionary funds. I have asked the mayor time after time to put a policy in place for other things. That's really, really important. But the only thing we can do is go back and review a resolution that I am the only one that is requesting to use it. But I'll make it very clear. Not only will it be me, it will be an entire community behind me also filed ethics complaints. If there's any language that's put in here that is against what I'm trying to do for the community. And I stand strong behind that. And I'm sick of it. I'm tired of the attacks. And it's not fair. And Commissioner Ruth is you're the one that always jumps out in front with the attacks. It's clear and evident to everyone. If you go back and this is evidence and I'm tired and I'm sick of it and it needs to stop.

Thank you, Commissioner Anderson. Just for the record, I am not aware as to what you're talking about. I gave you the opportunity. Give me the opportunity now. Thank you. I have utilized my discretionary funds to support our organizations that are here. So you're not the only one that's utilized them. I've supported organizations that are sitting in this room. And I am not aware in terms of exactly what you're talking about, but I just want to make sure it's on the record that please do not include me in that. That is a personal situation. I am not included in that. So I am making sure that you and the community is aware that I utilize my discretionary funds for the organizations, the nonprofits that are here, and I use it effectively to make sure that they're supported.

So to be clear, we're not talking about the discretionary funds for the commissioner. We're talking about resolution 2025-34 in regards to community events is what I'm talking about. I'm the only person that is trying to use the community event, not the discretionary funds. I actually have everybody reports. I'm actually the only person who have not used my discretionary funds this year. So I'm not talking about discretionary funds. I'm talking about the use of the event, the amphitheater. That's what I'm referring to.

All right. I was personally singled out. I have no clue what you're talking about. And my comments to staff on Monday was strictly about discretionary funds. I have... I said in my gender meeting this week, what you're speaking of, I know nothing about. I wasn't on the dais. And I haven't talked to anybody on this board. And I've even made records requests. My records request today was... for what our discretionary funds were spent on. Thank you for advising me that there's something else going on. I don't know what you're talking about.

I guess a ghost is reporting information to social media.

Well, I don't think we should. I don't think we should make decisions based on the social media. No, I really don't. I don't think we should. I do not think as a community and as a dais, the commission should not just follow what is on social media. We as a dais need to start having conversations and not just following everything that is on the internet. At some point in our life, we have... shifted where we want to believe everything that's on the internet. Stop it. We need to make sure that we are having these conversations here and now. We need to make sure that we are planning appropriately, having the necessary workshops, enough with the social media, enough following the rabbit holes that it takes us. We need to make sure that we are transparent, that we are making sure that we're having conversations and that we are communicating most importantly. We are not going to move the city forward if we continue to do the same exact thing over and over again, expecting different results. It does not work. We need to stop it and we need to move the city forward.

So with that being said, I 100% agree. The issue is, is that that sounds so great. And I said the same thing. But until you are the person under attack, until you're not the one that cannot take your daughter outside because people are passing by your home, easy to say, until it's you. It is me. This is my life. It's real. And I know, trust me, I 100% want to move the city forward. But I'm the one that's getting attacked. My daughter is the one in school that's getting attacked. It's easy when it's not you. But when it's you, it's different. It's people on the diocese, the ones that's feeding it. It needs to be called out. I have been silent. I'm no longer being silent. It is happening and I know who's doing it and I'm calling it out. I'm no longer going to be silent about what's wrong. It is my life. It's affecting me. People are walking up to me, sending me hate emails and text messages and harassing and stalking my daughter saying we don't live in the city of Apoppa. It's my life. And absolutely, every time I see it on social media and every time my daughter bring it to me and every time I have evidence that someone here on this council is responsible for it, I'm 100% going to bring it up. And please no one tell me don't bring it up when everyone always says, well, I saw it on social media, I saw it on social media. Well, I saw it on social media and I'm bringing it up. I saw it on social media and I also saw it on the agenda after I saw it on social media. Enough is enough.

I'll open up to public comment. Do we have any cards for this one? We'll close public comment then. Any final comments on this? You're per the policy, but I'll allow it. I just need the card filled out, but we're supposed to be filling out all cards prior to the meeting starting. So please make sure to fill out a card.

Now, Sylvester Hall, and I'll try to do this without you. Now, when you say don't listen to social media, And some of the things that are driving social media sits right here on this desk here, this dialysis. I've been called a piece of SHIT. I've been called, you can still wear a suit, but you're still a piece of SHIT. I've been called a clown. I've been called a blowhard. And when you say don't listen to social media, That is the people speaking. Whether you like that format or not, that is the people speaking. And as a leader, one of my captains told me, say, Sylvester, if you can't stand the smell of your ship or what's going on on your ship, you may find yourself going down with your ship. So when social media speak, those are the people in your community. I suggest you listen to them. And I suggest there's an easy fix. Now, let me say something about social media news six. They ran an investigation on Ms. Anderson for there's a few people that's complaining about she's interrogating them or she's making them feel uncomfortable. Well, if you can go back, there was the same investigation on our current mayor. Nobody brings that up. This is a double standard that we see here. Ms. Sherman, you was one of the ones that was complaining in that investigation that he was harassing you. So what happened to that investigation? Why didn't that investigation make the news? So when you see the double standard and when people don't know because they don't have content and they don't have proper history, like Commissioner Roof on certain things, and we get up here and we speak for the people, that is the problem. And it just requires good, sound leadership. And it's not rocket scientists. It's just being an effective leader, knowing your job, knowing your responsibility, and carrying it out. It's just that simple. And so when I ask for a forensic audit, that's what it does. It lets you see exactly the face, the footprint of the city. And for somebody not to want that, it just defines common sense. Because it takes you off the hook. Here's where my seat is at. And I have that transparency that we talked about, that we tell everybody that we have. This is what I took over. This is how I'm going to fix it. And so it bothers me sometimes when even parents like the wisdom to see who have their son's best interests. I am a father for a grandfather, too. And I respect that. And I stand on my character. When I'm attacked, I don't run from it. I don't hide from it. I don't duck my head in shame. I take those same videos and I put it on my Facebook page for everybody to see. Because when Sylvester Hall speaks, everybody knows I'm standing on my character. You can attack my reputation. That's not who I am. That's who you think I am. I'm standing on my character. And so when you look at things, when I come up here, I'm on the side of principle. What is right? Regardless of whatever your background is, whether you're a Republican or Democrat, it don't matter. What is right? That's what I'm standing on. And that's the side that I'm on. So I see and I know exactly what you're talking about. And so when we deny that it's happening, We're not going to move forward in the right direction. And when we don't know where we're at, how can anybody find you? If you call me and I say I need help, come get me. And if I can't tell you where I'm at, how can I find you? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hall. All right, so we'll close public comment period. Mr. Hall, if you can, just fill out a card for this one, please.

Yes, I will.

Thank you. Any final comments?

Well, I just think it's important if we're going to tell the customer, our residents that money's tight. And, you know, we're not going to, you know, we're. Things are so tight that making the investment in the roads and the infrastructure, you know, the lack of police service and fire service and everything's tight. I want discretionary funds to reflect it. So I'm just trying to be well rounded and, uh. The rest of the stuff we've been talking about, I don't know what they're talking about. I don't watch social media. I leave at 5 o'clock in the morning, drive to the coast. We're trying to build a rocket. So outside of that, I just want to keep us moving forward.

I'd just like to bring back number three, which is two free uses of city rental facilities per year to include city staffing. It doesn't really specify which facilities that we were discussing. Obviously, we have Frank Carlton, the Apopka Community Center. We have the Apopka City Hall. We have the amphitheater. But when you say to include city staffing, that can be Are we talking about public services? Are we talking about police? Are we talking about fire? And then there's insurance. And so there's insurance for the facilities. And so who is going to be paying for that? And, you know, our city staffing is expensive. So I'd like to just... for that particular one. I mean, I read the whole thing. I actually went back and listened to the initial city council meeting, which was September 3rd of 2025. And I know there was a lot of discussion there and actually I sent an email today asking if we can have that section so that we can kind of refresh ourselves what we were trying to get at that time. But as I went down, and of course I had spoken to our city administrator, I just have a question with, when you say city staff, what does that include? And what's the limit? And, you know, And when I went back to listen to our initial, it really had to do with community town hall meetings. And at the time you were trying to have these town hall meetings because we didn't have public comment and we felt that the public was not allowing, we were not allowing the city through the public meetings COMMISSION MEETINGS, WE WERE NOT ALLOWING THAT PUBLIC INPUT THAT WAS IMPORTANT. AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE CAME UP WITH THAT, TO HAVE TWO FREE USES OF CITY RENTAL FACILITIES. AND AT THAT TIME FOR ME IT WAS ABOUT CIVIC COMMUNITY MEETINGS. And when it was to include city staffing, it was about having someone in the facility. It was either to have one police officer present and someone from public services to turn the lights on and turn the lights off. So just number three would be to be specific. When we say city staff, what are we saying as city staff?

But when you say two events, is that two events? Is that 10 events, two per commissioner?

For the year, for the year. But you have to identify what that event is. And my understanding was it had to be for civic stuff, for community. It was like town halls.

Have we done a workshop to know what the value of this request could be?

So what's interesting, like I stated before, I'm the only person has requested to use this and now this on the agenda as a hit item. And I pressed my case and it was converted. Obviously, people have got together how things already pre-highlighted. And this is just an example. No, it was highlighted. You should also say you sent an email.

So once I said this was it was for the following purposes. And I had the discussion referencing two events.

I wasn't finished. I wasn't finished. Actually, you interrupted me. as I was stated, was I was the one who wanted to use the policy that she just read out. And now it's a business item discussion on the agenda. Anything, any policy that I want to use or that I attempt to use, it usually appear up the next meeting as an attack item to try to change it. So I won't be able to utilize it. It has happened. And I will go and I'll do a whole presentation so you guys can see it. The community can see what has been happening under this administration.

So apparently there's a request.

Yeah, a request to continue to attack.

Who do we ask for the request? I know nothing about what we're talking about. Is this what we asked you? I asked you Monday what this was.

Yeah, there's a request that specifically takes this to free use of city rental facilities per year and staffing. I asked for some clarification. Went to the city attorney's office. We looked at it together. And it's a very, it's very open.

I wasn't on the dais. I don't know what it was and I don't know anything about the request, although I asked.

Right. The policy is very open. So the way that it is written, it would allow for any of the rental facilities to be utilized and that all city costs would be covered.

And where this came into play and why this, again, I preface this right as soon as we started, non-emotionally, in that Staff asked me, okay, what does this look like for these requests? And I said, I cannot dictate that. This is a commission-led initiative. The commissioners can choose how this goes. What was requested was an event that is a private event, separately ticketed, non-commissioner or mayor-led, private event that would cost the city about $13,000. I can't make that decision to spend that money. And I need the commissioners to tell me, are we okay to spend that money as a commission on any events that we want or that we feel are worth it? For me, I feel there should be a not to exceed amount listed in here because there is staff costs that come along with town halls and community engagement events, which is what that says. It needs to be led by one of us is what I feel. And it shouldn't be separately ticketed. This event that was being asked to be paid for was separately ticketed. And the spirit of the initial resolution was for exactly that, to engage the residents. And if we really wanna go back on, roll the tape back, there wasn't public comment upfront. It wasn't publicized. Yes, you could pull the minutes if you wanted to, but I had to do town halls. I had to record so many things. That is why this is in here now is because I had to go above and beyond as a commissioner to make sure that our residents were actually heard. So to feign that you're a victim of this now is sad, at least. Again, what this comes down to is, does the commission want to spend $13,000 on any of our private events? And if you do, that's fine. We can move forward with it. But I need direction to direct staff. It's as simple as that. You want to call and attack these, feel free. It is.

Well, the one comment I want to make to this is my dear friend, his wife passed a month ago. I came in here and requested the facility at the VFW to hold a funeral. You know, Nobody volunteered that to me. And we paid for the event out of his pocket. I would have liked to have known that there was an avenue like this. He was only the city administrator for 25 years. But, you know, what I'm trying to get at is nobody told me that this even existed. So I'm hearing this for the first time and had no clue what this was about. But you would think that Somebody may have said, hey, you know, you got discretionary funds. He was the city administrator. We have an event over here that we could have used. You're a commissioner. I didn't take that approach. I thought it was appropriate that we paid for the event. But we paid it from the private sector, not the public sector.

Well, for the record, anything moving forward, the request has already been made. So any change to this policy would not affect the request already made. If it is, there will be ethics complaints, there will be lawsuits filed because that would be straight discrimination. This has already been asked for. It was already a resolution that was very clear where I could use it. And if this council go against it, I promise you there will be lawsuits and ethics complaints filed on everyone up here because it's straight discrimination. It is straight discrimination. Well, no one asked, actually. No one asked me what was my role in it. No one asked me. No one asked me. At all.

I mean, one of the eligibility is it's no one even asked to what extent or what type where I was doing at the event.

No one knows exactly what's going to happen at the event. We just assume you don't know what's before, after, during. No one knows. And if no one asked me absolutely nothing about the event, everyone just got together with a whole attack agenda.

Please don't include me in that.

Well, everyone except you.

Please don't include me in that because just like Commissioner Ruth, I was not aware as to what this request is about.

Commissioner Ruth knew.

This is new for me.

Commissioner Ruth knew. And again, at the end of the day, too... And we'll wrap this up. I just need direction for staff. That's all this comes down to. Call to attack. Be dramatic. Feel free. Threaten litigation. Have fun with that. Please.

I'm still talking right now. You are out of order. You are out of order.

OK, what we will do is I'm open to we can keep it the same. I think the original spirit of this was to be a commission led event that was not charged, not separately ticketed. That was to be for commissioners to engage the public. and that's what it should be used for. However, if Commissioner Anderson wants to spend $13,000 on a separately ticketed event, that's up to her. So what we can do moving forward is put like a not to exceed number of the total cost of an event for staffing, things of that nature, should not exceed XML, $500, $1,000, $1,500. And that the event should be organized and ran by an elected official on this board. They should not be separately ticketed. It should be open to all of the residents because it's the residents' money. It should be open to everybody is what my recommendation is. The not to exceed number is up to the commission to be set. I don't have a one way or another in that, but Where I am, the hill that I feel a real problem with is that it's a separately ticketed event that is not open to all residents. And that's what this was for originally. So is there a number that makes sense to the dais of what should be a not to exceed number moving forward?

And for the record, that is actually not true. No one asked me the details of it.

Okay. Then what event is it for? What is the cost to rent a facility, the average? That would be recreation.

I think the amphitheater was $4,000. You have different varying costs depending on time, date, all of that. So they're all different.

And so it says to include city staffing costs.

Is that included in the... That total... Well, what I'm recommending is the total cost. The total cost of what would be the rental for it, and then what would be the total staffing cost for that. What do we not to exceed for these events? Because we need a budget for this. At the end of the day, it needs to be a line item somewhere.

It's one of the hazards of discretionary funds, which I'm deadly opposed to anyway, so...

Well, again, the spirit of this was because the commission at the time would not allow public comment in a more open and videoed manner. So we had to do events like this because I had commissioners that would not vote for open public comment. So what's that number look like for not to exceed? Or do we want to table this and we can bring it back up, think about it, discuss it with context?

I recommend tabling it.

Bring it to the next meeting?

Yes. It'll give me time to at least talk with recreation.

Who would I ask in staff to supply me with the information that we're discussing?

Can I address that just briefly? The concerns that have not been expressed but need to be so people understand they're not being left out. there's a prohibition about being a go-between between commissioners for issues that are on the agenda. And that prohibition applies to Bradley because he can't come in and tell you, Hey, this is what's going on with this commissioner or that commissioner regarding this issue. That's the problem. So what you, the best that he can do is give you the information that's there for the agenda item. And, uh, You know, if there are questions that could be answered without violating sunshine, he can do that. But that's really the problem. So it's not like he was intentionally leaving you out. And I just think you ought to know that.

Thank you. I mean, and that basically that's unfair. I mean, I get it. I get the law, but that's unfair. That's unfair for us to. getting this for the first time. And then all of a sudden it's like, wait, trying to adjust to that. So I just think it needs to be tabled. We need to have a workshop to discuss this and what this is going to look like.

I'll make a motion to table. Okay. Do you have a date, sir? Or just in perpetuity right now? I'd prefer it be in perpetuity until we can find out a little bit more about what we're trying to accomplish here because I'm not opposed. I mean, I'm opposed to discretionary funds for this exact reason. There's too many hazards. Although it affects some of our community members here that I greatly appreciate what they do.

Agreed. All right. So we have a motion to table the review and edit of resolution number 2025-34. Looking for a second.

I'll second.

Second by Commissioner Barron. All those in favor say aye.

Who motioned it first? I heard motions from three people.

Sorry, I second.

Okay.

Yes. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed? No. Motion carries four to one with Commissioner Anderson in opposition. Next up, we have ordinance number 3098.

Ordinance number 3098. An ordinance of the City of Apopka, Florida, amending the future land use element of the Apopka Comprehensive Plan of the City of Apopka, changing the future land use designation from county-rural to city residential, very low suburban, for property located at 2501 Rock Springs Road, owned by BSC Rock Springs East LLC, comprising 9.63 acres, more or less, providing for severability, conflicts, and an effective date.

Dr. Stone.

Good evening. This is Dr. Son, planner at the Community Development Department. There's no changes to the presentation. Recommending the motion is to adopt ordinance number 3098. And staff and the applicant are available to answer any questions.

Thank you. Any questions to applicant or staff? Anybody on public comment would like to speak with us? Okay.

Just one. I did review the whole package. I didn't find where I remember Mr. Miguel has said that the mayor had asked you to make it a gated community, private. I didn't see it in the paperwork. But I understand from community development that that will come up. when I guess you present a major development plan. So I just wanted to, it wasn't in the original paperwork here, but I remember the discussion and you had agreed.

Yes.

Okay. That it would be private engagement. Private . A private road, I'm sorry. You are correct, the private road. Okay.

Mr. Olson.

Rod Olson, 3156 Rolling Hills Lane. And to save myself coming up another time, but 3098 and 3099 and 3158 and 3159 are the same issue I've talked about multiple times. We've put zoning and land use on the same thing. And if we're really interested and all most of you ran on the aspect of making our growth smart, that buys you two weeks to a month. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Olson. All right, I'll look for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3098. So moved. Moved by Vice Mayor, seconded by Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next up, ordinance number 3099.

Ordinance number 3099, an ordinance of the city of Apopka, Florida, changing the zoning from T transitional to RSF 1B, residential single family district, large lot. For certain real property, generally located at 2501 Rock Springs Road, owned by BSC Rock Springs East LLC, comprising 9.63 acres, more or less, providing for severability, conflicts, and an effective date.

Dr. Son. No changes. Thank you, sir. Any questions to staff or applicant? Anybody in the public wishes to speak on this? If not, I will look for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3099. Move by Commissioner Ruth. Second. Second by Vice Mayor. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next up, ordinance number 3158.

Ordinance number 3158. An ordinance of the City of Apopka, Florida, amending the future land use element of the Apopka Comprehensive Plan of the City of Apopka. changing the future land use designation from residential, very low suburban, to office for properties located at 4410 Chandler Road and 4420 Chandler Road. Owned by Richard Chandler, comprising 5.12 acres, more or less, providing for severability, conflicts, and an effective date.

Dr. Stone? No attendees. Thank you, sir. Any questions to staff or staff? Staff.

No.

Anybody from the public wish to speak? We'll close public comments. Look for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3158. So moved. Moved by Vice Mayor. Seconded by Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next, ordinance number 3159.

Ordinance number 3159. An ordinance of the City of Apopka, Florida, changing the zoning from RSF 1A, residential single family, five estates, to O office for certain real properties generally located at 4410 Chandler Road and 4420 Chandler Road, owned by Richard Chandler, comprising of 5.12 acres, more or less, providing for severability conflicts and an effective date.

Thank you, sir. No changes. Thank you, sir. Any questions to staff? Not anybody from the public. Close public comment. Looking for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3159. So moved. Moved by Commissioner Ruth.

second second by vice mayor all those in favor say aye all opposed motion carries unanimously next ordinance number 3164 ordinance 3164 an ordinance of the city of apopka florida amending the future land use element of the apopka comprehensive plan of the city of apopka changing the future land use designation from county rural and future land use in progress to mixed use for certain real property owned by Effie Road Holdings LLC, located east of Effie Road and north of Kelly Parkway, comprising of 3.48 acres, more or less, providing for directions to the city clerk, severability, complex, and an effective date.

Ms. Sanchez?

No changes, sir.

Thank you. Any questions to the staff or applicant? Any public comment? I will look for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3164. So moved. Moved by Commissioner Ruth.

Okay, I'll second. Second by Vice Mayor. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed?

Motion carries unanimously. Next, ordinance number 3170.

Ordinance number 3170, an ordinance of the City of Apopka, Florida, amending the future land use element of the Apopka Comprehensive Plan of the City of Apopka, changing the future land use designation from residential very low suburban to mixed use for certain real property owned by Effie Road Holdings LLC, located east of Plymouth Sorrento Road and south of Kelly Park Road. comprising 5.09 acres, more or less, providing for directions to the city clerk, severability, conflicts, and an effective date.

Ms. Sanchez.

No changes.

Thank you. Any questions to staff or applicant? Not. Anybody from the public? I will look for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3170. So moved. Moved by Commissioner Barron. Second by Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next, Ordinance Number 3173.

Ordinance Number 3173. An ordinance of the City of Apopka, Florida to extend its territorial and municipal limits to annex pursuant to Florida Statute 171.044. The hereinafter described land situated and being in Orange County, Florida. Owned by Orange County, Florida, a portion of Budge Road between Kitt Avenue and State Road 429 Connector Road, comprising 0.884 acres, more or less, providing for directions to the city clerk, severability, conflicts, and an effective date.

Mr. Samanofsky. All changes. All right. Thank you. Any questions to staff? All right. Open to public. Any public? All right, look for a motion to adopt ordinance number 3173. So moved. Moved by Commissioner Ruth.

I'll second.

Second by Commissioner Barron. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. All right, we have a city administrative report. Nothing to report tonight. Thank you, sir. City Attorney, this isn't your last one.

It is. Wow. And so, yeah, I'm going to use two minutes, but I'll be quick. I first had the opportunity to work for this city under Joe Kilshimer, who some of you will know was a Democrat, which was unique for Apopka. I think it's the first time in 60 years there had been a Democrat running the city of Apopka. And some of you probably don't know. I didn't know Joe Kilshimer. He called me up out of the blue. And he asked me to come in and sort of try to calm the waters because the transition was a little rough. And I'm glad to say that I was able to do that for the most part. And then the city tried to see about going in-house and that may happen again. But later on, his replacement, Mr. Nelson, the former Mayor Nelson, had a similarly rough road, as some of you will definitely remember. And he was Republican. And he called me in for the same reason, to try to calm the waters. And in both of those cases, I like to think that I did that. At least I tried. Because I'm NPA. I'm no party affiliation. Don't care you're a party. I just care about getting it right. And so I tried to do that. And I appreciate so much the opportunity to have done that here. And I'm looking forward to see great things for APAPCA. And I thank you for giving me the opportunity.

Enjoy retirement. Your first Monday is going to look a whole lot different. So enjoy it. Thank you for what you did.

Well, the one person sitting on the dais that I can actually say, I made the motion to hire you. So, and it's been a good ride. I didn't get to spend the rest of your time here with you, but you were always a friend to me. And I always valued your opinion. And even when I thought I knew better, you were always that little voice that says, step back and take a deep breath and see it from somebody else's shoes. So I appreciate that. Thank you.

Yes. Let me echo some same sentiments. Just thank you for your help and assistance throughout this process. And I appreciate you're always very direct and not emotional responses. So I've always appreciated that about you. So thank you, sir, for that.

Okay, so we actually have worked together the entire time. And it's been a journey. I've learned so much with you. And I appreciate every time that I have tapped upon you, that you took the time to explain it to me, gave me examples, let me vent. and always gave me the right advice to follow. And I've seen you become a grandfather. We've shared a lot about grandparenting and things like that, but you're a gentleman and you have always shown me the respect and have always recognized me for the titles that I've hold. And many times you've apologized when it wasn't something that you should have done, but you did. And I appreciate that. And I want to wish you the best in your retirement. And it's been an honor and privilege to work with you these last 10 years.

Thank you. Well said.

And also, Attorney Shepard, we have had a lot of calls and I'm definitely, definitely going to miss the guidance and the wisdom. And every time I call, you spend a lot of time asking questions and very honest, very direct. Always, always errant on the side of what was right and not your opinion, but factual and what was law. And I appreciate your comments. I appreciate your guidance. Even sometimes I didn't want to hear it. But I thank you for always, always doing what's right and not really following your opinion, not following anyone's opinion, really. You always said, I don't like it, but this is the law. And I appreciate that. And a lot of people, you know, in this world, you really don't get that. So enjoy your retirement. And hopefully, I pray that we're able to, you know, to replace you.

Thank you, sir. Thank you for everything. Enjoy your retirement. All right, next up. Well deserved. Yes. Next up, we have City Commissioner reports. Commissioner Ruth. I'm done. All right. Vice Mayor.

Well, just, again, added that we are now celebrating the Hispanic Heritage Month. I wanted to say that every year I say the same thing about our community. We have a very large community here of Hispanics. And although it's been a little challenging this past year in our community with many of our Hispanic families, but I would like to recognize that I have always supported the farm workers, whole community, and the organizations that have provided many services for our Hispanic families and in the schools. And my hope, and I pray that as time goes on, that we recognize the contributions in our community by these farm workers, nursery workers. And I just want them to know that we see them, we understand their challenges, and we respect them. and we just hope for things to get better for them. Absolutely.

Thank you. Commissioner Anderson.

I echo the same with Vice Mayor. The Hispanic community does bring a lot of entrepreneurship. Engineering construction, we bring a lot to the table, and so it is an honor to be able to. commemorate, if you will, the Latino and Hispanic community. I am honored that I am Cuban American, that my parents are retired, but I have a father who you all met and a mom who was, my dad's a carpet installer and my mom was a housekeeper. And so watching them work really hard to bring food on the table and to really make sure that all four of us move forward. And for me, being able to be sitting on this dais representing them, is truly, truly an honor. And I was the first of my family to go to the Capitol, and I was able to send that to my family. That's the best part. So with that, I am going to be attending IMO this week. For those that are not aware of what that is, that's the Florida League of Cities, new elected officials. They give them kind of like an orientation, if you will. They go through a mock budget. I wish I would have done that before we had our budget. But it gives me some perspective. Ms. Sherman, be prepared. I will have questions. And so I will be prepared for the next one a little bit more than what I was. this time around. I'm glad that Ms. Sparkman that you are here. I am waiting to, I asked for some more additional information. I'm waiting for that. I just wanted you to be aware that I didn't make the comment when you were during your public comments, but I wanted you to know that I am waiting for some additional information. So I think that's probably who they were waiting for is me. And with that, thank you all so much for the opportunity. And that's all I got.

Awesome. All right. I got a few things and we'll get out of here. I do want to thank obviously Monday morning, you wake up to, we have a, not a St. Cole, Apopka Police Department, to a depression in Welch Road that was a water main break. So I just wanted to say thank you to our utilities teams and to PD for being out there to keep the roads safe and blocked off appropriately. And then to our utilities teams for being out there and just knocking that out. It was about 15 hours from the actual break being reported to cars driving on it. So just really appreciate that team. They really came together and did just incredible work. Very cool to see that. September 24th, I believe that has been confirmed for our... We'll be having a special meeting to review and ratify the fire department union contract. So we're going to remind everyone of that, make sure everyone's aware of that. September 24th, we'll be having the... resource kind of forum. The goal of this is to really bring anybody in the community that's providing resources to those in need, regardless of anything, to really bring them together and see how can we refine the processes? Is there duplicative efforts that don't need to be happening right now or that we can refine and make it as efficient as possible with everybody's budgets tightening in the economy the way that it is and where it is right now? bringing everyone together that has a heart to serve and provide. I think this is going to be great to have that first step in conversation to bring everybody together to kind of fill that gap. that need buckets, so to speak. So we're really excited about that event. It'll be at The Well. So we're super excited about that. And then September 28th, I'll be hosting here at City Hall a town hall at 6 p.m. to go over a few different items. One is gonna be the updated, what I would like to see is an updated organizational chart. I know that's kind of what we've been waiting on and what we've really been refining and how we, how the team really thinks we can move the city forward with more efficient processes, some ownership and projects, which has been a big one for us right now, and make sure not too many people are wearing too many hats and don't have limiting their span of control. So that would be September 28th here in city chambers at 6 p.m. It'll be noticed as well. So commissioners feel free to join. If not, no need. Just I'll be hosting and open to the public, things of that nature. So Uh, with that, uh, the one final thing, and I'm sure you guys seen, I just like to make the reminder, uh, under informational items, we do have the city's, uh, dispersal report for August. Um, and that's also where we have our monthly, uh, financial reports as well. So just make sure to keep looking under informational items. If you want to see some financials, that's where there'll be, uh, there's nothing to approve on those. There's no ordinance that requires that it's just for information. I want to make sure that everybody's aware of that. Other than that, have a great week.

Okay.